Apple will adopt low-power OLED displays for its battery-efficient ‘iPhone 13’

According to a new report, Apple will be adopting OLED displays with low-power LTPO backplane technology for at least two iPhone models in 2021. While we have no word on what they will be called yet, it is fairly safe to assume that they will be iPhone 13 models.

The report, from Korean website The Elec, the new low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology will be set for OLED panel supply to next year’s iPhone models. The following is the relevant excerpt from that report:

“LG Display will expand the production rate of its organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel factory lines dedicated to Apple, TheElec has learned.

LG Display is planning to put in low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistors (TFT) equipment that can add 25,000 substrates per month in monthly production rate into the lines by next year.

The LTPO equipment being placed in the factory lines will be for OLED panel supply to ‌iPhone‌ next year, while the ones after May will likely be for panels for iPhones of 2022.”

LTPO technology is revolutionary in terms of its power-saving features, as it would allow the backplane to turn individual pixels on and off more efficiently. The technology could allow for longer battery life and new features like always-on display elements. In fact, experts believe that it would allow iPhones to have refresh rates of as low as 1Hz when the device is inactive in order to preserve battery life.

The report says that Apple will use the LTPO technology for the two higher-tier iPhone models out of the four that it plans to launch next year. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Cupertino tech giant will be releasing its ‘iPhone 13’ series in the four same-size models as the iPhone 12 series.