Samsung will be the exclusive supplier of LTPO OLED displays for the "Pro" models in Apple's iPhone 13 lineup later this year, according to TheElec.
Apple's rumored adoption of LTPO display technology would allow it to implement a 120Hz refresh rate on the higher end next-generation iPhones, as today's report notes:
Samsung Display will be the exclusive supplier used by Apple for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels used in the two highest tier models of its next iPhone, TheElec has learned.
Both models of iPhone 13 will use low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistors (TFT) OLED panels made by Samsung Display.
Apple's iPhone 13 will have four models and all of them will use OLED panels. The top two models will use LTPO OLED that can support 120Hz refresh rate.
A previous report pegged both LG and Samsung to supply the technology to Apple for the iPhone 13. According to the latest report, however, LG will focus on increasing its capacity this year in order to start supplying next year, with Apple planning to use LTPO OLED displays for "all its iPhone models" in 2022.
Other reports have suggested the technology will be coming to at least two iPhone models in 2021, while display analyst Ross Young expects the "most important development" on the iPhone 13 Pro models to be the adoption of 120Hz-capable ProMotion displays with variable refresh rates, something that has only appeared on the iPad Pro so far.
Multiple rumors ahead of the launch of the iPhone 12 lineup suggested the high-end iPhone 12 Pro models could feature 120Hz ProMotion displays, but later in the rumor cycle, it became clear that this feature was delayed until 2021 due to battery life concerns.
Using LTPO technology would allow Apple to deliver a much more power-efficient backplane, which is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off on the display. Depending on how Apple decides to take things, the technology could pave the way for longer battery life or always-on display elements.
Apple Watch Series 5 and Series 6 models already use LTPO displays, which enables them to have the same up-to-18-hour battery life as earlier Apple Watch models despite having an always-on display.
