Apple to unveil a new iPhone equipped with 18:9 AMOLED panel in 2017

In view of fast growing demand for 18:9 all-screen displays from smartphone vendors, panel makers will expand production of such panels in the second half of 2017, according to industry sources.
 
LG's G6 and Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+ launched in first-half 2017 are all-screen smartphones equipped with 18:9 display panels,rather than 16:9 units. They have sparked interest in adopting 18:9 display panels for smartphones, the sources said. Apple is expected to unveil a new iPhone equipped with 5.8-inch 18:9 AMOLED panels in second-half 2017, and China-based vendors including Huawei Technologies, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi Technology, GiONEE and Meizu will also launch high-end all-screen smartphones equipped with 18:9 panels in the period, the sources noted.
 
While Samsung Display has taken the initiative to produce smartphone-use 18:9 panels, Japan Display, BOE Technology, Tianma Micro-electronics, China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT), AU Optronics (AUO), Innolux and HannStar Display will begin producing such panels in second-half 2017, with shipments to peak in the fourth quarter, the sources indicated.
 
Many panel makers will produce 5.99- and 5.7-inch 18:9 panels, respectively corresponding to 5.5- and 5.2-inch 16:9 panels, the sources said.
 
An estimated 150 million all-screen smartphones equipped with 18:9 panels will be shipped globally in 2017 and about 100 million units of which will be shipped by Samsung and Apple, the sources noted.

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