Friday April 24, 2026 3:34 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
For its 20th-anniversary iPhone, Apple is tapping Samsung to produce a custom micro-curved OLED display that is brighter and thinner than existing panels, according to new supply chain information out of China.
Apple is reportedly considering a radical redesign for the 20th-anniversary iPhone that could feature a completely bezel-less display that curves around all four edges of the device.
To that end, Apple is said to be seeking from Samsung an equal-depth quad-curved panel design that uses "micro-curves" to keep the curve very shallow, as opposed to the aggressively curved "waterfall" edges of some existing Samsung panels.
Apple's preference for slightly rounded edges may ensure that the device feels softer in the hand and that swipes from the edge of the display feel more natural. It could also prevent distortion of on-screen content around the edges.
The latest supply chain information comes from Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station, who also says that Apple wants a "pol-less" display from Samsung – in other words, a panel design that removes the polarizer layer that sits on top of most current OLED screens.
That claim lines up with a September 2025 report out of Korea that said Apple will adopt a Samsung-made OLED technology called COE (Color Filter on Encapsulation) to make the 20th-anniversary iPhone's display brighter and thinner than previous panels.
COE displays remove the polarizing film from an OLED panel, applying the color filter directly onto the encapsulation layer of the display.
The technique reduces the thickness of the overall display stack, and it lets more light through to improve brightness while reducing power draw. Reflections are harder to deal with when there's no polarizing film, but in its latest iPhones, Apple added a new anti-reflective coating that is expected to be improved for future versions of the iPhone.
Apple is also said to be employing a crater-shaped light diffusion layer in the display to even out the brightness so that the screen looks uniformly lit across all areas.
2027 will mark the 20th-anniversary of the iPhone, and Apple reportedly wants to create a high-end all-glass model that doesn't have cutouts in the display.
Display analyst Ross Young said that Apple won't have under-display Face ID ready to go for a 2027 iPhone, but other leakers think it's possible. If Apple can't get everything under the display, we may see under-display Face ID and then a small hole-punch cutout on the front for the front-facing camera.
The latest rumors suggest that Apple is still testing an under-display iPhone camera for 2027, so it remains a possibility.
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