Prospective iPhone OLED panel supplier BOE facing production problems

Chinese display firm BOE has been trying unsuccessfully to secure OLED panels orders for the iPhone, and is now hitting production quantity problems due to the ongoing global chip shortage.

Late on Thursday evening, sources have reportedly told TheElec that the ongoing silicon chip shortage will impact BOE's production of iPhone OLED panels for the months of February and March of 2022.

LX Semicon, BOE's display driver IC supplier, will move its priority to supply LG Display due to the supplier's lowered production capacity. As a result, BOE is expected to lower its production capacity to between two million and three million units for all customers in total as a result of the shortage.

The report on Thursday also claims that Apple has placed an order for 10 million OLED panels from the display maker. If this first claim that Apple has placed an order with the display maker is accurate, this will be BOE's first OLED screen contract with Apple.

However, if the figure cited is correct, it is likely a trial run to determine if the supplier can deliver consistent-quality displays over large quantities. Most recently, a report has indicated that BOE is readying a plant that the firm expects will be used for the production of displays to be used in a future iPhone.

Apple has yet to establish a full production contract with BOE, despite the display maker trying for several years. Most recently, BOE previously failed to secure orders for LTPO displays for the iPhone 13 for 2021, because of quality issues.