Shares of Apple, Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained $0.09, or less than one percent, at $111,88 following a Monday report from The Wall Street Journal stating that Cupertino has asked its suppliers to increase their output of organic light emitting displays (OLED), in anticipation of an OLED-equipped iPhone 8 next year. In addition, Apple is also said to have asked suppliers to submit prototype screens with better resolution than displays from other competitors.
The Journal’s report, which notes that more than 10 prototypes are being considered for next year’s launch, comes after years of speculation that Apple will upgrade iPhone’s screen by using OLED, a new smartphone display technology that unlike traditional LCD which has dominated mobile-phone displays for more than 15 years, doesn’t require backlighting, offers thinner screens, better picture quality and allows for flexible designs.
Apple has seen its smartphone sales slide and remains under pressure to come up with a hit phone when its flagship device marks its 10th anniversary next year. Recent rumors have suggested the company plans to release three new iPhone models in 2017, including the rumored high-end OLED model with a screen sized between 5.1 and 5.2 inches and that all three are said to be featuring wireless charging for the first time, along with glass-backed cases.
Earlier this year, noted KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a research note that there is a possibility that the new glass body and curved edge-to-edge OLED display iPhone will have additional biometric sensor technologies and that Cupertino is already working on an iris-scanning solution allowing users to identify themselves and their transactions using only their eyes. Further, there’s also new info suggesting that the phone’s camera app will have new augmented reality technology.
In other words, if these rumors materialize, for its 10th anniversary the new iPhone will look totally different from what’s out there today.
As for who will supply OLED screens to Apple, the report suggested it’s likely that Samsung Display Co., a unit of Samsung Electronics that currently dominates the market for smartphone OLED panels, will be the top supplier, as other display makers such as Sharp Corp, LG Display and Japan Display simply don’t have the capabilities to mass produce the amount of displays needed for a new iPhone launch. Apple is said to be hoping that the above-mentioned suppliers will be able to take market share from Samsung while at the same time ramping up production and have supplies ready for fiscal 2018.
Apple Stock Action
In the past 52 weeks, shares of the iPhone maker have traded between a low of $89.47 and a high of $119.86 with a 50-day moving average (MA) and 200-day MA located at $113.06 and $105.31 levels, respectively.
Apple currently prints a one year loss of 3.18 percent, and a year-to-date return of around 9 percent.
Currently, there are 31 analysts that rate AAPL a ‘Buy’, 5 rate it a ‘Hold’. Two analysts rate it a ‘Sell’.
AAPL has a median Wall Street price target of $133 with a high target of $185.
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