OLED

AlwaysOnMusic: An always-on display for iPhones when music is playing

Anthony Bouchard ∙ September 22, 2021

Apple didn’t introduce always-on display (AOD) functionality with its iPhone 13 lineup this year as many had expected them to do. Fortunately, one advantage to jailbreaking these days is that you can enjoy an always-on display experience on your current iPhone without waiting for Apple to get their bleep together.

In fact, a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed AlwaysOnMusic by iOS developer Jez takes a new and rather exciting approach to always-on display functionality for anyone who enjoys using their iPhone for music consumption.

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ShortLook jailbreak tweak goes free ahead of planned Dynastic Repo shutdown

Anthony Bouchard ∙ September 6, 2021

Just under a week ago, the Dynastic Repo repository announced a planned shutdown that would occur sometime next year. Dynastic Repo also noted that it would roll out an archival program that would continue hosting existing tweaks and let users download those tweaks that are already hosted there. Free tweaks would be enrolled in the archival program automatically, while paid tweaks would either need to opt-in to it or move to another repository altogether.

The announcement also included an excerpt pertaining specifically to the popular paid ShortLook jailbreak tweak, which was created by several developers associated with Dynastic Repo including Ayden Panhuyzen, Jamie Bishop, and José Hernandez. Given the upcoming archival program, those developers decided that ShortLook would be made free inline with the upcoming changes. Interestingly enough, however, ShortLook went free much sooner than expected…

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Some iPad models may add OLED displays beginning in 2022

Evan Selleck ∙ May 31, 2021

Before Apple officially made the switch to a mini-LED display in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, there was a bit of a back-and-forth going on in the rumors department. Some stories said Apple would make the leap to OLED. Others pointed to mini-LED.

And now we know that Apple chose the latter, going with that display technology for its largest and most powerful tablet this year. However, there is still an expectation that Apple's simply biding its time, still planning to adopt an OLED display in at least one iPad model in the near future. Indeed, many believe that switch will happen in 2022.

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Apple may need to compensate Samsung for unfulfilled iPhone OLED orders—again!

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 23, 2021

Apple could be on the hook for missing contractual purchasing obligations concerning OLED panels for iPhones due to lower-than-expected sales of the iPhone 12 mini.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

Apple couldn’t fulfill previously-contracted OLED orders. This is blamed on sluggish iPhone 12 mini sales. Another proof that folks want larger phones.

Apple could pay a penalty to Samsung

A report from The Korea Herald hints that Apple may be unable to fulfill its previously agreed-upon purchasing order volume for Samsung-built OLED panels. The report suggests that no middle ground could be found between Apple and its chief OLED supplier, suggesting the iPhone maker would need to compensate Samsung's display-making arm.

Samsung Display’s worldwide small OLED shipments in January dropped nine percent month-to-month to 45 million units, according to market researcher Omdia, which added that the decline is apparently prompted by sluggish sales of Apple’s iPhone 12 mini.

Recent reports claim Apple slashed its planned iPhone production targets for the first half of 2021 by twenty percent, with poor iPhone 12 mini responsible for the majority of the cuts.

Industry observers are now predicting that Apple may once again have to pay Samsung a hefty penalty for not meeting the minimum order quantity.

Samsung Display is the sole supplier of 5.4-inch OLED panels for the iPhone 12 mini.

Apple has ordered a certain number of 5.4-inch OLED panels for the iPhone 12 mini. It's no secret that the iPhone 12 mini hasn't met Apple's internal expectations in terms of sales, thereby prompting the company to order fewer OLED panels for the device from Samsung.

And as a result of that, Apple may now need to compensate its rival.

It wouldn't be the first time

This is hardly the first time the Cupertino tech giant has been punished financially for missing its previously-established component purchase targets.

Back in 2019, Samsung was paid a cool $638 million by Apple to compensate the Galaxy maker for lower-than-contracted orders for the iPhone's OLED panels. The following year, the Cupertino firm reportedly paid Samsung Display a whopping $950 million for failing to meet its OLED panel purchase targets. As Apple is a just-in-time operation, it's crucial that its leadership correctly estimates demand in order to avoid being punished by its suppliers like that.

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OLED panels are notoriously difficult and expensive to produce in mass quantity. That's why OLED panel suppliers, of which Samsung Display is definitely the leader, define strict purchase order guarantees in their multi-year agreements with clients like Apple. It's no surprise that those agreements typically include clauses covering penalties for any unfulfilled orders.

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Make Spotify’s Now Playing interface more OLED-friendly with Blackout

Anthony Bouchard ∙ October 9, 2020

The Spotify Music app is one of the best alternatives to Apple Music in terms of online music streaming for the iPhone or iPad, and while the application itself already sports a somewhat ‘dark’ aesthetic, there are certainly some areas where it could do with improvement for those who like using dark mode or who use an OLED display-equipped handset.

Blackout is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer atebitsy that brings improved dark mode and OLED display support to the Spotify Music app, and it does so by providing users with an always-blacked out Now Playing interface background, as depicted by the before and after screenshot examples above.

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