GigaDevice and Winbond Electronics Exclusively Supply NOR Flash for iPhone 12 Series

According to Juheng.com, Apple's new iPhone 12 series all use OLED screens for the first time, and memory manufacturer Winbond has also become the exclusive supplier of NOR Flash chips for the new iPhone's OLED panels for the first time this year.

Winbond Electronics does not comment on matters related to a single customer, but the company confirmed that U.S. customers are indeed very strong in demanding products, and recently customers have even placed orders directly without discussing prices.

Apple first adopted OLED screens in the iPhone X series, but the affordable models of iPhone X, iPhone XS and the subsequent iPhone 11 series did not adopt OLED panels, but continued to use LCD screens. However, the new iPhone 12 series released this year is the first time that Apple has adopted OLED screens for the entire series.

Since the screen display quality of each batch of OLED panels is different, it is necessary to go through an automated visual inspection and defect correction (demura) process to maintain the consistency of panel quality with characteristic parameters. Therefore, an external NOR Flash chip is required to store the required characteristic parameter code.

It is understood that Winbond has been the main NOR Flash supplier for Samsung panels. It supplies NOR Flash chips for OLED panels in iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone 11 Pro. Last year, Apple released iPhone 11 Pro, which was divided between Winbond and GigaDevice. However, it is rumored that GigaDevice has no production capacity to supply NOR Flash for iPhone panels this year, and Winbond has taken all orders for external NOR Flash chips.

It is reported that Apple started to pull in goods in August. Winbond's current order demand for new phones has been scheduled until the first quarter of next year. With the iPhone 12 series in high demand, suppliers continue to replenish and build inventory. The two major assembly plants, Foxconn and Pegatron, are also reported to be using high bonuses to recruit workers.

In addition, driven by Huawei's advance purchase, Winbond's NOR Flash production capacity has been fully loaded since early July. Although it will not be able to supply Huawei after mid-September, demand has recovered, and the iPhone's demand for goods is strong. In addition, some customers have prepared inventory in advance. Winbond's production capacity is currently fully loaded. Customers even place orders directly without discussing prices. NOR Flash inventory has bottomed out and is in short supply.

Industry insiders pointed out that Apple expects to produce 70 million iPhone 12 series phones by the end of the year, and mobile phone brand manufacturers usually order an additional 10% of screen panels in preparation. It is estimated that the total supply of Samsung and LG panels will be around 80 million pieces by the end of the year.

On the other hand, under the technical requirements of 5G mobile phones, the penetration rate of OLED panel mobile phones will be accelerated. The demand for OLED is expected to continue to explode next year, which will in turn drive the demand for NOR Flash to grow simultaneously, and Winbond's operations will benefit simultaneously.