Apple 'Likely' to Reimburse Samsung for Missing OLED Display Purchase Targets Due to Poor iPhone 12 Mini Sales
Apple is likely to reimburse Samsung Display over a shortfall in OLED panel orders owing to lower-than-expected demand for iPhone 12 mini models, according to The Korea Herald.

Samsung's small OLED shipments dropped globally in January by 9 percent month-on-month to 45 million units, according to market data gathered by Omdia, which pins the decline on sluggish iPhone 12 mini sales. Apple is likely to compensate Samsung for the missed OLED panel purchase targets as a result, an industry source told the Herald:
"It is uncertain whether Apple would pay a penalty to Samsung Display, but considering its contract history and sluggish sales of the iPhone 12 mini, it is likely that Apple will compensate Samsung," an industry official said on condition of anonymity.
Samsung is the sole supplier of the 5.4-inch panel used in the iPhone 12 mini, the smallest model of Apple's 5G-supporting iPhone 12 series.
If the prediction turns out to be accurate, it would be the third time that Apple has had to reimburse Samsung for missing OLED display targets after saying it would buy a certain number of the panels from the South Korean company.
Apple reportedly paid Samsung an estimated $683 million in 2019 and approximately $950 million in 2020 for similarly below-par OLED panel orders.
Samsung remains the world's leading smartphone display panel vendor, and has provided the overwhelming majority of OLED panels for Apple's iPhones over the last few years.
According to Omdia, global OLED panel shipments reached 53 million units in January, and Samsung Display accounted for 85 percent of them.
Despite a barrage of reports this year suggesting lackluster iPhone 12 mini sales, Apple is expected to retain its smallest 5.4-inch iPhone model size in its forthcoming iPhone 13 lineup.
Popular Stories
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature.
According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now.
According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles.
CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
Apple plans to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. The pair of reporters revealed this noteworthy tidbit towards the bottom of a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today.
This alleged change in strategy comes after Apple was forced to delay its more...
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report.
Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...