Apple's New 2018 iPhone Line-up May Consist of Two Phones With LCD Displays and One Larger OLED Model, Claims Analyst

Apple could release just one new OLED-based iPhone alongside two new iPhone models with LCD displays this year, according to a new report today. Previous reports have gravitated towards the view that Apple will launch two new 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch OLED iPhone models and only one 6.1-inch model with an LCD display.

However, Digitimes Research senior analyst Luke Lin believes Apple is increasingly leaning towards releasing two LCD-based models – one between 5.7-inch and 5.8-inches, and another between 6.0-inches and 6.1-inches. Lin also claims the 6.1-inch OLED device Apple is testing is falling out of favor, and the company sees more of a future in a larger 6.4- to 6.5-inch OLED model it is also testing.

iphone x vs 8 compare

Apple originally intended to push the two OLED iPhones and the 6.0- to 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, but has recently started leaning toward the combination of the two LCD models plus the 6.4- to 6.5-inch OLED iPhone, abandoning the 6.0- to 6.1-inch OLED model.

Such a line-up would be similar to the iPhone range Apple launched last year: Two LCD-based devices in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and the OLED-based iPhone X. Lin believes the four iPhone projects Apple is working on all support wireless charging and 3D sensing functionalities. However, Lin believes Apple has not yet made a final decision on the combination, so the 2x OLED/ 1x LCD iPhone line-up predicted by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo could still play out.

Taiwan-based website DigiTimes has a mixed track record at reporting on Apple's upcoming product plans, but its sources within the upstream supply chain have proven reliable in the past. However, its in-house research arm remains an unknown quantity, so we remain guarded on the accuracy of this prediction going forward.

Earlier this week, Taiwan's Commercial Times added to the speculation by claiming Apple's rumored 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will use Japan Display's so-called "Full Active" LCD technology, enabling it to have a taller display and ultra-slim 0.5mm bezels on all four sides, making them smaller than those on the iPhone X.

Also today, Digitimes analyst Lin claimed Apple is working on a new entry-level smartphone model similar to the iPhone SE that will support wireless charging and be ready for launch in May or June.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...

Top Rated Comments

christarp Avatar
97 months ago
Kind of wish they'd stop pulling the whole this size is slightly different in some areas.

Wish they'd just release 3 sizes of phones, with the same feature set and keep it simple. Instead you're thinking "hmm, well if I get the 4.7" model iPhone 8, I don't get the best camera, but if I get the iPhone 8 Plus, then I do, but not as great as the iPhone X"

I realize it's not practical, but apple is the king of making the impractical, practical.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Someyoungguy Avatar
97 months ago
OK, we've covered 1 LCD, 2 OLED and now 1 OLED, 2 LCD. So we just need a couple more geniuses to predict 3 LCD, and 3 OLED.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
97 months ago
So some phones will be released, with some sizes and some screens.

That's what we know.....
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
walnuts Avatar
97 months ago
I don’t buy a lot of this:


* There’s got to be a direct upgrade from current iPhone X to next gen iPhone X
* Just like the wild rumors of last summer about last minute changes to the iPhone lineup that ended up untrue, I believe the designs for iPhones for this fall were locked in last fall. The only way this is true is if it is old info from a few months ago.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5105973 Avatar
97 months ago
After the visual and migraine difficulties I and some other MR forum members had with OLED on the X, I welcome any rumors that indicate Apple is not done with the very excellent LCD displays they’ve perfected in the last couple of generation of iPhones and iPads. (Well, as close to perfection as these things can get, anyway).

I know there are key advantages to OLED, and that for many people here it’s “OLED or bust”, but it is difficult for Samsung and other makers to get consistent quality yield. Those of us who have owned or seen several samples of the same model of Samsung phones or iPhone X, or even phones with LG OLED displays, have noted marked disparity among different samples in the following characteristics: brightness, color temperature, evenness of luminosity and hue across the display, and degree of off axis color shift.

There is a huge “display quality lottery” out there that a lot of people have yet to realize until they put their phone next to someone else’s. I think at this point it’s more pronounced than what we’ve seen in the variances among LCD displays. In the last couple of generations of iPhones there has been better consistency across samples.

And I don’t know about everyone else’s experiences, but for me, True Tone on the OLED is not a thing of beauty on all iPhone X’s.

It was an atrocious salmon pink on the one I returned. It was nice and worked well on my husband’s. Yet overall, my X had the brighter band more attractive display as long as True Tone was turned off.

I doubt the source of these rumors. But IF Apple is still committing resources to LCD, I would not blame them in the least nor think they are behind the times. The bleeding edge isn’t a comfortable place to be, yet.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoeInMilwaukee Avatar
97 months ago
LCD display = liquid crystal display display = redundant
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)