BOE readies for a comeback… but is Apple even watching?

Display supplier BOE has had some rocky times in Apple's display supply chain. Now, reportedly, the company is bulking its OLED panel supply chain, hoping it can still secure more iPhone screen orders.

The display supply chain for Apple's iPhones is now dominated by Samsung Display and LG Display. In comparison, BOE is a much smaller supplier. But, reportedly, the firm has ambitions to become a big player and is now said to be expanding its production capacity, hoping Apple would want to take advantage of it. 

A new report from UBI Research dubbed China Display Trend Report claims that BOE has managed to build an annual production capacity for 100 million OLED panels for iPhones.

There are reportedly 26 module lines for Apple, including 11 lines for mass production. Also, there are three lines for module development. BOE has also, reportedly, cut the assembly line time per panel to a surprising 5.5 seconds, thus each line becomes capable of making 350,000 units in a month. 

It is said that the lines (called B11) can make up to 8 or 9 million panels per year. This number is calculated based on a 90% utilization rate and an 85% yield. This is slightly lower than Samsung's production percentages.



Currently, BOE is not at the level of the two main display makers Apple uses. It is still an Apple supplier, but smaller. On top of that, Cupertino has had quite a lot of issues with BOE, even though it was used in relatively small-scale production in comparison to Samsung and LG. 

Back in 2022, BOE was caught changing Apple's specs for displays. Understandably, this caused Apple to cut orders. Then, in 2023, BOE failed to qualify for the iPad OLED display supply chain.

Right now, estimations expect BOE shipments to Apple to reach 24 million panels in the second half of this year. A total of 45 million panels for the year are estimated. 

But yep, BOE would apparently like to gain more work from Apple and has upgraded its supply chain to handle it. The company seems to be hoping to secure orders for the upcoming iPhone 17 series, alongside Samsung and LG. 

Understandably, BOE proving itself to Apple may be difficult. The Cupertino tech giant is known for its extremely high standards when it comes to components for new products (and pretty much anything, if I may add). And BOE is behind Samsung and LG in terms of expertise. It is catching up though, so not all hope is lost. 

At the moment, it's not known whether BOE will manage to see full utilization of its Apple-specific production lines or not. It's a gamble. 

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