It has already been reported that Samsung will produce flexible OLED displays sometime in late 2012. However, there have been rumors floating around that Apple might be one of Samsung’s clients for the flexible display technology, which could be used for the iPhone 5. Kwon Oh-hyun, Vice Chairman of Samsung, recently stated that mass production of the flexible displays will start in the second half of 2012 and there is significant demand from clients.
Samsung hesitant in naming clients
While Kwon did not directly mention Apple while talking about demands from the clients, the secrecy behind naming the clients is taken as an indication that Apple might be one of them. Korea Times also quoted a US analyst (who was not named), stating that Apple has always been the trend setter in the smartphone industry. If Samsung has something as innovative as the flexible display, it is more than possible that Apple would implement it in its future iPhones. In fact, Korea Times also reported that some sources are calling the next iPhone as ‘iPhone Yoga’.
Too early for the concept of flexible displays
The idea of a flexible iPhone indeed sounds appealing, but most of the experts think that it might be a bit too early to expect such changes in the next iPhone. The next iPhone – which will be the 6th generation of iPhones – is being referred to as iPhone 5. Realistically speaking, the major upgrades can be expected for the processor, display, memory, camera and the software of this phone. If you talk about the long-term changes, then you can expect Apple to move away from the traditional design which has become so popular. But for the immediate future, the design is likely to remain the same.
OLED flexible displays have gathered a lot of attention, but September 2012 (expected launch date for iPhone 5) is not very far. This leaves Apple with very little time for to incorporate the new technology in its phone. In fact, there are more chances of Apple going for the in-cell technology than the flexible display. The reason here is that the in-cell display will help in reducing the phone thickness and the display quality. The flexible display may sound good, but does not offer any such benefit.
Features that would certainly get an upgrade
The processor of the next iPhone will most certainly be an upgraded version of the existing A5. It is expected that Apple will announce the new OS, iOS 6, at the WWDC in June. As far as the applications are concerned, it would be difficult to replicate something as powerful as Siri. But you might get Siri 2.0 which would be more accurate and capable of performing better functions.
The only major change in design was with the iPhone 4, which had flat edges instead of rounded ones in 3GS. There is a reason why Apple changes design and the outlook for its products so rarely. First reason being that customers like the form factor, and the second one being that it’s a lot cheaper to manufacture old designs. The new iPhone will definitely have something great to offer to the customers. But, as of now we can only guess what it would be.
