apple lcd panel made in china

According to the Korean media reports, BOE’s OLED screen will give a strong competition to Samsung in the next 2 years. BOE may start shipping the OLED panels to Apple in 2020. According to the South Korean analysts, BOE will ship 45 million OLED panels for the iPhone in 2021.

Samsung will still keep the bulk of iPhone orders, but the orders have dropped last year. Samsung has been the biggest OLED display supplier to Apple’s iPhone in 2017.

It was first suggested back in 2017 that BOE was pitching Apple for OLED orders, with a report in February of this year that Apple was considering this. The idea was boosted by a subsequent report that BOE was investing in the same next-generation OLED tech as Samsung.

Existing iPhone screens have a separate touch-sensitive layer which sits on top of the actual display. But Samsung offers a next-generation design known as touch-integrated flexible OLED panels which, as the name suggests, allow both jobs to be achieved within a single layer.

The Korea Herald today reports that Chinese display manufacturer BOE is investing in the same technology. It has already picked up orders from Huawei and is hoping to do the same with Apple.

Apple likes to diversify its supply-chain, one reason it has supported rescue plans for Japan Display, another potential supplier of OLED screens for future iPhones. So both Chinese-made OLED screens and Japanese ones are likely to be on the cards in the next few years.

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As Apple mainly relies on Samsung and LG to manufacture its OLED panels for the iPhone, another Chinese factory wants a piece of Cupertino’s company money. As reported by

CSOT, together with Apple, first review the OLED panel produced from its T4 factory at Wuhan, China, sources said. The factory is designed to house three phases for a total capacity of 45,000 substrates per month. Two phases are currently live.

As of now, the Chinese company had supplied OLED panels for Samsung’s Galaxy M models in 2021. CSOT will also supply OLED panels for Galaxy A73 this year, The Elecreports.

The publication notes that it won’t be an easy path for CSOT, as China’s largest display panel maker BOE had failed “multiple times in Cupertino’s evaluation processes before finally being able to supply OLED panels to the iPhone maker.”

As 9to5Mac reported earlier this week, BOE, which currently manufactures OLED panels for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 – and will do the same for this year’s iPhone 14 – will try to supply displays for iPhone 15 Pro as well.

Although Apple has a very high standard on its supply chains, having more options is good. As The Elec notes, “Cupertino can also already use BOE to pressure Samsung Display and LG Display into lowering their unit prices. BOE’s OLED production capacity will also expand to 144,000 substrates per month by the end of this year or early next year, triple that of the maximum capacity at CSOT’s T4 factory.”

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Apple confirmed BOE"s panels for the forthcoming iPhones on Thursday, and BOE intends to start mass producing them before the end of this month. The panels will be delivered in large quantities to Apple in September, the month when the Cupertino corporation typically introduces new iPhone models, as per GSM Arena.

After Apple learned that BOE had unilaterally changed some of the design elements of its iPhone 13 panels, BOE"s place in the supply chain for the iPhone 14 was questioned for a few weeks.

The Chinese display manufacturer was in trouble for a while, but it appears that the situation has changed today, and BOE will now supply Apple with its next goods.

As per insiders in the industry, Apple is expected to order 90 million display panels this year for the iPhone 14 family, of which 60 million will come from Samsung Display, 25 million from LG Display, and 5 million from BOE, as reported by GSM Arena.

Apple has reportedly sealed the deal with BOE for manufacturing screens for its upcoming line-up of flagship smartphones in the iPhone 14 series. It has been reported that the deal has been signed at a whopping USD 7.75 million. According to the contract, BOE will be manufacturing 25 per cent of the OLED displays for the iPhone 14 series.

BOE will only produce 6.1-inch panels under the contract. This means that the vanilla models in the iPhone 14 line-up will use displays by BOE, while the iPhone 14 Max and Pro Max models will likely stick to screens manufactured by LG and Samsung. This is the first time that the Chinese brand, known for its expertise in manufacturing displays, will be making displays for iPhones.

The company has been making waves in the tech market ever since it started making OLED panels in 2021. BOE has reported a 60 per cent hike in its production in 2021. Owing to its rapid growth, the brand has consolidated its position as the top display manufacturer in China.

Even as Apple fans are awaiting any official development on the upcoming iPhone models, several reports have hinted at the tech giant’s progress with the M3 Apple Silicon Chip. According to noted tech journalist Mark Gurman, the Cupertino-based tech giant is already working on an iMac with the latest M3 chip along with around nine other new mac models.

Gurman in his latest newsletter said that Apple is working on iMac with M3 chip, however, he has not disclosed any specific details. Besides, he has also indicated that the M3 version for the desktop is also in the works. Other than iMac, the tech expert says that Apple could also be working on an iMac Pro with M3 chip.

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.

Li Dongsheng, the chairman of CSOT parent company TCL, is expected to soon visit Apple Park in Cupertino. According to The Elec, that meeting is aimed at winning supply orders for LCD panels.

Earlier in 2022, Apple was said to be evaluating CSOT as a potential OLED supplier for iPhone models. The Chinese firm was said to be forming a team to evaluate the suitability of its production lines for OLED display manufacturing.

The company"s plan to expand will put it in direct competition with other Apple suppliers, including both BOE and LG Display. The latter of those two companies is the supply chain leader for Apple devices like MacBook Pro models.

Apple has taken steps to diversify its supply chain, and doing so could give the iPhone maker a leverage point to pressure other display manufacturers to cut unit prices.

The Elec is mostly reliable when it comes to moves by Apple"s suppliers and vendors wanting to enter the chain. It is less accurate predicting the outcome or ramifications of those moves.

CSOT has reportedly formed a team to evaluate suitability of its production lines for OLED displays for Apple. According to The Elec, CSOT and Apple recently reviewed an OLED panel produced by its T4 factory in Wuhan, China.

The T4 facility, which can make Gen 6 flexible OLED panels, is designed to house three manufacturing phases that can provide a total of 45,000 substrates per month. Two of those phases are currently live.

Sources told The Elec that if the review OLED panels meets Apple"s standards, CSOT plans to invest in a demo line to make more. Once it evaluates the yield of that line, it will likely mull whether to try to make OLED panels for iPhones or to build yet another line for evaluation.

CSOT had previously supplied Samsung with OLED panels for its Galaxy M models in 2021. In 2022, it plans to produce OLED panels for the Samsung Galaxy A73.

The road to enter Apple"s supply chain won"t be an easy one for CSOT. The largest Chinese display maker, BOE, has struggled to meet Apple"s quality demands during evaluation processes.

The Elec notes that it is "highly unlikely" that Apple will decide to include CSOT in its supply chain because BOE can already produce panels with the same specifications. In addition, Apple could use BOE as a leverage point to get Samsung Display and LG display to lower their prices.

CSOT isn"t the first company to go through an Apple evaluation process. In 2021, Chinese display maker Visionox also underwent an evaluation but ultimately failed to win OLED panel orders.

Selecting a Chinese company would be a surprising move, given the company has warned of the impact of the U.S.-China trade war on its business. Many of Apple"s major products, including the iPhone, are produced in China.

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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In early November, weeks before the peak holiday shopping season was about to kick off, Apple issued an unusual warning: customers would have to wait longer for the new iPhone 14 Pro models. That’s because one of its key assembly facilities in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou was “operating at significantly reduced capacity” due to Covid curbs.

For years, Apple has relied on a vast manufacturing network in China to mass produce the iPhone, iPad and other popular products found in households around the world. But its dependance on the country has been tested this year by China’s “zero-Covid” strategy and strict lockdowns, including recently at the so-called iPhone City production hub in Zhengzhou.

Now, the world’s most valuable tech company is reportedly seeking to accelerate plans to shift production out of the world’s most populous country – but reducing its significant dependency on China could take years, if it ever happens at all. In an investor note earlier this week, one analyst at Wedbush Securities estimated it would take Apple until at least 2025 or 2026 to move the majority of its iPhone production to markets like India and Vietnam, but only if it “moves aggressively.”

To get a sense of how crucial China is to Apple: Prior to the Covid outbreak in October that prompted shutdowns in Zhengzhou, that manufacturing plant was producing 85% of the iPhone Pros, according to an estimate from market research firm Counterpoint, provided to CNN.

“Apple would not be the company that it is today without China as a manufacturing base,” said Eli Friedman, a professor at Cornell University whose research focuses on labor and development in China. Even as Apple signals it wants to shift production away from China, Friedman said, “It’s not going to entail a decoupling from China – there’s going to be Apple products that are made in China for a very long time.”

Ultimately, Apple is “in some ways as much a Chinese company as it is an American company,” Friedman said, “although, of course, it is headquartered in the States.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who helped build the company’s global supply chain, acknowledged the unique manufacturing strengths of China in one 2015 interview. “You can take every tool and die maker in the United States and probably put them in a room that we’re currently sitting in,” he said. “In China, you would have to have multiple football fields.”

Steve Jobs, Apple’s late CEO, brought the labor issue up during an October 2010 meeting with President Obama. He called America’s lackluster education system an obstacle for Apple, which needed 30,000 industrial engineers to support its on-site factory workers at the time.

Apple, for example, has been suggestingthat it will move production to India for some time now. It said in September that it had started making its new iPhone 14 in India though contract manufacturers including Foxconn, the company which runs iPhone City in Zhengzhou. Foxconn announced on Thursday that it was investing $500 million in its Indian unit as it seeks to diversify production beyond China.

While India has a large labor force, and many workers with the necessary technical skills (unlike the United States, whichhas long been facing a shortage of engineers), creating sprawling assembly hubs for Apple in India faces a lot more red tape than in China. “At least in India, accessing land is not nearly as easy,” Friedman said, noting how the Chinese Communist Party faces fewer barriers to expropriating land quickly for causes it deems important.Labor costs in China, while on the rise over the past decade, are also “artificially cheap because of political repression against labor organizers,” according to Friedman.

In Vietnam, another long-rumored candidate for Apple to move production to, “the government does have a little bit more capacity, but there’s a lot less land,” according to Friedman. Vietnam also has a significantly smaller population (98 million) compared to both China (1.4 billion) and India (nearly 1.4 billion, per World Bank data).

Another key element to why Apple “is really reluctant to rock the boat with China is that China is also a massive market for Apple,” according to Wharton’s Allon. Apple reported $74 billion in sales in the Greater China market during the 12-month period ending in September, or nearly 20% of its global sales for the year.

“If you look at other American [tech] firms, Google is not in China, Meta is not in China, Amazon is not in China,” Allon said, noting that Apple has really been the only one to successfully tap into the lucrative market. “So Apple is very reluctant and very careful to make sure that, definitely now as things are very, very sensitive, not to rock the boat – or at least not to rock the boat in a public way.”