With Chinese display supplier BOE failing to meet Apple’s quality and quantity demands for the displays of the iPhone 15 series, Samsung has stepped in to manufacture the displays.
BOE is also fighting some trials, and they’re behind schedule. LG has trouble, so Samsung could supply many panels for the iPhone 15 models.
According to a previous report from Ross Young, Samsung’s supply of OLED panels fell significantly, and BOE’s share rose for the 13 and 14 series. While there were reports about BOE failing to meet Apple’s standards earlier, they made corrections later. The report also predicts that Samsung’s display share will skyrocket for the iPhone 15 series- precisely what seems to have happened.
Mass Production of iPhone 15 Displays Begins.
A report from The Elec states that Apple gave Samsung the green light for mass production for all four types of OLED displays. Samsung is the industry’s first to begin manufacturing, beating LG and BOE.
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will share similar display specifications (6.1″ 60Hz ~1200P for the 15 and 6.7″ 60Hz ~1300P for the Plus). The maximum brightness was 800 Nits with High Brightness Mode for the 14 and 14 Plus, and 1200 Nits of peak brightness.
The other two models are for the Pro iPhones, and these panels are much more expensive. The current 14 Pro has a ~1200P 6.1″ 120Hz LTPO panel, and the Pro Max has a ~1300P 6.7″ 120Hz LTPO panel. Both have up to 2000 nits of peak brightness and 1000 in High Brightness Mode. We can’t tell if the 15 series will use the same panels. The bezels are said to get much smaller, increasing the screen-to-body ratio. We might see improvements in brightness, too.
LG was apparently also in charge of displays for the Pro (not Max) model, and they received conditional approval too. BOE was responsible for the non-Pro models, but it doesn’t look like they can supply in time. While BOE could handle displays for the 14 and 13 models, the iPhone 15 will ship with the new Dynamic Island cutout.
The BOE company is allegedly facing severe difficulties in manufacturing panels with a proper cutout for the island. This is causing issues with yield, and they may be left out of the contract entirely.
As a result, Samsung took over BOE’s job and will manufacture the panels for the base models. LG still didn’t get approval to manufacture displays for the Pro Max. Analysts speculate that the supply of LG panels will be very few compared to Samsung this year. The losses won’t be too hard for LG since they’re also supplying image sensors for the periscope camera this time around. Sony still handles the other image sensors. This pretty much confirms the existence of a periscope on the Pro Max model.
If LG doesn’t meet Apple’s standards for the 15 Pro Max displays later, Samsung has to take over again. LG is currently facing difficulties with the ultra-slim bezels that are supposed to come with the new iPhones. This will increase Samsung’s market share significantly. We saw something similar happen with the 14 Pro Max panels last year.
BOE is battling its difficulties with invalidation trials and patent infringement. The argument is between BOE and Samsung. Samsung claims BOE infringed Samsung’s patents for the Diamond Pixel Structure Pattern style of display matrix arrangement. This was back with the iPhone 12 when BOE supplied the panels for that phone.
Apple is supposedly prioritizing manufacturing the smaller 15 Pro over the Pro Max. The latter has many production issues at the moment.
While Apple still aims for a September launch, we won’t see many units in stock. In a worst-case scenario, Apple must stagger the launch into two months.
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