Although the new iPhone 16 line of smartphones is expected to be presented in the coming days, many buyers with a limited budget are waiting for the «affordable» iPhone SE 4 model to appear. According to rumors, this device will finally ditch the outdated body and switch to an updated, more modern design that better matches Apple’s flagship models.
It is also reported that this will be the first SE model to use an OLED panel. Ditching the LCD display will allow for brighter colors, true black levels, and better contrast. However, the budget smartphone is still expected to offer the same 60Hz refresh rate. The fact is that Apple has reserved its ProMotion technology with a frequency of up to 120 Hz for its high-end iPhones and iPads.
After the iPhone SE 4 switches to OLED in early 2025, no future iPhone will ever have an LCD panel again. This will hurt Japan Display and Sharp, as they have been suppliers of LCD displays to Apple. Neither of them produces OLED panels for phones (JDI supplies small OLED displays for the Apple Watch). They will be completely replaced by BOE and LG Display, which currently produce OLED screens for iPhones.
Although some Android smartphones, such as the Galaxy S, have offered OLED displays since 2010, Apple did not use such panels until the iPhone X debuted in 2017. This was around the same time that Android phone OEMs began to use OLEDs on a massive scale.
According to rumors, the base models of the iPhone 17 will use a 120Hz display refresh rate. However, it is not yet clear when Apple will extend the availability of high refresh rates to the «budget» iPhone SE line.
Source: androidauthority