Apple Expects To Sell More IPhones With LCD Screens Than Pricey OLED Models

(RTTNews) - Apple Inc. (AAPL) is developing production plans for its next iPhones that stress cheaper liquid-crystal displays, in a sign of consumers' sensitivity to the price of smartphones, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Apple expects LCD models to make up the majority of iPhone sales in its lineup to be released this fall, a greater proportion than analysts had anticipated, and plans to use the displays next year as well, the report said citing people familiar with the plan.

The production planning suggests the transition to a newer type of screen called organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, is likely to be slower than many in the industry believed a year ago, when the iPhone maker was preparing its first OLED smartphone. Analysts reportedly said demand was weaker than their initial forecasts for that phone, the iPhone X, due mainly to its price tag, which starts at $999.

The OLED displays used in iPhones cost about $100 while the LCDs in iPhones cost about $40, estimates analyst Hiroshi Hayase at research firm IHS Markit.