Samsung Display may be the sole screen supplier for iPhone Duo — Korea Herald
South Korea may play a key role in supplying components for the foldable iPhone Duo. Samsung Display may be the sole supplier of foldable OLED displays for the device, which Apple unveiled with a starting price of $1,999. As Korea Herald reports, the display is the component that enables the smartphone's foldable form factor, and finding an equivalent replacement for the manufacturer outside Korea is not easy.
iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch external display and a 7.6-inch internal foldable OLED screen. A source from the display industry told the publication that Samsung Display manufactures panels to Apple's specifications, while the U.S. company designs the other parts of the device around this screen.
Experience in foldable OLED
Samsung Display has been mass-producing foldable OLED panels for several years. Samsung Electronics released the first Galaxy Fold in 2019. Since then, the display maker has worked on characteristics important for such screens, including crease visibility, durability, and production stability.
The Elec previously reported that Apple agreed to purchase foldable OLED panels exclusively from Samsung Display for up to three years. Linda Sui, founder and chief analyst at Smart Analytics Global, noted that other companies can also produce high-quality foldable OLED displays. However, meeting Apple's requirements for quality, production volumes, supply stability, and yield for millions of devices is considerably more difficult.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Memory costs
Apple's dependence on South Korean suppliers is not limited to displays. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are major manufacturers of DRAM and NAND memory alongside U.S. company Micron. Against the backdrop of rising memory prices, this increases smartphone makers' costs.
According to Counterpoint Research estimates, the estimated cost of components for the 1TB iPhone 18 Pro Max will rise by nearly $300 compared with the previous model, with memory being the biggest factor. At the same time, there is not yet an analysis or teardown of iPhone Duo showing the share of components from Korean suppliers in its cost.
At the presentation, Apple emphasized that iPhone Duo combines the largest display among iPhones, a thin design, camera features for two screens, Split View multitasking, and all-day battery life. At the same time, the device uses Touch ID instead of Face ID and has two rear cameras, while Pro lineup models are equipped with three cameras.
