Apple is looking for alternative OLED suppliers for its iPhone 8 as Samsung domination deemed dangerous

Apple is in urgent need of new suppliers for the OLED display that it is expected to use in the upcoming iPhone 8. The reason for this urgency is that the only supplier that the company is currently sourcing OLED displays from is its industry rival Samsung. The reason for this is because Samsung is the only company capable of producing the edge to edge OLED panels that Apple is trying to incorporate in the upcoming iPhone.[caption id="attachment_3972497" align="alignleft" width="380"] iPhone 8 render[/caption]The primary reason for this need for the new supplier is the immense bargaining power that the current situation provides Samsung with. According to a report by AppleInsider, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities pointed that Apple may be paying $120-$130 for each OLED display panel instead of the price of $45-$55 for the LCD panels being used in iPhone 7 Plus.He points out that Samsung has no competition in the OLED market because of the number of fabrication plants across countries. The interesting thing to note here is that other OLED manufacturing companies not only need to have impressive manufacturing facilities to match up with the requirement by Apple. But, they also need to reach the level of quality and innovation when it comes to next-generation display technologies to match the strict quality control that Apple requires.[caption id="attachment_4016237" align="alignnone" width="825"] Representational image. Reuters[/caption]The report went on to suggest that Apple may ditch the traditional Touch ID module in favour of one under the OLED display because of advances in technology for scanning under the display. This comes days after it was reported that a developer had suggested that the Sleep/Wake button in the soon-to-be-released device might activate Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistant Siri.Last year, it was reported that Apple, Microsoft, Google and other companies invested heavily in LG's foldable OLED display technology.