Apple has asked its display panel suppliers Samsung Display and LG Display to develop zero-bezel OLED panels, TheElec has learned.
While most premium smartphones in the market right now offer screens with very thin bezels, completely removing them is no easy task.
The bezel area of the screen houses components such as the antenna and the protective encapsulation on the screen also makes it very difficult to make screens with absolutely no bezel.
The project will take years as Samsung Display and LG Display will need to bend the circuits under the bezel area. They will also need to secure enough area for the antenna that can function without interruption.
The encapsulation will need to become even thinner while the under panel camera area must also blend perfectly with the rest of the screen for the perfect visual effect.
But Cupertino ultimately wants a zero-bezel OLED panel to be housed on its iconic iPhone design, where the sides are completely angular next to the screen, sources said.
Apple, meanwhile, doesn’t want the curved display design adopted by Samsung for its Galaxy S series, they said.
The iPhone maker is against the optical shining effect that curved sides on the screen cause. Curved displays can also be vulnerable to external shocks.
Apple wants the inorganic and organic layers of the encapsulation to become thinner.
This makes the encapsulation, which is there to protect the screen from water and oxygen, vulnerable, and harder to put touch sensors in it as well.
