Apple is reportedly pushing back two display technologies it had been weighing for the 20th anniversary iPhone. Color Filter on Encapsulation (COE) and Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide Plus (LTPO+) are not expected to appear in next year’s model.
Electronic Times, a Korean tech publication, cites industry sources for the delay. No revised timeline has been set for either technology, and the phone is still expected to get a four-sided bending display.
Rising Memory Costs and Unfinished Panel Technology Explain the Delay
Industry sources cite two reasons for the delay. Memory prices are already pushing up iPhone manufacturing costs, and new display technology would add further to the bill of materials. Tim Cook said in June that price increases are unavoidable because of the memory shortage.
Apple is also believed to want more performance than current COE and LTPO technology can deliver. The materials and manufacturing processes may not be mature enough yet.
Here is what each technology does.
- COE builds the polarizer into the display panel itself. That improves display efficiency and allows a thinner panel.
- LTPO+ builds on LTPO by replacing the driving transistors with oxide transistors. It reduces the number of excimer laser annealing (ELA) steps in production and improves power efficiency.
The four-sided bending display is the piece that is still expected to go ahead. It curves the panel around all four edges for a near-borderless look. Earlier leaks about the display sizes Apple is testing describe the same curved approach.
Apple used the iPhone’s 10th anniversary in 2017 to launch the iPhone X, which brought the first OLED display on an iPhone, the end of the Home button, and Face ID. The 20th anniversary model is expected to be the biggest redesign since then, as laid out in Apple’s 2027 product roadmap.
Samsung Display and LG Display Have Already Started Spending
Apple had been preparing the technologies with Samsung Display and LG Display, both South Korean panel makers. Both have been adding production capacity and investing in new equipment ahead of adoption.
LG Display has put numbers on that spending. It announced a KRW 1.26 trillion investment package in June 2025, including KRW 700 billion for panel-line upgrades at its Paju facility and KRW 560 billion for module lines in Vietnam. In April 2026, it announced another KRW 1.1 trillion in facility investment and began placing equipment orders.
A delay pushes back the chance for both companies to supply higher-value panels. One industry source said it is unlikely to be welcome news for companies that have already started investing in related equipment.
Our Take
I think most buyers will never see the words COE or LTPO+ on a spec sheet. Both are about thickness and efficiency, and the curved four-sided display is the part people will notice in the store. What could get missed is battery life. LTPO+ was meant to improve power efficiency, and that gain now waits until Apple decides the technology is ready. My guess is Apple chose to hold costs while memory prices stay high, which will make the price of the anniversary iPhone a lot more interesting.
