According to a supply chain report, Apple is concerned The longevity of the iPhone 14 Pro display may be at risk due to moisture and oxygen entering the panel during the production process.
Apple has reportedly asked its display manufacturer Samsung to change parts of its expected production process to reduce risks.
The potential risk is caused by the change from the notch design used in previous generations iPhone to the "Smart Island" hole-cut used in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. (This is not an issue with the base models iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, as they of course have the older notch design.
The new design requires a hole and slot in the OLED screen to accommodate the camera and other technology like the Face ID array. Elec reports that this creates a risk of damaging the display package, allowing moisture and oxygen to enter - This could significantly shorten the lifespan of the screen.
There are two different ways to mitigate this risk, with the report claiming that Samsung originally planned to use laser-based technology, but Apple asked the company to instead use a method similar to inkjet printing to seal the edges of the drilled areas.
For this reason, Samsung displays are known to be on the iPhone 14. After fabricating the film pockets and touch electrodes in the Pro Series OLED, an inkjet device was used to build a dam to differentiate the holes from the rest of the area. Samsung Display could use a laser instead of an inkjet device to perform the process, but Apple is said to prefer the inkjet method.
Conveniently, another Samsung subsidiary, Semez, actually makes Apple's go-to device.
It's important to stress that there is no suggestion in the report that Samsung ever used the riskier method of making displays . Instead, Samsung appears to have only brought up the technology in discussions with Apple, with the Cupertino company specifying a more secure approach before production begins.
rivals Korean company LG also for iPhone 14 Pro Max makes OLED screens but always seemed to plan to use Apple's preferred method.
Additionally, some iPhone 14 users have reported seeing horizontal lines on the screen when waking up or turning on, but Apple says this is an iOS glitch rather than a hardware fault.
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