First 5G iPhone Shipments Won't Include OLED Panels From BOE Due to Validation Failure

Apple was hoping to use OLED panels sourced from display manufacturer BOE for some of the iPhone models coming in 2020, but BOE will not be a supplier for the first batch of panel shipments for the new iPhones due to manufacturing issues.

BOE China
According to DigiTimes, BOE has failed to secure Apple's validation for the OLED screens.

Apple is planning to release four OLED iPhones this year, measuring in at 5.4 inches, 6.1 inches (x2), and 6.7 inches. The 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌ and one 6.1-inch model will be positioned as more affordable successors to the ‌iPhone‌ 11, while the other 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ and the 6.7-inch model will be "Pro" devices that follow the ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro.

Samsung Display will be the major OLED panel supplier for all of the new iPhones, while BOE and LG Display were developing OLED screens for the entry-level 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ model. BOE is working out the quality issues impacting its manufacturing and is hoping to begin shipping OLED panels to Apple in the fourth quarter of 2020.

LG Display will pick up the slack and plans to ramp up shipments for the 6.1-inch model, shipping 23 to 25 million units up from the 18 to 23 million originally planned. Samsung Display is expected to ship 18 to 20 million units for the 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌, 16 to 18 million for the higher-end 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌, and 22 to 24 million units for the high-end 6.7-inch ‌iPhone‌.

BOE's failure should not have a significant impact on the release date of Apple's 2020 iPhones as Apple can rely on Samsung Display and LG Display. Other factors may somewhat delay this year's ‌iPhone‌ lineup, and there have been rumors suggesting some or all of the iPhones could be announced in September and launched later, perhaps in October.

BOE began volume manufacturing flexible OLED panels in 2019, but its yield rate barely reaches around 20 percent at the current time, which Apple is unable to work with.

BOE is now trying to improve its yield rate by combining the front-end process of its B7 fab and the backend process of the B11 line, indicated the sources, noting that the B7 fab, also located in Sichuan, kicked off volume production in 2017 and has since ramped up its yield rate to about 70-80% recently.

If BOE's efforts to improve yield rate are successful, it could ship somewhere around two million OLED panels to Apple in 2020, but that's a best case scenario.

DigiTimes' report confirms rumors from earlier in June that suggested BOE had failed to deliver its first shipment of OLED panels for Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 12 due to an inability to pass OLED quality control tests.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

JM Avatar
49 months ago
Cool, well that'll be a day one purchase for me then. Thanks for making that easy to decide.... definitely don't want BOE failure-screen.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrazyForCashews Avatar
49 months ago

So you'd all better get the first shipments...
5.4" iPhone 12.

Day one.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trevorplease Avatar
49 months ago
Umm.. now I don’t want a BOE screen ever
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
one more Avatar
49 months ago
Good news, actually, as nobody makes them better than Samsung anyway! ?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wags Avatar
49 months ago
Don’t think I wanted BOE panel anyway first go around. No ‘which panel did you get thread’ then either.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqerror Avatar
49 months ago

????
BOE = Beijing Orient Electronics = China
LG and Samsung = South Korea
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...