Chinese display manufacturer BOE will supply 6.1-inch OLED panels for next-generation Apple smartphones. According to the South Korean edition of Business Korea, citing Chinese sources, we are talking about the base iPhone 14, which, along with other new products, should be released in September 2022.

Image Source: BOE

BOE has reportedly signed a contract with Apple to supply 6.1-inch OLEDs for the iPhone 14 worth the equivalent of $7.6 million. Shipments are scheduled to begin in June. It is expected that this should be enough to provide displays for 20-25% of smartphones in the series. Industry experts believe that the contract with BOE was the result of improvements in technology of the latter and Apple’s intention to diversify the supply chain.

BOE panels will be used only in the most budget variants of the series, while Samsung and LG will supply LTPO with OLED panels for the production of older iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. LTPO TFT OLED panels support refresh rates up to 120Hz while consuming relatively little power. Apparently, Apple does not yet believe that BOE is ready to supply solutions of this level.

Recently, BOE has been gaining market share in the small and medium OLED market through large investments in the development of the industry. If BOE starts supplying products for the iPhone 14, the company’s share will increase markedly. According to Omdia, BOE’s market share in the small and medium OLED panel market increased from 5.6% in 2019 to 10.5% in 2021, placing it second only to Samsung Display in terms of shipments in this segment. This year it is planned to supply more than 100 million panels.

However, a number of experts believe that BOE may not be able to meet Apple’s demand in accordance with contractual obligations due to the instability of the supply of microchips required for control panels (DDI). The company gets them from LX Semicon, but there has recently been a shortage of relevant components and the latter is rumored to have pushed BOE in line, giving priority to LG Display.