Apple is trying hard to diversify its display suppliers. For now, the company has Samsung as its major supplier with LG and BOE as minor suppliers. However, Apple wants the likes of BOE to get more orders so as to reduce its dependence on Samsung. According to recent reports, BOE will continue to supply Apple with 6.1 (6.06) inch OLED panels this year. This panel will be for the standard model of the iPhone 14 series i.e. iPhone 14 Analysts forecast reveals that Apple will ship 200 million iPhones this year and about 20% will use BOE screens. This means that about 40 million iPhones will use BOE screens this year.
According to reports, BOE shipped 15-16 million OLED panels for Apple last year, which was higher than expected. However, BOE currently supplies all LTPS OLEDs, and the company is going all out to mass-produce higher-net-worth LTPO OLEDs to break into the iPhone 15 Pro supply chain.
At the end of last year, the first phase of the BOE Chongqing B12 factory was put into operation. This may be the main force of BOE screens (LTPO OLED) in the future. Currently, the display screens of the iPhone supplied by BOE mainly come from the Sichuan B7 and B11 production lines. This year’s iPhone 14 series 6.1-inch screen will also come from the B11 production line.
Gizchina News of the week
BOE 6th-gen AMOLED flexible production line in mass production
According to BOE officials, the 6th generation AMOLED (flexible) production line project in Chongqing has now officially commenced mass production. The company announced this at a mass production and customer delivery ceremony. BOE spent 46.5 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) to build this production line. At present, BOE has deployed 6 key projects in Chongqing, including the 6th generation AMOLED (flexible) production line. It also has the 8.5th generation TFT-LCD production line, and the BOE Chongqing Smart System Innovation Center. These production lines have a cumulative investment of over 86 billion yuan ($13.5 billion).
The mass production of the 6th generation AMOLED (flexible) production line in Chongqing is in Chongqing Liangjiang New District, covering an area of approximately 970,000 square meters. At the mass production ceremony, BOE President, Liu Xiaodong said that in the current information and digital age, new application markets such as smart mobile terminals, smart wearable devices, and smart connected cars are showing explosive growth trends. This is increasing the demand for high-end display technologies such as flexible displays.
This new production line is of great significance for enhancing BOE’s comprehensive strength in the global semiconductor display industry. It is accelerating the growth of the new terminal application market. Furthermore, this production line will promote the innovation and development of the global display industry.
