Apple iPhone 13 display supply chain excludes BOE

IT Home reported on May 4 that according to The Elec, Apple has actually removed Chinese display manufacturer BOE from the iPhone 13 supply chain after discovering design changes to its OLED panels.

According to The Elec, BOE has been supplying OLED display panels for the 6.1-inch iPhone model since last year, but the company has only produced a “small number” of OLED panels for the iPhone since February. Panel production is said to have “dropped significantly over the past four months.”

The initial reason for the production drop was a shortage of display driver integrated circuits (ICs) as IC supplier LX Semin prioritized orders from LG Display. What’s more, BOE reportedly changed the design of its OLED panels by expanding the circuit width of thin-film transistors. The Elec claims that when Apple discovered the change, it told BOE to stop production.

Nevertheless, BOE is unlikely to be completely excluded from Apple's OLED panel supply chain, as its presence puts pressure on Samsung Display and LG Display to improve competitiveness and reduce prices. BOE's factory in Sichuan is said to be still operating, and BOE may currently be working on a solution to meet Apple's requirements.

BOE's two factories in China produce OLED panels for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, accounting for only 10% of all iPhone displays in 2021, but the company has been planning a major expansion to surpass LG Display and become one of Apple's main suppliers for the 2023 iPhone.