The Elec reports that Apple’s Chinese display supplier ‘BOE’ is converting three of its factories to produce OLED panels for the company. The expansion is predicted to earn BOE larger OLED orders for 2023 iPhone models than LG.
Currently, Samsung and LG are major suppliers of OLED display panels for the iPhone 13 series. BOE passed Apple’s certification in 2020 and was awarded 5% OLED display orders for iPhone 12 and then for iPhone 13.
BOE plans to become the second-largest supplier of OLED panels for Apple
Research CEO Choong Hoon Yi claims that by converting three of its manufacturing units to reach a production capacity similar to Samsung’s, BOE aims to become Apple’s second-largest supplier of OLED displays for iPhone 2023.
BOE’s total flexible OLED panel production capacity will expand from its current 96,000 substrates per month (Gen 6 substrates) to 144,000 substrates per month by the fourth quarter of next year, the CEO said.
This is level with that of Samsung Display’s current capacity of 140,000 substrates per month. LG Display currently has a capacity of 30,000 substrates per month __ it is aiming to expand this to 45,000 substrates per month for flexible OLED panels and 15,000 substrates per month for rigid OLED panels.
As per the report, BOE currently accounts for 10% of OLED panels for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. In 2022, the Cupertino tech giant is expected to ship 240 million units of OLED iPhones and Samsung will take the major share with 150 million units, LG to take70 million units, and BOE to take 50 million units. Therefore, BOE to take over LG in shipments, BOE is preparing now.
BOE was also converting B7, B11 and B12 from their current low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) thin-film transistors (TFT) setup to low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) TFT.
Although the report claims that if BOE takes the lead LG’s “competitiveness in the market could drop”, that might not be the case. Reportedly, LG will provide periscope lenses for 2023 iPhone models which would add another one of its products to the market.
