Orders are already placed for OLED displays with LG and BOE and the production is expected to begin in October 2024.
The Cupertino-based tech giant Apple aims to furnish all its iPhones with organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays by the first half of 2025. According to a Nikkei newspaper report, Apple is looking forward to shift its dependence on liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to boost the growth of the device among consumers.
With 15.8 percent of the international market share, Apple’s decision to entirely shift to OLED displays will significantly impact its existing suppliers. Japan Display and Sharp Corp, the critical provider of LCDs to Apple, are anticipated to be completely phased out of the firm’s supply chain for mobile phones. The phasing out is also applicable to the company’s lower-end SE models.
Several global smartphone manufacturers are aiming for this transition, as OLED displays offer more accurate colors and sharper contrast than LCDs due to the absence of backlight. However, experts believe the negative impact could be on the price of the phones. Fabricating OLED displays continues to be more expensive than manufacturing LED displays, and moreover, the lifespan of OLEDs is short compared to LED displays.
The OLED market is now spearheaded by Chinese and South Korean companies such as BOE, Samsung, LG, and many others. Nikkei has exclusively reported that orders have already been placed for OLED displays with LG and BOE. Production is expected to begin in October 2024, while launch is likely to happen in early 2025. Speaking of market share, Samsung holds 50 percent, followed by LG at 30 percent and BOE at 20 percent.
Meanwhile, the Cupertino tech giant aims to reduce the specifications, enabling the panel makers to produce top-notch products seamlessly. Experts also predict that BOE will grab 60-70 percent of the iPhone SE4 OLED production.