Apple discontinues LCD displays: iPhone SE 4 will already be with OLED
By ForGeeks Starting in 2025, Apple will permanently say goodbye to LCD displays on its iPhones. According to a report from Japan’s Nikkei, the use of LCD screens for iPhones will cease with the release of the iPhone SE 4, which is expected in the first half of 2025. This is an important development for Apple, as the company has been using LCDs for years, starting with the first-generation iPhone in 2007 and ending with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in 2017.
Apple has been using LCDs for years.
Farewell to LCD: a new phase for Apple
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The first iPhone with an OLED screen was the iPhone X, which went on sale in 2017 almost six weeks after the iPhone 8 was released. All subsequent flagship models switched to OLED, but the budget version of the iPhone SE remained with an LCD display because it was based on older models. For example, the iPhone SE 3, released in March 2022, was based on the iPhone 8 and therefore used an LCD display.
The iPhone SE 3 was based on the iPhone 8 and therefore used an LCD display.
OLED panels have a number of advantages over LCDs: better viewing angles, higher brightness and contrast. OLED displays don’t require backlighting, which saves battery life by creating black color by turning off pixels. This gives users the opportunity to extend battery life, especially when using dark mode.
New iPhone SE 4 features and the abandonment of the Home button
iPhone SE 4, expected in 2025, will be based on the iPhone 14, which means the abandonment of the Home button, the introduction of Face ID and “bangs”. For the first time, the budget iPhone SE will get an OLED screen, marking the end of new iPhone models with LCD displays. The change will affect Apple’s Japanese suppliers Japan Display and Sharp, which until 10 years ago provided 70% of all iPhone displays.
At the same time, Apple’s Japanese suppliers, Japan Display and Sharp, will be affected.
The shift to OLED and new display suppliers
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OLED displays for the iPhone SE 4 will be supplied by China’s BOE and South Korea’s LG Display (LGD). Among all iPhones, Samsung Display is the leading supplier of OLED panels, accounting for 50% of orders. LG Display holds 30% of the market and BOE holds the remaining 20%. Since Japan Display and Sharp don’t make OLED displays for smartphones, those companies will no longer supply screens for the iPhone.
Since Japan Display and Sharp don’t make OLED displays for smartphones, those companies will no longer supply screens for the iPhone.
Expected iPhone SE 4 specs
With expected Apple Intelligence support, the iPhone SE 4 is likely to get the same A18 processor found in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. AI support requires a minimum of 8GB of RAM, so it’s expected that the iPhone SE 4 will feature 8GB of RAM.
The move away from LCDs and toward OLEDs marks a new phase in the development of budget iPhone models. This change will not only improve the user experience, but also finally cement OLED as the standard for all iPhone models.
