Samsung Display and LG Display Approved for iPhone 16 OLED Panels
TapTechNews June 6th, quoting industry sources, Samsung Display and LG Display have been approved to mass-produce OLED panels for Apple's iPhone 16 series models, which is quite expected.
It is introduced that Samsung Display will supply OLED panels to all four models of the iPhone 16 series, while LG Display will supply OLED panels to the two Pro series models.
Industry sources disclosed that Samsung Display's order volume this year is about 90 million pieces, and LG Display also has nearly 43 million pieces. It is expected that Samsung Display will start mass production in June, and the first batch will be the OLED panels for the regular version of iPhone 16 and the ProMax version, while LG Display will take the lead in producing OLED panels for the iPhone 16 Pro.
Industry people pointed out that with Samsung Display and LG Display successfully winning the iPhone orders again, the two companies are expected to continue to maintain a leading position in the iPhone market and the small and medium-sized OLED market. In addition, since the two Pro series models are equipped with high value-added LTPO low-temperature polycrystalline oxide materials, it is expected to benefit in terms of performance and profit margin.
Naver said that this is also the first time since LG Display became an iPhone OLED panel supplier that it can complete the normal production plan without delay (last year, there was a delay in mass-producing iPhone 15 series OLED panels, so Samsung took on an additional portion, and the company also encountered similar production problems on the iPhone 14 series).
Regarding BOE that everyone is keeping in mind, an industry insider said that BOE did supply OLED panels for the iPhone 15 series, but this batch of panels is for refurbishment, not for mass production. He also mentioned that Apple's choice of BOE as the OLED supplier for another model (iPhone SE4) also seems to have considered the possibility of not supplying it for the iPhone 16 series.
Some analysts believe that this is the impact of the lawsuit that Samsung Display filed against BOE in the United States (TapTechNews note: Samsung Display filed a lawsuit with the US International Trade Commission and courts, claiming that BOE violated its OLED diamond arrangement patents and trade secrets), and Apple is worried that if BOE loses the lawsuit, it will have an impact on the supply chain, so it has not approved BOE to supply OLED panels for the iPhone 16 series. In addition to this, some analysts also believe that BOE is struggling in thin-film transistor (TFT) technology, which is also a reason why Apple has concerns about it.