Samsung starts mass production of iPhone 15 panels; yield issues for periscope lens

We are approximately only five weeks away from seeing Apple unveil the iPhone 15 series and TheElec (via 9to5Mac) reports today that Apple has given Samsung permission to start mass production of the four different OLED panels it will produce for the iPhone 15 line. There are two other suppliers that Apple is counting on to deliver displays for its 2023 smartphones. Neither one of these two companies has started mass production.

LG still has one or more changes to make to improve its panels which has allowed Apple to give it conditional approval. That means that the manufacturer is expected to make the necessary improvements shortly. The third panel supplier is China's BOE which has had problems producing the Dynamic Island cutouts for its displays. The Dynamic Island is expected to be on all four iPhone 15 models. In March, Apple pulled its orders from BOE and gave them to Samsung.

BOE won't be supplying Apple with any displays for the initial release of the iPhone 15 line and will probably not receive any orders from Apple until next year. Additionally, the report says that BOE is having problems making its panes without infringing on Samsung patents although the company seeks to have those patents declared invalid.

TheElec also notes that the production yields for the Sony image sensors and the LG Innotek folded zooms for the iPhone 15 Pro Max periscope lens are below expectations. The periscope lens, which will be found in an iPhone for the first time, folds the lens inside the handset's body and uses prisms at 90 degrees to move the light from the camera lens to the image sensor. This will allow the iPhone 15 Pro Max to deliver optical zoom in the 5x-6x range compared to 3x on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

TheElec notes that since the iPhone Pro model has made up 50% to 60% of iPhone shipments over the last two to three years, Apple is likely to prioritize production of the iPhone 15 Pro over the iPhone 15 Pro Max, especially in light of the issues with the periscope lens which will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.