The upcoming iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be the first Apple smartphones to adopt Samsung's high performance "M14" OLED display panel, claims a new report coming out of South Korea.
According to ETNews, Samsung's "M" series of OLED panels are made for flagship smartphones, while "14" refers to the number of high-performance materials used to produce them. "M14" is the first series of its kind, and the panel is said to have been developed to deliver superior brightness and longevity.
Samsung has reportedly placed orders for the M14 materials and is preparing to mass produce the displays in the second half of the year for Apple's iPhone 16 Pro models. Google's Pixel 9 smartphone is the only other device that is expected to adopt the high-performance displays in 2024.
A previous report out of China claimed that this year's iPhone 16 Pro models will feature up to 1,200 nits of typical SDR brightness – a 20% increase over the current models – so Samsung's new panel could be the reason for the expected improvement. That said, peak HDR brightness is expected to remain at 1,600 nits, the same as the current iPhone 15 Pro Display.
Another rumor last year suggested that all iPhone 16 models will adopt new micro-lens OLED display technology for improved brightness and reduced power consumption, although it's not clear if this is related to M14 panels specifically.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will have larger display sizes than the iPhone 15 Pro models, according to multiple sources. The iPhone 16 Pro will have a display that's 6.27 inches in size (rounded to 6.3), while the iPhone 16 Pro Max is expected to have a display that's 6.85 inches in size (rounded to 6.9).
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 16 series in the fall, or around mid-September going on previous years.