20th anniversary iPhone won’t get improved CoE OLED display

New research claims that Apple will add a significantly improved OLED display to the iPhone, but some years later than previously expected.

The improved technology is called Color Filter on Encapsulation (CoE) OLED, and key to it is that it is OLED without a polarizing layer. That layer prevents blurring on screen, but there are significant benefits if it can be dispensed with.

Apple had previously been reported to be planning to use this screen technology in its 20th anniversary iPhone, due in September 2027. However, according to UBI Research, Apple will not use CoE until its Pro model iPhones in late 2029.

That’s despite the same research claiming that Samsung has been using a version of CoE in its Galaxy Z Fold3 in 2021. UBI Research does not question why Apple would choose to wait eight years to use the technology.

However, in its coverage of the delay, ET News presents reasons for why Apple continues not to use CoE. It argues that up to now, Apple has not regarded the technology as being mature enough to use at scale.

While it appears that Apple does now regard it as useful, and was planning to add it to the iPhone 20 Pro, there is now another reason to delay. Reportedly, Apple has concluded that it would further add to the cost of the iPhone at a time when prices have already had to rise.

UBI Research does claim that the iPhone Duo was at least expected to use CoE, but no teardowns have yet confirmed whether it has.

Benefits of CoE

It is practically certain that Apple will want to move to CoE OLED displays as soon as it is practical, because there are multiple benefits from quality to cost.

Removing any layer means that the screen display will be thinner and also easier to manufacture, for instance. Then if the polarizing layer is removed, the light from the OLED would take less power to produce a brighter display.

That’s clearly a significant improvement on everything from daily use to the demands on the battery. But it requires manufacturers Samsung and LG Display to produce ways of removing blur without a polarizing layer.

These reports follow a recent leak that re-affirmed most previous claims regarding the displays on the iPhone 20 Pro and iPhone 20 Pro Max. So far such reports have concerned the display size and resolution, though, with no reference to CoE.