New iPhone could make OLED affordable for all

That edge to edge screen is set to get top quality panels across the range

iPhone XS

A new iPhone looks set to roll up with OLED screens across the entire range – yup, even in the budget friendly iPhone XR equivalent.

According to a new report shared by the Wall Street Journal, Apple plans to ditch its current LCD displays in favour of OLED across all its smartphones. The catch? It has set a date for this OLED overhaul – 2020.

So it looks like the iPhone 11 may still feature a budget version with an LCD screen. As such that would suggest at least that model won't have a major change in shape, as OLED would allow. That's not to say the iPhone 11 won't yet get a new design overhaul. 

That said, if Apple plans to move to OLED in 2020, for the iPhone 12, it will also likely make that the year when it goes for a complete design overhaul. So perhaps waiting another year for an upgrade could be a good plan for those that feel their current phone can hold out until September 2020.

As the competition is set to introduce foldable phones and 5G phones this year, Apple will need to work hard to compete. Perhaps it will stick to its classic Apple style and wait a little while before releasing its version of the Android innovations, claiming it does it in a better way. 

Luke Edwards

Luke is a former freelance writer for T3 with over two decades of experience covering tech, science and health. Among many others Luke wrote about health tech, software and apps, VPNs, TV, audio, smart home, antivirus, broadband, smartphones, cars and plenty more. In his free time, Luke used to climb mountains, swim outside and contort his body into silly positions while breathing as calmly as possible.