The iPhone 14 will bring Apple’s most significant design change since the iPhone X of 2017. It was then that Apple introduced the notch, which serves two purposes. First, it houses the 3D facial recognition authentication system known as Face ID. Second, it gives the iPhone a distinctive identity that allows anyone to recognize the iPhone design. In 2022, Apple plans a drastic change to the displays on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The iPhone 14 Pro models are reportedly going to lose the notch in favor of the hole-punch display that is rife on Android devices these days is. And now we have another report that appears to confirm this design change.
December isn’t even over, and we’ve received no fewer than three Korean reports claiming the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will have hole-punch displays. The Elec reported a few weeks ago that the 6.06-inch iPhone 14 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max will have hole-punch displays.
Then, a few days ago, named Business Korea the three display manufacturers competing for orders for the iPhone 14. Like The Elec, the site mentioned the same three companies: Samsung, LG, and BOE.
Both reports showed that Samsung Display is best positioned of the three to win Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro display orders. They said LG could customize its manufacturing technology to develop hole-punch displays that meet Apple’s requirements. It would take BOE at least another year to produce the displays, meanwhile.
A third report was released earlier this week, also from The Elec. The new story describes a further development in the supply chain of Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro display.
While previous reports weren’t confident that LG could win orders for the iPhone 14 Pro models, the new story states that LG will be shipping hole-punch screens to Apple next year.
LG is reportedly manufacturing low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin film transistor (TFT) OLEDs for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The report also notes that LG will be shipping LTPO panels with hole-in displays – this is the hole-punch display design that is dominating the Android landscape.
According to the report, LG will be part of its AP4 Line at P9 factory in Paju, South Korea for LTPO-TFT process. Production then moves to the E6 line, where the OLED panel is added to the display. That level of detail might not be exciting, but it does seem to suggest that The Elec has factual information about LG’s delivery contract for the iPhone 14.
LTPO is a key technology that enables Apple to offer dynamic refresh rates on the iPhone that scale up to 120 Hz. The iPhone 13 Pro models have LTPO screens.
Samsung made all LTPO displays for the iPhone 13 Pro this year. According to the report, Samsung will provide the LTPO screen for the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022.
BOE is also developing LTPO displays, but they will not be ready in time for the iPhone 14. The Chinese display manufacturer is currently supplying low-temperature displays made of polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series. BOE will also provide LTPS for the 6-inch iPhone 14 model next year.
Apple is also expected to sell a non-pro 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max that features an LTPO screen next year target. Both the Regular and Max versions keep the notches at the top.
Chris Smith began writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he was sharing his views on technical matters with readers around the world. Whenever he’s not writing about gadgets, he miserably fails to stay away from them, even though he tries desperately. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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