Beijing-based BOE Technology has long vied with Japanese LCD panel makers for the right to supply displays for Apple’s lower-end smartphones, but this month it may get the opportunity to supply more expensive OLED-type displays for the newest iPhone 13. The Chinese manufacturer claims 40% of the supply, thereby taking a big cut from Samsung’s share.
Chinese BOE will begin supplying Apple iPhone 13 with OLED displays
Nikkei Asian Review reported that in late September, a small amount of BOE brand OLED panels had already been sent to Apple for qualification tests. The final stage of testing is scheduled for this month, it will have to confirm that the BOE displays meet Apple’s requirements for reliability. The Chinese company has already supplied Apple with OLED displays for the iPhone 12, but they were only used to repair used smartphones.
BOE will launch 6.1-inch OLEDs for iPhone 13 at its Sichuan plant, which has been designated as a preferred power utility as part of a new Chinese government policy to reduce its carbon footprint from manufacturing. Even if the production of displays for the iPhone 13 does not suffer from planned power outages, the problem could be a shortage of related components, which will prevent Apple itself from producing enough smartphones. The company is rumored to have already cut its next-generation iPhone production program for this year from 90 million to 80 million.
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BOE will compete with Samsung in delivering OLED displays for the iPhone 13. In the first phase, BOE will claim 20% of the supply; but over time hopes to increase the share to 40%. Until now, BOE has supplied OLED displays primarily to Chinese smartphone manufacturers; but the contract with Apple will take the Chinese company to the next level.
BOE becomes the number 1 supplier of LCD TV panels in 2020, overtaking LG
British analyst firm Omdia has published a report on the state of the market for large LCD panels for 2020. The report covers LCD panels used in TVs and shows that China’s BOE has overtaken LG Display; to become the leader in this segment for the first time.
The data shows that BOE’s share of the large LCD market reached 22.9%, up 2.2 percentage points from 2019. Thanks to this, the Chinese company has surpassed LG Display; which has been the leader in this market for a long time. LG’s share fell to 17.2%, which is 6.7 percentage points less than it was recorded in 2019. The third largest supplier of LCD panels for TVs is Taiwan’s AU Optronics; which delivered 11.9% of large screens in 2020.
Another Chinese company, China Star Optoelectronics; which controls 8.8% of the market, entered the top five leaders in the LCD TV market. It ousted Samsung from fifth place, which occupied it in 2019.
Also, Global LCD TV shipments reached 130 million units in the first half of 2021; up 2.5% year-on-year, according to data from research firm CINNO Research. In addition, the LCD market is likely to hit record shipments again this year; with Chinese manufacturers likely to take a larger share of that market.
