Galaxy flagships may need major display upgrade to compete with Apple

Last year, Apple launched the brand’s latest flagship tablets, the iPad Pro 11 and the iPad Pro 13. These are the first devices on the market with tandem OLED displays, which have two layers of OLED for higher brightness and lower power consumption. Well, the Cupertino-based tech giant is planning to offer this technology with iPhones as well. While this move may benefit Samsung Display, as it may supply those panels to Apple, it may hurt Samsung’s Galaxy phones as iPhones may get ahead in the display game.

According to The Elec, Apple is planning to equip iPhones with tandem OLED display. Reportedly, the first lineup with these screens may arrive in 2028, which means the iPhone 20 series may be the first to offer tandem OLED panels. The publication says that Apple is planning to use a more simplified tandem OLED display technology for iPhones than the ones it used with iPad Pro models. One of the ways it is planning to do that is by utilising two OLED layers where the first one has green and red sub-pixels and the second has blue sub-pixels.

The South Korean media outlet says that LG has approached Apple with a simplified solution. However, the Cupertino-based tech giant is also in talks with Samsung Display for it. Considering that Samsung Display is the number one brand in the OLED space and that Apple has been sourcing displays from it for a very long time now, it is possible that Apple may source tandem OLED displays for iPhones too from Samsung.

If that happens, Samsung Display will benefit vastly. However, it will also put iPhones ahead of Galaxy S and Galaxy Z series devices, if Samsung doesn’t equip them with tandem OLED panels by 2028. That being said, Galaxy smartphones have always been ahead of iPhones in terms of using the latest display technology. Considering that, we assume Samsung may also equip Galaxy phones with tandem OLED or better displays by then.