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Apple to reportedly get its OLED displays from LG to reduce reliance on Samsung

Apple to reportedly get its OLED displays from LG to reduce reliance on Samsung

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For the iPhone X and future iPhones with OLED displays

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Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Apple may soon be using LG as an alternative supplier for its OLED panels used in its iPhone X devices, anonymous sources told Bloomberg.

Having LG as a secondary supplier will help the tech giant source OLED displays more quickly and cut costs. Previously, Apple solely relied on Samsung to supply its OLED displays, meaning that the South Korean company could charge higher premiums since it had a monopoly.

Bloomberg reports that LG will supply between 2 million to 4 million OLED displays in the initial deal, while it attempts to increase its capacity. For comparison, Samsung’s initial deal with Apple was to make about 100 million OLED displays to be used in iPhone X production.

LG’s name has come up before during Apple’s quest for a second supplier

LG’s name came up in previous reports about Apple’s quest for a second supplier, as the South Korea-based company has made a return to producing OLED displays with the V30. But the quality of the V30 display isn’t as good as Samsung’s OLED displays in its Galaxy smartphones, and LG’s smaller production capacity was well-known.

In the meantime, Samsung hasn’t really been enjoying its position as the sole OLED supplier for Apple either. In February, Samsung reportedly had to cut OLED production after fewer iPhone X devices sold than anticipated, and it was also scouring the market for additional clients beyond Apple. If sources are correct and Apple links up with LG, the deal could help all three companies reduce their reliance on a few connections.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to comment.