So we haven’t even seen this year’s iPhone and already tech geeks are talking about Apple’s next year release. I can’t even keep up!

The first secret has been let out the bag by Applied Materials, a company planning to build organic light-emitting diode (OLED) for the iPhone that will launch next year.

Bloomberg spoke to Applied Materials’ CEO Gary Dickerson who, while not mentioning the company by name, said that a company who “we all know who is the leader in terms of mobile products” has put in a massive order for OLED screens.

The move to OLED next year is an important one for Apple. The company has, since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, only delivered LCD displays. Meanwhile, some of its competitors, including Samsung, have offered OLEDs in their recent top-end devices, including the Galaxy S7.

OLEDs deliver significant value over LCDs. For one, the technology allows screens to be thinner and present color more accurately. Additionally, because they’re bendable, it would also be possible for Apple to deliver a curved screen.

However, OLEDs are relatively new technology and don’t have the same manufacturing reliability as the established LCD. For that reason, Apple, which sells tens of millions of iPhones each quarter, hasn’t been able to find enough suppliers to accommodate what would be a massive order for OLEDs.

As time has gone on, however, OLEDs have become easier to build, allowing Apple to now explore the technology. If the latest reports are true, it’ll be possible for manufacturers to handle its demand by next year.

While the screen update may be a real thing, the rest of what next year’s iPhone will look like is left up to predictions by analysts, like Barclays Mark Moskowitz:

The “mega cycle” upgrade could increase iPhone sales by 10.3 percent, according to the analyst, adding that in addition to wireless charging the iPhone 8 could pack an OLED display, a completely altered form factor, and no home button. Previous reports have suggested Apple is working with suppliers to begin manufacturing OLED panels in 2017 for its iPhone lineup, as well as develop an in-house single-chip solution to integrate its touchscreen and display drivers, allowing for a Touch ID-enabled screen and negating the need for a separate home button.

Right, can we just get iPhone 7 out first?

[source: fortune&time&macrumors]