Apple used to release one new iPhone each year, but for the past few years the company has been offering at least two models: one with a larger screen and better specs, and a smaller, cheaper model.
Now there are indications that Apple could shake things up again in 2017 by introducing three new iPhones.
Part of the reason? Apple wants to use OLED displays for some models, but there aren’t expected to be enough OLED panels to go around. So some iPhone 8 models will likely have OLED screens, while others will likely use LCD displays.
OLED displays can use less power and offer more vivid colors than some other display technologies, but Bloomberg reports that they’re tougher to make and the biggest producers of OLED displays don’t expect to be able to produce enough of the screens to outfit all of Apple’s net-gen phones.
So Apple is allegedly planning at least three phone models:
- 5.2 inch OLED model
- 4.7 inch LCD model
- 5.5 inch LCD model
It’s possible that the OLED model could have a screen that wraps around the edge of the phone like the display Samsung uses for its Galaxy Edge smartphones (Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge both have OLED displays).
