Apple partners LG Display for foldable iPhone

SEOUL: As Samsung plans to launch a bendable smartphone "Galaxy X" in 2018, Apple has reportedly begun work on a foldable iPhone with LG Display.

According to a report in the Korean website The Investor, Apple has decided to go with LG and not Samsung (Samsung OLED displays are the best in the industry) owing to the fear that specifications could be leaked as Samsung is its arch rival.

"According to The Bell, LG Display recently created a task force to develop a foldable OLED screen for the new iPhone model," the report said on Thursday.

The foldable iPhone panel production could start from 2020.

LG has reportedly completed its own foldable OLED panel prototype and has been upgrading the durability and the yield rate.

The company recently started its first OLED production for phones at its E5 plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province.

Apple is also considering investing in LG to speed up OLED production.

Meanwhile, Samsung is exclusively supplying panels for the latest iPhone X -- the first OLED iPhone.

"Amid Samsung's near monopoly in mobile OLED production, Apple has been strengthening its partnership with LG Display, its long-time LCD partner," the report added.

In 2017, Samsung will hold approximately 89 per cent of the AMOLED (active matrix OLED) display panel market, analysts at UBI Research said recently.

Currently, some smartphones that feature OLED screens are iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8+, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, OnePlus 5, LG V30 and Vivo X9s.

The Samsung "Galaxy X" is likely to make an appearance during the CES consumer technology show in January.