It was 2007 when Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone to the world. Since then, the smartphone experience has never been the same. It was also the iPhone that led other businesses to enhance their products and integrate better technologies.
Rumors of an iPhone 8 to be released in 2017 are reverberating in the tech world. With Samsung and Google making the competition in the smartphone stiffer, Apple is left with an iPhone crisis in the upcoming year.
In a recent remark to Nikkei Asian Review, Sharp President Tai Jeng-Wu was quoted saying that if Apple will not integrate OLED in its new phones and transform itself there will be no innovation but rather a crisis. Sharp is a Japanese electronics manufacturer which streams smartphone panels to U.S. tech giant Apple.
Further, he said that Sharp is now building a new OLED facility in japan and if their customers' demands them to manufacture in U.S. there is a greater possibility for the company to heed their call. In the interview, the sharp executive did not detail Apple's timeline to start ordering OLED screens. The only confirmed detail is the fact that Sharp will start developing OLED technology.
Forbes' recent email interview with Robert Soneira also revealed how Apple will fare in the world of smartphones in 2017. According to him, Apple has no choice but to go forward. He added that the company has taken LCD Display to its limits. He reiterated that Apple needs to put OLED displays into its upcoming models to stay at the forefront of innovation. Soneira is a display expert of DisplayMate Technologies.
Samsung, Apple's stiff rival, already utilizes OLED displays on its Galaxy phones. Google, another contender, launched PIXEL phones which also use OLED displays. According to Soneira, curved and flexible displays are the wave of the future. And if we base it on his expert opinion, Samsung indeed is leading the way. Other phones that are using OLED are MotoX and HP elite X3. These are the nagging evidence that the leader in cutting edge technology in smartphones is lagging slowly behind.
The rumor about Apple using OLED on their iPhones is basically a confirmation of the present and compelling scenario. Steve Jobs was once quoted saying that innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. In 2017, the public will know, if Apple heads to the words of their founder or will simply swamp in their self-inflicted crisis.
