Apple Inc. is on the verge of ordering OLED displays for the iPhone 12 from Chinese supplier BOE. The Cupertino company is expected to purchase close to 45 million panels in time for the 2021 iPhone. It remains to be seen whether the initial batch will be used for test purposes or will make it to final production.
According to the South Korean media, this order will make BOE Apple’s second-largest OLED panel distributor. Samsung continues to be the largest distributor while LG drops to third place. The recent claims are yet to be officially confirmed. However, it corroborates with BOE’s recent ambitions of becoming an OLED supplier for iPhones.
Supplying OLED panels for Apple is not BOE’s first major break per se, as the company currently manufactures OLED panels for Huawei. Apple, on the other hand, is looking to move beyond depending on a single supplier, and in turn, reduce prices by introducing competition. Apple began working with LG Electronics back in 2018 with a similar vision.
Apple also invested heavily in Japan Display Inc. ramping up efforts to develop OLED panels. JDI was a leading manufacturer of LCD displays but fell short in the race to OLED supremacy. In related news, Apple is believed to use its latest A14 chipset in the iPhone 12. The processor is rumored to commence trial production starting 2020, and proceed to mass production by Q2 2020.
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