Flexible LCDs for Next iPhone?

Japan Display is working on a rival to OLED displays, the Wall Street Journal reports-- flexible LCD panels set for use by "some smartphone makers."

Galaxy EdgeThe company supplies display panels to Apple, and the iPhone maker is reportedly "looking at the displays for possible future iPhone models." According to the WSJ the Japan Displays panels are made using a layer of plastic and, while "not as flexible as OLED," should be bendy enough for smartphones with a screen design like that seen in Samsung Galaxy Edge devices.

"Bendable displays could help revive growth in a smartphone market that is beginning to get saturated," the WSJ adds.

What kind of display will the 2018 iPhone feature? Rumours suggest a 2017 Apple smartphone is to feature an OLED screen manufactured by either Samsung or Sharp, with Japan Display to follow on the OLED supply by mid-2018. That said, analysts suggest Japan Display might not have the funding to pursue both bendy LCD and OLED technologies, meaning it might have to drop one for the other.

Go Japan Display Joins Flexible-Screen Battle With Bendier LCD (WSJ.com, subscription required)