A shortfall in iPhone sales could, in a roundabout way, could finally yield a MacBook with an OLED display.
According to reports, Apple and Samsung could once again be set to butt heads over number of smartphone OLED displays the former has ordered from the latter.
Apple has reportedly ordered fewer OLED displays than expected from Samsung to make the iPhone XS and XS Max, and future smartphones. According to Korea’s ETNews (via MacRumors), the shortcoming could mean Apple could be liable for a penalty in the hundreds of millions that would be payable directly to Samsung.
“Although Apple requested Samsung Display to extend its plant believing that it would use about 100 million OLED panels annually, actual market demand was far lower than Apple’ prediction,” an industry rep told the publication. “Samsung Display took a huge blow as a result and requested a penalty from Apple according to their contract.”
However, Apple may be able to avoid this penalty if it commits to OLED orders for future products, which could be “tablets or notebooks.”
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Another industry source said: “It is heard that Apple made some suggestions such as guaranteeing supply of OLED panels for other Apple products. Samsung Display was also levied a small penalty due to faulty performance of few panels that were supplied to Apple and they are looking into many options as they both have to pay each other a penalty.”
Recent reports have suggested Samsung may already be in talks with Cupertino over potentially using an OLED display for a revamped MacBook Pro. However, rumours have of an OLED MacBook has been flying about since 2016. The company does use OLED in some capacity, but only for the Touch Bar on higher-end MacBook Pro laptops.
Would an OLED MacBook convince you to upgrade your old machine? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.