In late December Patently Apple posted a report titled “Rumor Claims that China’s BOE could Supply Apple with up to 45 Million OLED Displays in 2021.” The emphasis of the report was to confirm that it will be 2021 where BOE will become Apple’s second OLED supplier behind Samsung. News out of China today confirms this eventuality.
A new supply chain report from China today states that BOE, the largest LCD panel supplier in China, has stopped investing in LCD panel production and beginning this year will focus on advancing OLED production.
BOE’s three OLED production lines will be fully launched this year, and production capacity will increase by more than 200% . Apple will also purchasing BOE’s OLED panels for the first time for at least iPhones.
BOE already supplies OLED smartphone panels to Apple competitors Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and others, so adding Apple to the mix will be a huge boost to BOE’s decision to now focus on OLED going forward.
According to BOE , the production capacity of OLED panels will reach 70 million in 2020 , of which flexible OLED panels will account for 20 million, and the global market share will increase to 18%.
To date BOE has been supplying Apple with LCD display panels for the iPad and MacBook. According to the report, BOE will provide more OLED displays for Apple iPhones this year than LG Display, becoming Apple’s number two supplier behind Samsung.
With that said, the report notes that BOE is unlikely to ramp up OLED production for the iPhone 12 this year but rather begin its larger push into Apple’s OLED supply chain in 2021.
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