Google is reportedly in talks with LG to supply its flexible OLED displays, presumably for the company's next smartphone, the sequel to the Pixel, of which a number of rumors have already been assigned to.
Google Wants Flexible OLED Displays From LG
The reported offer is 1 trillion KRW, which is almost $900 million when converted. It is meant to help LG boost production of flexible OLED screens for the smartphones, according to a report by Electronic Times posted on April 9, citing unnamed sources.
The report adds that Google offered the investment to secure a stable production of the displays for its next smartphones, believed to be the sequel to its self-branded pair of flagships, the Pixel and Pixel XL, released in October last year. The deal will not only enable a steady supply of OLED displays for Google, but will also enable LG to reduce capital expenditure. This is especially crucial for Google, since its release of the Pixel flagships last year, which came with OLED displays by Samsung, was mired with problems related to securing the screens.
The Pixel and Pixel XL's screen features a slight 2.5 D curvature on the edges of the protective Gorilla Glass. The flexible panel mentioned here will likely be more in line with the ones found on the recently unveiled Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
While already a steep figure, the report says that it may still balloon as talks progress. LG is said to be reviewing Google's offer at present. To offer some perspective, Google's current offer is enough for LG to establish an additional line to meet the production demands of Google.
Google has yet to offer specific specs for the flexible OLED displays, however.
LG Display supplies OLED screens for the Apple's smartwatches and its own range of smartwatches. It does not have the current capacity to supply OLED displays for smartphones.
LG is building two additional production lines: E5 is poised to produce in the second half of 2017; E6 will start producing sometime in 2018.
But Google is not the only one set to release an upcoming phone with a flexible OLED display: Apple is allegedly also taking a plunge on the OLED trend, having reportedly ordered 70 million OLED display units from Samsung already, which presumably is for the hotly anticipated iPhone 8. Similarly, both the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus have curved OLED displays, and the forthcoming Note 8 will likely sport the same display technology as well.
Rumors For The Next Pixel Phone
Rumors for the next Pixel phone remain scant at present, although several rumors do point to "Walleye" and "Muskie" being the codenames, and that HTC will once again manufacture the handsets, as with the original Pixel. It might also possibly come with 6 GB of RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, and Android 8.0.
Thoughts about the forthcoming Pixel phone? What features do you expect for the Pixel sequel? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
