Apple said to mull China supplier for future iPhone screen
APPLE is in discussions with China’s BOE Technology Group Co. to supply next- generation displays for future iPhones, a key component that’s being provided by a Samsung Electronics Co. unit, people familiar with the matter said.
Apple’s been testing BOE’s active-matrix organic lightemitting diode screens for months but hasn’t decided if it’ll add the Chinese company to its roster of suppliers, one of the people said, asking not to be named talking about private negotiations. BOE, one of the country’s largest screen makers, is spending close to 100 billion yuan ( RM65.3 billion) building two AMOLED plants in the southwestern province of Sichuan in anticipation of future business. Talks are at an early stage and it’s unlikely to supply the next iPhone, but BOE is banking on outfitting the one in 2018 or later, the person said.
If BOE is selected for OLED, it will become the first known future supplier of the nextgeneration screens to Apple outside of South Korea and Japan – a triumph for a Beijingbased company best known for computer and TV displays. The US company is exploring alternatives to address a global shortage of OLED displays as it prepares to adopt the sharper, more power- efficient technology for its next iPhones, catching up with rivals such as Samsung and Huawei Technologies Co.
Apple declined to comment, and BOE declined to comment on talks with customers.
The display is one of the most expensive components of a smartphone. OLED screens are more difficult to produce, making Apple beholden to suppliers still working to manufacture the displays in mass quantities. The world’s four biggest suppliers of smartphone displays – Samsung Display Co., Sharp Corp., LG Display Co. and Japan Display Inc. – are said to have insufficient capacity to
It’s an opportunity for BOE as Apple is known to seek multiple suppliers for one component. James Yan, research director for Counterpoint Research in Beijing
equip all new iPhones this year, a constraint that may persist into 2018. That means Apple may be forced to adopt OLED in just a single version of its device this year, the 10th anniversary of the smartphone’s debut.
“It’s an opportunity for BOE as Apple is known to seek multiple suppliers for one component,” said James Yan, research director for Counterpoint Research in Beijing. “But it’s unlikely to challenge Samsung because it is able to roll out high- quality screens at a steady capacity.”
BOE’s shares had climbed 1.3 per cent in Shenzhen by midday, outperforming a mostly unchanged benchmark Ashare index. Universal Display Corp., which licenses and sells technology to makers of OLED screens, rose as much as 9.7 per cent, the most since November, 2016.