Rumors about Apple and foldable iPhones are still going strong, even after months of speculation and analyst predictions. While the latest set of rumors indicate that there won’t be a foldable iPhone this or even next year, we’re still getting insider news from The Elec website about Apple’s plans for a similar device. The most important component of a foldable phone is the foldable display, and Apple appears to be trying to take some cues from Samsung to get it right before going ahead with plans and eventually mass production.
According to the report, Apple appears to be testing an OLED screen panel that doesn’t have a polarizer to reduce brightness and thicken the panel. This is something that was researched by Samsung and used in last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 foldable phone. For those who don’t know, Apple uses Samsung panels for its iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and older models. And if those flexible OLED screen panels are the same as Samsung’s, we might see the same bright, high-quality screen on a foldable iPhone in the future. However, this will only happen if the panel passes Apple’s testing process.
How Samsung got rid of the OLED screen polarizer
Simply put, the polarizer in an OLED display directs the diffusion of light and improves viewing angles. However, it uses more power to maintain the same brightness level and results in a thicker panel. Samsung, however, skipped the use of a polarizer on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Instead, it printed a color filter on thin film and added a black pixel definition layer, as mentioned in the report.
The polarizer removal process resulted in a 25% reduction in power consumption and a 33% increase in light transmission. This allowed the Z Fold 3 to achieve higher brightness and color accuracy than the Z Fold 2, which used a polarized OLED panel.
Since Apple is reportedly testing such displays, there’s a strong hint that the firm is committed to the foldable iPhone and is actually working on it. Unfortunately, the wait may be longer than expected because according to some recent reports, the foldable iPhone may not arrive until 2025 at the earliest.