“Maybe next time!” It’s a wish we express with the launch of every major smartphone: that its flaws will be eradicated by next year’s model. In this regard to date the iPhone 7 is doing very well promising a radical new design and screen size options, but now we have our first “maybe next time” situation…
Famed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who, for the last 18 months, has broken news of every major Apple device ahead of launch (iPad Pro launch, iPhone 6/6 Plus new sizes, iPhone 6S entire specification, etc), says one key part of the iPhone 7 will remain stuck in the past: its display.
In a leaked research note, Kuo states that not only is Apple highly unlikely to finally move its iPhone line to AMOLED with the iPhone 7 in 2016 but not for years after that. In fact Kuo claims 2018 is the earliest we can expect Apple to migrate to a technology rivals have been using now for several years.
iPhone 7 concept – Image credit: Yasser Farahi
Why This Is A Big Deal
Of course a valid response to this might be: “Who cares?” After all, while it is widely accepted that Apple is no longer a class leader in smartphone design (despite kicking off the resolution wars with the ‘Retina Display’ in the iPhone 4 in 2010), its displays are still of high quality with notable brightness and colour accuracy. Furthermore there are some poor quality AMOLED displays out there with exaggerated, almost cartoonish colour accuracy.
Instead the issue is about power efficiency. AMOLED is significantly more power efficient than the LED-backlit IPS LCD panels Apple has been using for years. Combine this with plans for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to be just 6-6.5mm thick, which makes a much bigger battery for that generation unlikely. Plus owners won’t care, but with an increased resolution also on the cards many expected a move to AMOLED to be the enabler.As such some Apple ‘magic’ may juggle a thinner iPhone 7 chassis, increased screen resolution and somehow still get decent battery life, but it’s highly unlikely users are going to experience any improvement in what is arguably the iPhone 6S’ worst feature.
Of course Kuo could be wrong, but he hasn’t been for a long time…
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