5.8-Inch iPhone to Have Flat Display Despite ‘Curved’ Rumors

Previous reports from publications like The Wall Street Journal, Commercial Times, The Korea Herald and Nikkei, including high-ranking sources at suppliers such as Sharp as well as research from analyst from Barclays Research and KGI Securities, have predicted that iPhone 8 would come outfitted with a 5.8-inch wraparound AMOLED panel protected by a curved 2.5 glass cover on the front much like the cover glass on the iPhone 6s/7 series of phones which have the slightly curved edges.

However, several sources interviewed by MacRumors think iPhone 8 will have a flat rather than a curved screen due to lower manufacturing cost and better yields.

IHS Markit analyst Wayne Lam has predicted that iPhone 8 would use a flat implementation of OLED design which he says is analogous to the current 2.5D glass design currently used on the iPhone 6s/7 series. Lam is expecting an iPhone with a longer screen aspect ratio of 2:1, making the screen’s length double the size of its width.

“Much like the recently announced LG G6, we anticipate a touchscreen with a new longer aspect ratio design to take advantage of higher coverage area of the iPhone in its entirety,” he said, adding this new design is expected to become the trend for 2017.

While he ruled out having any insider information, display expert Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate told MacRumors that flat OLED displays using a glass substrate “cost considerably less” and are “available in much higher production volumes” than curved OLED displays using a flexible plastic substrate. 

“The existing iPhone 7 has 2.5D cover glass with a flat glass LCD display, so Apple could make a similar 2.5D OLED display using a glass substrate OLED display at lower cost and much higher production volumes,” he said.

Should Apple give iPhone 8 a curved rather than flat display akin to Samsung’s Edge series? If so, why and what benefits could a curved screen potentially bring to users?

[Source]