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Apple to Target the Mid-Level Smartphone Market with an LCD Display
December 03, 2017

Reports that Apple will continue to use LCDs in a lower priced 6.1” iPhone in 2018 have been rampant. Consideration is being given to how to keep the cost down. Using a rigid display instead of a flexible one could take US$60 to US$70 out of the costs. The current iPhone X has a stainless steel frame while the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus use aluminum frames. Stainless steel is more expensive than aluminum, so next year's LCD iPhone is likely to continue to use an aluminum frame while the OLED models will use stainless steel. Apple is likely to use a less advanced rear-facing camera module in the next LCD iPhone compared to the ones that Apple will use in the OLED models. The OLED iPhones will include dual-lens cameras, each with new sensors, new optics, as well as optical stabilization. The LCD iPhone will continue to use a dual-lens rear-camera setup to stay competitive with other similarly priced Android-based smartphones, but don't expect Apple to use the same optics or even the same camera sensors in the LCD iPhone as it does in the OLED iPhone models. It is quite likely that Apple will carry over the same camera sensors and optics from the iPhone 8 Plus for the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone. The less advanced sensors and optics should allow Apple to shave off some additional costs compared to the 5.85-inch OLED iPhone that'll launch alongside it. Apple could also carry over the same TrueDepth camera that's used in this year's iPhone X and use it in the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone. The OLED models could get upgraded cameras with superior specs and capabilities. Apple could make the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone cheaper than the OLED models by using less DRAM, for example 3 GB of DRAM in the LCD iPhone vs. up to 6 GB for the OLED version. Given that DRAM prices continue to be sky-high thanks to a tight industry wide supply-demand situation, this seems like a reasonable place for Apple to cut costs. Apple could furnish the LCD iPhone with an older A11 Bionic processor -- the very same one that powers the current iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X -- rather than with the next-generation A12 chip. The A11 Bionic will almost certainly be cheaper to produce than the A12 (since the former will have been in mass production for a year and on a more mature chip-manufacturing technology), and I think the A11 Bionic is so fast that it would easily deliver a great user experience in the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone.