Apple may be rethinking their strategy when it comes to the display tech in future iPhones, according to a South Korean business publication. It’s Tuesday, May 29th, and the site Electronic Times claims that Apple is planning to put OLED displays in all of the new upcoming iPhone models. The news – or the “rumor” at least – immediately sent a ripple through the display industry, with shares of LCD panel maker Japan Display cratering 20 percent as markets opened.
At this point, Apple frenemy and lawsuit dance partner Samsung, along with LG, are the only companies making OLED displays like those used in the iPhone Ten, which, so far, is the only iPhone with the cutting-edge display tech. However, Japan Display recently said they were hoping to start making OLED panels as well.
Why the change from LCD displays? Apple needs to keep its iPhones cutting-edge as the smartphone wars rage on, and the coveted OLED display is one way to do it, despite its higher cost. Apple is rumored to have three new iPhones on the way this year; we’ll just have to wait and see what they look like, most likely in September.
Moving In Stereo
More Apple bits now: Look for that little red dot or “1” to pop up on your System Settings icon on your iPhone and iPad as the latest iOS update, 11.4, is due out today. It’s been out in beta for a while now, but Cupertino has finally finished polishing it up and if you’ve got a HomePod, you might think about getting another one as you can now run them in a stereo configuration with this new iOS version, which includes AirPlay 2.
The Airplay update will also allow multi-room capabilities and will also work with non-Apple audio devices that are expected to hit the market soon, including systems from home audio specialists Sonos. Also new: You can now fiddle with the Calendar app via Siri and have it read out your schedule and make changes via voice command. We have more details here and we’re expecting Apple to announce some of iOS 12’s features at next week’s WWDC event.
Lawsuits and (actual) loot
Some quick gaming bits as we creep up on the big annual E3 video game conference: In the not-really-a-surprise category, the makers of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is suing Epic Games over Fortnite, which is currently all the rage.
According to the Korea Times, PUBG Corp. filed an injunction against Epic back in January, but so far, we don’t know over exactly what. Of course, the two games are very similar in nature and design, so we’re not too surprised to hear lawyers are now getting involved.
If you’re a big fan of the game Star Citizen, they’ve just introduced a new add-on pack that includes, well, pretty much every ship and option in the game. But brace yourself: at $27,000, it’s looks like it’s only for the top one percent of Star Citizens. Check out everything you get for all that cash.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
