Yesterday’s supply chain report that Apple would be moving to an all-OLED iPhone lineup next year was taken sufficiently seriously that it caused significant share price movements.
However, some analysts are today questioning whether it would be possible for Apple to complete the shift quite so quickly …
Samsung, Japan Display, Sharp and Universal Display all saw their share price affected by the report. However, Bloomberg reports that analysts from three firms are skeptical, citing three reasons to doubt the report.
First, said JP Morgan analyst Jay Kwon, a cheaper LCD model is a key part of Apple’s strategy this year, and that is unlikely to change by next year.
Second, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting analyst Jeff Pu suggested that Apple would struggle to obtain enough OLED panels to meet demand across three models.
Finally, Goldman Sachs analysts believe that recent financial guidance from a number of suppliers – notably including Japan Display – points to Apple’s continued use of LCD through 2019. Daiki Takayama and Jie Dai suggest that ‘share prices have overreacted.’
Neither Apple nor any of its suppliers are commenting, of course, with IHS Markit analyst Jerry Kang saying that the move itself is inevitable, but the timing is uncertain.
Regardless of the OLED timing, Apple is already looking further ahead, planning for a later shift to microLED screens.
2018 iPhone mockups: idropnews
