apple lcd panel supplier factory

The problems faced by tertiary Apple display supplier BOE appear to have gone from bad to worse, according to a new report. The company is now in danger of losing all orders for the iPhone 14.

Too many of the company’s displays were failing to pass quality control checks, and BOE reportedly tried to solve this by quietly changing the specs – without telling Apple …

Chinese display manufacturer BOE was only ever third-placed in Apple’s supply chain, behind Samsung and LG, but was still hoping to make as many as 40M OLED screens this year for a range of iPhone models.

The biggest issue is not with CPUs and GPUs, but far more mundane chips like display drivers and power management systems. These relatively low-tech chips are used in a huge number of devices, including Apple ones.

Yield rates are always a challenge for Apple suppliers, as the company’s specs are often tighter than those set by other smartphone makers. Even Samsung Display, which has the most-advanced OLED manufacturing capabilities, has at times had yield rates as low as 60% for iPhone displays.

The company was caught having changed the circuit width of the thin film transistors on the OLED panels it made for iPhone 13 earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said.

The Chinese display panel sent a C-level executive and employees to Apple’s headquarters following the incident to explain why they changed the circuit width of the transistors.

They also asked the iPhone maker to approve the production of OLED panels for iPhone 14, but didn’t receive a clear response from Apple, they also said.

Cupertino seems poised to give the order for around 30 million OLED panels it intended to give BOE before the incident to Samsung Display and LG Display instead.

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Samsung, a key Apple supplier that manufactures a number of vital components for iPhone, iPad and Mac, on Tuesday said it plans to cease traditional LCD panel production by the end of 2020.

In announcing the development, a spokeswoman for Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, said the company will end all LCD manufacturing in South Korea and China by year"s end, reports Reuters. The company in October announced the shutdown of one domestic plant due to weak demand.

Over the next five years, the tech giant will sink money into converting one of its two South Korean LCD plants into a production facility for quantum dot displays.

Used in conventional hardware like LED-backlit LCD panels, quantum dots can be "tuned," or manufactured, to emit very narrow spectrums of light when struck by energy from a common blue backlight, making them a prime candidate for display makers. Further, the construction of a quantum dot LCD panel is similar to that of a traditional LCD screen, with the addition of quantum tubes or films situated next to or on top of backlight LEDs.

Samsung has not decided what to do with the two LCD factories in China that will wind down operations as part of the strategy announced today, the report said.

Samsung has in the past supplied LCD screens for products including iPhone, iPad and Mac, but demand has waned as Apple and other smartphone brands move to OLED. The Korean company fills a bulk of Apple"s OLED orders for flagship iPhone models and Apple Watch, with LG picking up the slack. Chinese firm BOE is reportedly set to enter Apple"s supply chain in 2020 or 2021.

In the immediate future, Apple is rumored to launch at least six devices with mini LED screens, another LCD-based technology that enhances picture quality through highly specific local dimming and better color reproduction.

Samsung"s shift leaves Apple with LG, Japan Display and Sharp as its major LCD screen suppliers, though each are readying their own proprietary OLED products.

While Samsung will continue to supply approximately 80 per cent of iPhone displays, rumours claim that a little-known company called BOE looks set to become Apple’s second-largest OLED supplier. Not only is this a sign that Apple’s lowest-cost iPhone 12 model will likely make the leap from LCD to OLED this year, but it’s also a sign that Apple is looking to diversify which manufacturers it uses, and potentially looking to ready itself for a move into the display market itself.

The company, which was founded in Bejing in 1993 and acquired SK Hynix"s STN-LCD and OLED businesses back in 2001, is ranked second in the world when it comes to flexible OLED shipments, holding a market share of 11 per cent during the first quarter of this year. It, naturally, is still a long way behind market leader Samsung, which owned 81 per cent market share of the OLED market in the same quarter. Still, with a sizable chunk of the OLED market already under its belt, it perhaps won’t come as too much of a surprise – now, at least – that the firm already has some big-name allies.

BOE’s surprising alliance with Apple isn’t the only time the two companies have worked together, either; the Chinese manufacturer already makes LCD screens for Apple"s older iPhones, and its tiny OLED panels are currently used in some Apple Watch models. It’s unclear how much BOE and Apple’s latest deal is worth, but it’s likely in the billions. According to online reports, Samsung’s deal with the iPhone maker is thought to be worth around $20 billion annually, so if BOE manages to secure 20 per cent of Apple’s display orders going forward, such a deal could be worth as much as $4bn.

Although BOE has managed to muscle its way into Apple’s exclusive list of OLED suppliers, and has invested heavily in facilities and equipment in order to meet the firm’s demands, the new partnership hasn’t got off to a flying start. According to reports, the company’s flexible OLED panels have not yet passed Apple’s final validation. This means, according to rumours, that BOE’s screens might not show up in the first batch of iPhone 12 models, and will instead start shipping on handsets at the beginning of 2021, with Apple instead set to re-increase its reliance on LG in the short term.

Scenarios like this, along with the fact that Apple is clearly looking to lessen its reliance on big-name display makers, makes us think that it won’t be long until the company ultimately stops relying on others altogether; after all, it’s no secret that Apple wants to control every aspect of its hardware development.

The display market could be Apple’s next target. Not only does the company already manufacturer screen technology in the form of its Pro Display XDR, but a recent Bloomberg report claims that Apple is “designing and producing its own device displays” and is making a “significant investment” in MicroLED panels. This technology utilises newer light-emitting compounds that make them brighter, thinner and less power-intense than the current OLED displays.

Apple’s efforts in MicroLED are reportedly in the “advanced stages”; the company has applied for more than 30 patents, and recent rumours suggest the firm is also considering investing over $330 million in a secretive MicroLED factory with the goal of bringing the technology to its future devices.

As CBN reports, after Sharp acquired the Hakusan factory of Japan Display Corporation (JDI) at the end of last month, yesterday Apple asked Sharp to increase the production of iPhone panels. So the Hakusan factory will restart within this year.

Chen Jun, chief analyst of Qunzhi Consulting, said today that Sharp will become the largest supplier of LCD (liquid crystal) screens for iPhones in the future and continue to increase its B2B business.

Apple’s latest iPhone 11 series currently uses LCD and OLED screens. The 5.8-inch iPhone 11 Pro and the 6.5-inch iPhone 11 Pro Max use OLED screens, while the 6.1-inch iPhone 11 use LCD panels.

As we have reported for many times, Apple’s next-generation iPhone 12 series will include four models. According to the current news, all four models in the series will use OLED screens.

Currently LGD, JDI and Sharp are the main LCD screen suppliers for Apple iPhones. However, LGD will supply OLED screens to Apple next year, thus exiting the list of LCD screen suppliers.

Prior to this, we also reported that the LCD screen required by Apple’s new SE series iPhone is currently exclusively supplied by its previous major LCD screen supplier, Japan Display Company (JDI). However, Sharp, which was acquired by Hon Hai Precision in 2016, subsequently also will supply LCD screens to Apple’s new iPhone SE.

Before the iPhone adopted the OLED screen, JDI was a major supplier of LCD panels for Apple smartphones. And Apple was also the main source of income for JDI. However, after Apple turned to OLED screens, JDI, which was not in time for transition, also fell into trouble. Apple has also rescued from multiple levels. In 2019, JDI still has 61% of revenue from Apple.

TOKYO -- Struggling Apple supplier Japan Display plans to sell a smartphone screen factory and the land it sits on to Sharp for 41.2 billion yen ($386 million), the company has announced.

A deal for the Hakusan liquid crystal display plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, along with sale of equipment there to a customer believed to be Apple, will earn Japan Display $668 million while cutting excess capacity that has weighed on earnings.

Foxconn, one of the electronics manufacturers that makes Apple"s iPhones, revealed plans today to build a factory in Wisconsin to produce flat-screen displays. Foxconn"s total investment in the Wisconsin factory amounts to $10 billion, more than the original $7 billion that Foxconn had been talking about investing in US manufacturing since Donald Trump took office as President. The factory will create at least 3,000 jobs and upwards of 13,000 jobs, as well as up to 22,000 induced jobs in other parts of Wisconsin. President Trump praised the deal at the press event, claiming it was a win for anyone who "believes in the label "Made in the USA.""

Foxconn will build flat-screen LCD display panels at the new factory under the Sharp brand, which the company bought in 2016 for $1.5 billion. At the press event, Gou and Governor Walker emphasized LCD display manufacturing for the automotive, healthcare, and other industries, rather than OLED display manufacturing.

Currently iPhones still use LCD displays, which means the Wisconsin factory could potentially provide LCD panels for those handsets. However, Sharp President Tai Jeng-wu has suggested in the past that Apple could use OLED displays in the future. There have also been rumors of OLED displays being used in forthcoming iPhone 8 models, but nothing has been confirmed. Currently there"s no official word that any panels made in the new Wisconsin factory will be used in Apple products going forward.

Don"t expect Apple to fully produce iPhones in the US anytime soon either. President Trump announced this week that Apple plans to build three "big" manufacturing plants in the US, but Apple did not announce that with him, nor did the company comment publicly on that notion. There are a number of incentives keeping iPhone production in China, including tax breaks and subsidies. Even if the incentives provided to Foxconn in Wisconsin are a step in a new direction, much more negotiation and work would need to be done before iPhones or any Apple products are completely "made in the USA."

As Apple has its contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Pegatron building the new 2022 iPhone 14 series that will be unveiled in under four weeks, there have been some issues. The company has had to deal with the chip shortage, a shortage of workers, and problems with the coating on the cameras of some units reportedly cracking. Now, you can add power rationing to the list since it is affecting production at display supplier BOE at its factory in Sichuan, a province in China.

Reuters reports that BOE says it will have to "make adjustments" and it expects that there will be "no major impact on its overall operating performance." BOE has four assembly lines turning out displays in its Sichuan factory. Two produce LCD screens while the other two churn out AMOLED displays. TF International"s reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo points out that the company makes a small number of displays for the iPhone 13 series and older models.

BOE could also end up supplying Apple with some screens for the iPhone 14 series. If so, it means that Apple is desperate enough to find suppliers for its iPhone 14 screens that it dismissed BOE"s unilateral decision to widen the width of the thin film transistors (TFT) used on its OLED panels for the iPhone 13 models without informing Apple. For some reason, BOE was delusional enough to believe that Apple wouldn"t notice.

Apparently, BOE"s displays were failing quality-control tests and as a result, it decided to make things easier for it by widening the width of the transistors being used by the screens. Yes, BOE"s little cheat did manage to hike its yields, but it almost cost the company its hard-earned relationship with Apple when the latter figured out the scheme. Lucky for BOE, Apple did decide to give it another chance although as we said, the suits in Cupertino might have begun to feel the sweat beads of desperation first.

Apple is expected to introduce four new models next month. We should see the 6.1-inch iPhone 14, the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, and the 6.7-inch iPhone Pro Max. Apple is expected to use a better quality display on the Pro models than on the non-Pro models.

Besides the above example, we should see Apple differentiate the Pro and non-Pro models like never before. For example, the Pro models will be powered by the new 4nm A16 Bionic chip while the non-Pro models will be equipped with last year"s 5nm A15 Bionic. In addition, the Pro models will get the new "i cutouts" while the non-Pro models are stuck with the same old notch. And there is more. The premium iPhone 14 handsets will come with 6GB of faster LPDDR5 memory as opposed to the 6GB of slower LPDDR4X on the less-expensive models.

Flat-panel displays are thin panels of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying text, images, or video. Liquid crystal displays (LCD), OLED (organic light emitting diode) and microLED displays are not quite the same; since LCD uses a liquid crystal that reacts to an electric current blocking light or allowing it to pass through the panel, whereas OLED/microLED displays consist of electroluminescent organic/inorganic materials that generate light when a current is passed through the material. LCD, OLED and microLED displays are driven using LTPS, IGZO, LTPO, and A-Si TFT transistor technologies as their backplane using ITO to supply current to the transistors and in turn to the liquid crystal or electroluminescent material. Segment and passive OLED and LCD displays do not use a backplane but use indium tin oxide (ITO), a transparent conductive material, to pass current to the electroluminescent material or liquid crystal. In LCDs, there is an even layer of liquid crystal throughout the panel whereas an OLED display has the electroluminescent material only where it is meant to light up. OLEDs, LCDs and microLEDs can be made flexible and transparent, but LCDs require a backlight because they cannot emit light on their own like OLEDs and microLEDs.

Liquid-crystal display (or LCD) is a thin, flat panel used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. They are usually made of glass but they can also be made out of plastic. Some manufacturers make transparent LCD panels and special sequential color segment LCDs that have higher than usual refresh rates and an RGB backlight. The backlight is synchronized with the display so that the colors will show up as needed. The list of LCD manufacturers:

Organic light emitting diode (or OLED displays) is a thin, flat panel made of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. OLED panels can also take the shape of a light panel, where red, green and blue light emitting materials are stacked to create a white light panel. OLED displays can also be made transparent and/or flexible and these transparent panels are available on the market and are widely used in smartphones with under-display optical fingerprint sensors. LCD and OLED displays are available in different shapes, the most prominent of which is a circular display, which is used in smartwatches. The list of OLED display manufacturers:

MicroLED displays is an emerging flat-panel display technology consisting of arrays of microscopic LEDs forming the individual pixel elements. Like OLED, microLED offers infinite contrast ratio, but unlike OLED, microLED is immune to screen burn-in, and consumes less power while having higher light output, as it uses LEDs instead of organic electroluminescent materials, The list of MicroLED display manufacturers:

LCDs are made in a glass substrate. For OLED, the substrate can also be plastic. The size of the substrates are specified in generations, with each generation using a larger substrate. For example, a 4th generation substrate is larger in size than a 3rd generation substrate. A larger substrate allows for more panels to be cut from a single substrate, or for larger panels to be made, akin to increasing wafer sizes in the semiconductor industry.

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Apple tasked BOE with making iPhone 13 displays last October, a short-lived deal that ended earlier this month when Apple reportedly caught BOE changing the circuit width of the iPhone 13’s display’s thin-film transistors without Apple’s knowledge. (Did they really think Apple wouldn’t notice?).

This decision could continue to haunt BOE, however, as Apple may take the company off the job of making the OLED display for the iPhone 14 as well. According to The Elec, BOE sent an executive to Apple’s Cupertino headquarters to explain the incident and says it didn’t receive an order to make iPhone 14 displays. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 14 at an event this fall, but The Elec says production for its display could start as soon as next month.

In place of BOE, The Elec expects Apple to split the 30 million display order between LG Display and Samsung Display, its two primary display providers. Samsung will likely produce the 6.1 and 6.7-inch displays for the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro, while LG is set to make the 6.7-inch display for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

According to MacRumors, BOE previously only manufactured screens for refurbished iPhones. Apple later hired the company to supply OLED displays for the new iPhone 12 in 2020, but its first batch of panels failed to pass Apple’s rigorous quality control tests. Since the beginning of this year, BOE’s output has also been affected by a display driver chip shortage.

HANOI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chinese display maker BOE Technology Group Co Ltd (000725.SZ), a supplier of both Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS), plans to invest a substantial sum to build two factories in Vietnam, two people familiar with the matter said.

The plan underscores efforts by technology firms led by U.S. iPhone maker Apple and Taiwanese device assembler Foxconn to lower supply chain exposure to China amid trade and geopolitical tension between Beijing and Washington and production disruption caused by China"s COVID-19 containment measures.

Northern Vietnam has in recent years attracted significant investment from electronics giants, becoming a major hub for the production of smartphones, computers and cameras, including flagship goods from Apple and Samsung.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn) (2317.TW) and China"s Luxshare Precision Industry (002475.SZ) also make or plan to assemble a number of Apple products in the area such as laptop and tablet computers.

The rest would be for displays, with BOE spending $250 million to build a plant on 50 hectares while suppliers would use the remaining 30 hectares, all by 2025, the person said.

BOE plans to make the more sophisticated organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) screens at the site rather than liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), the person said.

China"s biggest display maker by output is set to become the largest supplier of displays for new iPhones by 2024, analyst Kuo Ming-chi at TF International Securities forecast last week.