I think Apple’s new manufacturing win for the iPhone 17 is good for customers in the long run

Months after the launch of the wildly successful iPhone 17 series, Apple has finally approved a previously excluded supplier for providing displays for the flagship phones. However, as happened last year, said supplier’s role in the iPhone 18 production plans still remains doubtful.

BOE failed iPhone 17 standards

Last year, Chinese display supplier BOE failed to meet Apple’s strict standards for the OLED panels that were required for the iPhone 17 series. Perhaps it was the shift to ‘ProMotion’ displays across all models that led to BOE falling behind, but the company lost out on orders to Samsung Display and LG Display.

This isn’t a new development, as BOE has faced similar challenges in the past with securing orders for the iPhone.

Reapproved for display supply

According to a new report (translated source), BOE has now been reapproved for supplying displays for the iPhone at long last. The company will immediately begin shipping panels for iPhone 17 models currently being manufactured.

Perhaps the most egregious issue with BOE’s displays last year was that they kept cracking inside. That problem has now been fixed.

iPhone 18 orders unlikely

However, according to the report, it is highly unlikely that BOE will be able to secure orders for the upcoming iPhone 18 models. Like with the iPhone 17 lineup, all of the initial orders will fall to Samsung and LG.

If everything goes according to plan, then Apple will unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max this year with an under-display Face ID. It’s possible that BOE has been unable to achieve that, as the rest of the display is pretty much the same as on the iPhone 17 Pro models.

We might hear about BOE finally being approved for iPhone 18 orders next year, though.

This is good news for us hopefully

Why does Apple keep entrusting BOE with display orders each year? It’s because BOE provides its panels at a lower cost than either Samsung or LG.

If BOE improves to a point where Apple can rely on it each year, that would be a major win for Apple because it could shift all display demand to BOE and cut manufacturing costs immensely.

And if Apple is able to do that, it would be under less pressure to introduce price hikes for its phones, which is superb for us.

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