There is a lot resting on the launch of Apple's iPhone 8 this September. Not only will the launch coincide with the 10th anniversary of the iPhone — it will come at a time when Google has dethroned Apple as the world's most valuable brand.
Google just ended Apple's five-year reign as the latter reaches what many experts call a "brand saturation point."
The company is expected to fully revamp the design of the iPhone to spark and renew interest over the brand. This can be difficult to achieve given that Apple faces stiff competition from major Android manufacturers such as Samsung, Google, and Huawei.
Ewan Spence, a tech contributor for Forbes, makes a good point when he says that the phone parts that Apple uses to build its iPhones "can be found 'off the shelf' in the supply chains." Parts such as memory chips and camera hardware are pretty much common, making it harder for phone manufacturers to actually stand out from the competition.
And although Apple has an edge when it comes to processors because the company manufactures its own chipset, these will be manufactured in the same factories that will handle the processor orders of its rival manufacturers.
Apple To Share OLED Feature With Other Flagships
One of the things that Apple is focusing on is the iPhone 8's screen display. Apple is expected to redesign the iPhone by giving it a glass chassis and by shifting from LCD to OLED technology. What makes OLED such a standout is its pixels, which have the ability to emit their own light. There is no need for a backlight, making a smartphone unit more energy-efficient. OLED also delivers better color accuracy and image contrast, and improved peak brightness.
Due to large demand, Apple will need to use one of the existing OLED screen suppliers to fulfill its orders. DisplayMate's display expert Raymond Soneira says that it is highly likely that Samsung Display will be the one tapped to mass-produce the OLED screens that Apple, Samsung, and Google will be using in their flagships this year. As a result, Apple's screen technology will be very much familiar to its rivals. Add to that is the fact that Samsung will be launching earlier than Apple, and will have a 5-month lead time.
Both the iPhone 8 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to have a curved OLED display, while the Pixel 2 will probably have a flat one similar to its predecessor. Since Samsung already used OLED in its 2016 flagships, and one of its subsidiaries could possibly supply Apple with its OLED screens, it definitely has the advantage over the iPhone when it comes to screen display.
