Apple Diversifies Mobile Panel Suppliers

Competition is intensifying in the mobile OLED panel market.

LG Display and BOE are increasing their mobile OLED panel production at a rapid pace, signaling more competition in the LTPO OLED display market segment in particular. This segment is being led by Samsung Display.

BOE is currently building a mobile OLED panel plant in Chongqing. The plant is scheduled to be put into operation in the second half of this year and the panels are for use in the iPhone 15, which will be released next year.

BOE is currently producing mobile OLED panels in Mianyang and Chengdu. Including the production in Chongqing, the company is planning to increase its annual output to at least 100 million units this year. The company joined the iPhone supply chain last year.

Before BOE joined the chain, iPhone Pro displays were supplied by Samsung Display and those of non-Pro models were supplied by LG Display. According to industry sources, BOE and LG Display are expected to supply the latter and Samsung Display and LG Display are expected to supply the former starting from this year.

The iPhone Pro comes with an LTPO TFT OLED panel. This panel consumes less power than LTPS, the current mainstream in the market, and is suitable for 120 Hz scanning. Samsung Display produced the world’s first LTPO TFT OLED panel and these panels are currently found in high-end smartphones of Samsung Electronics.

Apple adopted the panel for the iPhone Pro last year. The company selected LG Display this year as a partner to supply it and is planning to release LTPO-based iPads and MacBooks in the near future. Under the circumstances, BOE and Visionox initiated mass production in February this year and CSOT is preparing to follow suit.

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