Samsung Display is already said to be a major supplier of OLED panels for the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. But it could soon get to make displays for the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Max as well, thanks to a blunder made by BOE. BOE is a Chinese display maker that supplies OLED panels for non-flagship Apple iPhones.
Last month, BOE revealed that it has struck a contract with Apple to produce 30 million OLED screens for the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. However, according to a new report from The Elec, Apple is yet to give approval to BOE to start the manufacturing, and the company could most likely lose the contract to supply displays for 2022 iPhones altogether.
According to The Elec, BOE was facing a very low yield from its display panel manufacturing line. To solve the issue, the company quietly changed the specifications of the display without mentioning it to Apple. Of course, it didn’t go unnoticed by Apple, and the Cupertino-based tech giant asked BOE to immediately halt the production.
The Chinese manufacturer reportedly sent a C-level employee to Apple’s headquarters to explain why it did what it did. It also asked the iPhone manufacturer to approve the production of OLED displays for 2022 iPhones but it didn’t “receive a clear response from Apple.”
Apple wants to reduce its dependency on Samsung Display and LG Display by sourcing the displays from other manufacturers. However, with the company now unhappy with BOE, it is very likely that Apple will have to source the displays for the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Max from Samsung Display and LG Display.
