iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report.
Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain.
Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports that Apple has approved BOE's latest displays for mass production. However, the iPhone 17 Pro models with BOE displays will apparently be limited to the Chinese market.
Today, Apple sources the majority of its OLED panels for iPhones from South Korea-based Samsung Display and LG Display. BOE has struggled to replicate the panel brightness, efficiency, and long-term durability of Samsung and LG's offerings.
In May 2022, Apple halted BOE's inclusion in the iPhone 13's supply chain after detecting unauthorized design modifications. The crisis began when BOE, facing component shortages and yield issues, expanded the circuit width of thin-film transistors in its panels without Apple's approval. When Apple discovered this, Apple instructed BOE to halt production.
Since then, BOE has gradually sought to return to Apple's good graces. The company was later granted approval to resume supplying OLED panels for the iPhone 14, albeit in limited quantities. The Chinese supplier apparently intends to play a major role in iPhone production in the future and grow its share of Apple's highly competitive display supply chain.
