Samsung Said to Supply OLED Panels for the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar

Apple is preparing the switch to OLED displays not just with the iPhone, as earlier rumours had already suggested, but with the MacBook line of computers, as well. Although the sources couldn’t specify which next-generation MacBook will feature an OLED display, Apple has already prepared the jump by utilizing OLED panels in the new MacBook’s Touch Bar, reports ET News.

Touch bar

An industry source speaking with the South Korean news outlet said that the touch strip installed in this year’s MacBook Pros are coming from Samsung Display’s A2 line and that the Driver IC was supplied by Samsung Electronics’s System LSI Business Department.

Apple has been using OLED displays due to their clear picture quality, low power consumption, fast response, and thickness: “Due to the OLED panel’s structure, its thickness is three times thinner than LCD panel that has a BLU [back-light unit)”, an industry representative told ET News.

But this is just the beginning: Apple is looking to incorporate OLED panels into its laptops, according to another source.

Apple has been rumoured to be switching to OLED displays with the next-generation iPhone dubbed as the iPhone 8. Industry representatives say OLED panels will become popular when the new iPhones appear on the smartphone market. The trend will get another boost when the new MacBooks with OLED displays launch, which will obviously mean a restructuring in Apple’s supply chain and affect display manufacturers. LG Display is seen as mostly affected by the change if it doesn’t establish a mass-production system for small and medium-sized OLED panels.

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