• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechThe Mobile Executive

Why Apple Might Not Add OLED Screens to All New iPhones Next Year

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 17, 2016, 10:39 AM ET
Apple Event
Apple CEO Tim Cook announces the new iPhone 7 during an event to announce new products Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)Marcio Jose Sanchez — AP

The 2017 iPhone is not expected to hit the market for almost another year, but the upcoming device is already being buffeted by rumors of new features that will or will not be added.

Earlier this week, Ming-Chi Kuo, a KGI Securities analyst with a reliable reputation for Apple leaks, warned that only a premium iPhone Plus model next year would include a superior OLED screen, while other models would continue with older LED screens.

Now comes some further explanation of why Apple would leave out one of the most desired new features from most 2017 models. Manufacturing OLED screens is difficult and Samsung, Apple’s supplier, will not be able to produce enough to meet demand for all iPhones next year, Bloomberg reported on Thursday citing anonymous sources. Other possible OLED screen suppliers LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display are also supply-constrained, the news service added.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Fortune reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if a response is received.

The supply crunch means Apple may not be able to entice or satisfy as many iPhone upgraders as analysts had anticipated. After this year’s iPhone 7 line basically retained the same exterior design and screen technology as models from the prior two years, analysts expected many Apple fans would wait until next year to upgrade.

Apple (AAPL) is expected to unveil an iPhone with a completely redesigned exterior and many new features next year. Prior rumors suggested that the new iPhone will have an edge-to-edge display, eliminating the bezel, and a virtual on-screen home button.

Apple has improved the iPhone’s screen somewhat in recent years by increasing the range of colors it can show, making photos appear more lifelike for example. But the iPhone’s screen resolution of 750 pixels by 1334 pixels has not changed in the past three models.

Meanwhile, competitors like Samsung (SSNLF) have been adding more pixels and using OLED to display sharper on-screen images, a far more noticeable upgrade than Apple’s color range improvement.

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Current price of Ethereum for March 4, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for March 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 4, 2026
4 hours ago
erik
Future of WorkRobots
Top AI economist who found ‘significant and disproportionate impact’ on entry-level jobs finds link between robots and minimum wage hikes
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 4, 2026
4 hours ago
CryptoCryptocurrency
Exclusive: Venture giant a16z crypto targeting around $2 billion for its fifth fund amid blockchain market downturn, sources say
By Ben Weiss and Leo SchwartzMarch 4, 2026
4 hours ago
AIU.S. workers
Viral deepfake ad casts Musk, Bezos, and Altman as corpulent overlords powering AI on human sweat. Its creator says the best jokes tell the truth
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 4, 2026
6 hours ago
OpenAI logo
AIOpenAI
OpenAI sees Codex users spike to 1 million, positions coding tool as gateway to AI agents for business
By Jeremy KahnMarch 4, 2026
8 hours ago
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
Lenovo’s CIO says patience is a virtue in AI investing, but the clock is ticking
By John KellMarch 4, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Health
Palantir and other tech companies are stocking offices with tobacco products to increase worker productivity
By Catherina GioinoMarch 4, 2026
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Cybersecurity
Cities join Amazon in cutting ties with license-plate reader Flock following Ring's Super Bowl ad—that Flock 'didn't have anything to do with'
By Catherina GioinoMarch 3, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Interest on the $38.8 trillion national debt has tripled since 2020, and it already costs taxpayers more than defense and Medicaid
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Meet a burned out 28-year-old who pays $168 a month in China's faux Venice to retire early from her Shanghai finance gig
By Albee Zhang and The Associated PressMarch 2, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 3, 2026
By Danny BakstMarch 3, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Tech investor Bill Gurley says workers who went through the ‘college conveyor belt’ and chased safe jobs are at high risk of AI automation
By Emma BurleighMarch 3, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.