Just when you thought we'd reached peak iPhone speculation, the rumor mill pops off and churns out a hot new leak to kickstart the chatter.
The leak is concerned with the handset Apple's dropping in 2018 — and no, that's not a potentially delayed version of the device currently being called the iPhone 8, which is still months away from even being officially revealed.
We're talking iPhone rumors within the standard release cycle for a device slated for fall 2018, which we'll refer to as the iPhone 9 because why not. That next next iPhone could come with massively huge OLED screens, according to a report in the Korean Herald, which was spotted by Mac Rumors.
The rumor comes from supply chain sources claiming to have some insider knowledge of a new agreement between Apple and Samsung. The report claims the iPhone 9 is expected to come in two OLED-screened models, with giant 5.28-inch and 6.46-inch display sizes.
Those screens would dwarf current displays, as the standard iPhone 7 measures at 4.7 inches while the 7 Plus comes in at 5.5 inches. We can't say anything about the iPhone 9's design just yet, but the uptick in display area might come without a significant bump in the phones' casing size as Apple moves to an edge-to-edge design — for instance, the upcoming 8 is rumored to boast a 5.8-inch display in a profile of just over 5 inches.
Samsung signed on to provide the iPhone maker with OLED screens for its handsets, starting with this year's model, but the new deal could potentially more than double the number of units due to Apple to 180 million.
For those of you who aren't satisfied looking just one measly year into Apple's future, no worries: We've already heard a little something about 2019's phones too, from the same sources. That supply chain leak claimed every iPhone will switch to an OLED display by then — and with the Samsung deals and a rumored secret OLED development lab in Taiwan, there's actually more smoke here than some of the less grounded speculations about this year's device.
As always, though, there's no way to know what Apple will do for sure until the company tells us itself, so we'll have to wait until next year, and then the year after, to know if these massive OLED screens will really be coming to our future phones.
Until then, we'll just have to stay occupied with this year's rumors. The "final form" of the iPhone 8 has supposedly come to light — but it's still a long time until September, and there will be plenty of new leaks and rumors along the way.