Chinese display manufacturer, BOE, has been doing quite well in the OLED market. However, the company is still struggling to fully enter into Apple’s supply chain. According to recent reports, BOE will supply OLED displays for refurbishing the iPhone 12. Furthermore, Apple is currently considering BOE’s application to supply displays for the iPhone 13. Analysts believes that BOE will supply 15 million OLED panels for Apple’s iPhone this year. This will account for about 10% of the total OLED panels required by the iPhone. With this figure, BOE will remain Apple’s third-largest display supplier after Samsung and LG.
The OLED screen required for iPhone 13 is mainly produced at BOE’s B11 production line in Mianyang, Sichuan. Apple’s approval will be issued as soon as the end of this month. According to statistics, in the first half of the year, BOE supplied 6 million iPhone 12 OLED panels, and this number is expected to reach 10 million before the end of October. As for the iPhone 13, BOE expects to supply up to 2 million yuan (about $313,000)worth of display this year. However, analysts are optimistic that this number may be as high as 5 million yuan (about $783,000).
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In addition, JD.com supplies Apple with 6.06 (6.1-inch) OLED screens for the standard iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. Since BOE has not yet mass-produced LTPO, it will not be able to set foot in the higher-end Pro product line this year and next.
BOE still has some work to do
According to reports from China, BOE is already testing LPTO panels. However, it appears that the company has a lot of trouble with this technology. Therefore, whether BOE will eventually be certified to supply the iPhone 13 Pro series is still unknown. However, on conventional OLED panels, its screen display effect has made great progress. Thus, it will not be a surprise that the Chinese manufacturer supplies panels for the iPhone 12 Pro.
BOE is about to commercialize its self-developed hexagonal crystal screen arrangement technology. This pixel arrangement technology is similar to the diamond arrangement technology of LG and Samsung. It can reduce the loss of OLED panel PPI (pixel density) and obtain a better display effect. This diamond array is significant because LG and Samsung have a monopoly on this technology. The first smartphone to use BOE’s hexagonal crystal screen arrangement technology is the Huawei P50 Pro+. If the Chinese manufacturer hopes to fully enter Apple’s supply chain, no doubt, it has to significantly improve its game.
