BOE Reportedly Failed to Deliver First Shipment of OLED Panels for 'iPhone 12'

Chinese display maker BOE reportedly failed to deliver the first shipment of OLED panels for Apple's so-called iPhone 12, which is expected to be released later this year. According to Korea's DDaily, the failure was down to BOE's inability to pass OLED quality control tests.

BOE China
It's unclear from the Korean-language report when the tests where carried out and whether they will have any material impact on the so-called ‌iPhone 12‌'s production and launch. Apple was said to be "aggressively testing" flexible OLED screens made by BOE as early as August last year.

BOE is the world's top producer of large liquid crystal screens and already makes liquid crystal displays for Apple's iPads and MacBooks, but the firm has had its sights set firmly on the expanding OLED panel market, which is growing year on year.

Despite Apple's focus on diversifying its suppliers for various components in its products, Samsung Display is still expected to provide nearly 80 percent of the OLED displays used in this year's "‌iPhone 12‌" lineup.

Samsung was the exclusive display supplier for Apple's first OLED ‌iPhone‌, the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ X back in 2017. LG came on board the following year as a second supplier, and BOE is reportedly entering Apple's supply chain for the 2020 phones as Apple goes all-OLED in its flagship lineup for the first time.

Apple plans to release four "‌iPhone 12‌" models with OLED displays in the fall, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. All of the devices are expected to support 5G and they may sport a new design that includes more of a flat edged metal frame like the iPad Pro or ‌iPhone‌ 4.

BOE has reportedly partnered with touch panel maker General Interface Solutions as both companies aim to become suppliers of the rumored 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌.

Related Roundup: iPhone 12
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Top Rated Comments

Piggie Avatar
39 months ago
Everyone in the industry seems to agree Samsung currently makes the very best panels on the market.

Apple wants to make the best quality phone they can, as they keep saying.

So let's cheap out and use non Samsung panels as we can get some cheaper by someone else, as long as they are "good enough"

Sorry, but I don't like that thinking, esp when you consider the GIANT markup Apple puts on all the components anyway.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syklee26 Avatar
39 months ago
This is how Apple trying to squeeze profit Might have backfired... Everyone in the industry knows BOE is not yet a reliable player in OLED market yet... just go with Korean suppliers!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
appleguy123 Avatar
39 months ago

Everyone in the industry seems to agree Samsung currently makes the very best panels on the market.

Apple wants to make the best quality phone they can, as they keep saying.

So let's cheap out and use non Samsung panels as we can get some cheaper by someone else, as long as they are "good enough"

Sorry, but I don't like that thinking, esp when you consider the GIANT markup Apple puts on all the components anyway.
If Samsung is the only supplier, they can charge Apple any amount for the screen (until Apple doesn’t make a profit) because the iPhone is dependent on them as a supplier. 2 or more suppliers allows Apple negotiating power. As long as the quality control standards are high, it doesn’t matter who the manufacturer is. It seems like Apple is keeping the standards high given how hard it has been for other companies to make Apple OLED displays at high yield.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Val-kyrie Avatar
39 months ago
This is no surprise. In both my experience and according to hardware test sites, BOE makes the lowest quality LCDs among all primary component manufacturers.



('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/06/12/boe-oled-panels-for-iphone-12-not-shipped/')

Chinese display maker BOE reportedly failed to deliver the first shipment of OLED panels for Apple's so-called iPhone 12, which is expected to be released later this year. According to Korea's DDaily ('http://m.ddaily.co.kr/m/m_article/?no=196699'), the failure was down to BOE's inability to pass OLED quality control tests.



It's unclear from the Korean-language report when the tests where carried out and whether they will have any material impact on the so-called iPhone 12's production and launch. Apple was said to be "aggressively testing ('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/08/21/apple-aggressively-testing-oled-displays-from-chinas-boe-for-2020-iphone-lineup/')" flexible OLED screens made by BOE as early as August last year.

BOE is the world's top producer of large liquid crystal screens and already makes liquid crystal displays for Apple's iPads and MacBooks, but the firm has had its sights set firmly on the expanding OLED panel market, which is growing year on year.

Despite Apple's focus on diversifying its suppliers for various components in its products, Samsung Display is still expected to provide nearly 80 percent of the OLED displays used in this year's "iPhone 12" lineup.

Samsung was the exclusive display supplier for Apple's first OLED ‌iPhone‌, the ‌iPhone‌ X back in 2017. LG came on board the following year as a second supplier, and BOE is reportedly entering Apple's supply chain for the 2020 phones as Apple goes all-OLED in its flagship lineup for the first time.

Apple plans to release four "iPhone 12" models with OLED displays in the fall, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. All of the devices are expected to support 5G and they may sport a new design that includes more of a flat edged metal frame like the iPad Pro or iPhone 4.

BOE has reportedly partnered ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/17/5-4-inch-iphone-oled-display-boe/') with touch panel maker General Interface Solutions as both companies aim to become suppliers of the rumored 5.4-inch iPhone.

Article Link: BOE Reportedly Failed to Deliver First Shipment of OLED Panels for 'iPhone 12' ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/06/12/boe-oled-panels-for-iphone-12-not-shipped/')
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Digital Dude Avatar
39 months ago

Everyone in the industry seems to agree Samsung currently makes the very best panels on the market.

Apple wants to make the best quality phone they can, as they keep saying.

So let's cheap out and use non Samsung panels as we can get some cheaper by someone else, as long as they are "good enough"

Sorry, but I don't like that thinking, esp when you consider the GIANT markup Apple puts on all the components anyway.
If there's a cheaper way to do something, Tim Cook will find it.?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EmotionalSnow Avatar
39 months ago

Hopefully this doesn’t delay things even further because I can’t wait even more time to use a modern-looking and feeling iPhone that fits into my hand since the 5s
I am not an expert but I don't think this will delay the new iPhones due to Apple using Samsung as main supplier but the production volume may be lower.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)