Apple supplier LG Display is adjusting its main OLED production line over concerns about lower-than-expected OLED iPad Pro demand, with the company now planning to repurpose the facility to manufacture iPhone displays, according to The Elec.
The production line currently manufactures OLED panels for tablets and PCs, but has been experiencing reduced operation rates due to sluggish demand for Apple's OLED iPad Pro models. As a result, LG Display plans to adapt it for iPhone OLED panel production.
Released in May of this year, the 11-inch and 13-inch devices marked Apple's first use of OLED technology in larger screens and were initially projected to ship up to 10 million units in 2024. However, market research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) in October significantly lowered that forecast to just 6.7 million units.
The move by LG Display means it can expand iPhone OLED panel production capacity without investing in an entirely new production line, which would cost around 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion). The existing OLED line, which cost 3.4 trillion won to build, can be adapted with minimal modifications.
The benefits of OLED technology include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, and improved power efficiency for longer battery life. The main technical difference between iPad and iPhone OLED panels lies in their construction: iPad displays use glass substrates with thin film encapsulation (TFE), while iPhone panels utilize a polyimide substrate with TFE and feature a single emission layer instead of two.
According to the Taiwanese report, LG Display aims to maintain sufficient iPad OLED inventory through February while seeking Apple's approval for the production line modification. The company has set an ambitious target to supply 70 million iPhone OLED panels in 2024, up from mid-60 million units last year and 51.8 million units in 2023.
Apple is said to be working on an OLED version of the iPad Air, with a potential release in 2026. However, due to sluggish sales of OLED iPad Pro models, the iPad Air's switch from LCD to OLED could be delayed by more than a year, according to DSCC. Apple's 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are expected to switch from mini-LED to OLED as early as 2026.
