Too much reliance on a single company is bad for any businesses, especially if that company is your fiercest rival.
Apple knows that much is true, so it's trying to pivot away slowly from Samsung, which currently stands as the sole provider of OLED displays for the iPhone X. Not for long, though.
Apple Is Getting OLED Displays From LG As Well
According to Bloomberg, Apple has approached LG to be an alternative supplier of OLED panels for the iPhone X and future devices. Having LG as a secondary supplier will help the Cupertino brand get the displays more quickly and cut costs. Part of why the iPhone X is so expensive is because of its cutting-edge OLED display, curved inward so the phone itself doesn't have a chin.
If true, this move could be a blow to Samsung's business. Because it's the sole producer of OLED displays for Apple's flagship device, it can charge Apple insane prices given that there's simply no other company that makes OLED panels as excellent as Samsung. But with a second source, Samsung must now enter into competitive pricing with LG.
Tides have changed, it seems. Perhaps LG has buffed up its display department and can now produce panels that can sufficiently compete against Samsung's displays. Bloomberg says LG will provide between 2 to 4 million OLED panels as part of the initial deal. That's nothing compared with Samsung's deal to make 100 million, though.
LG, it should be noted, is no stranger to displays. The South Korean company has recently returned to producing OLED displays with last year's V30. However, critics say the quality of that phone's screen isn't as remarkable as Samsung's OLED displays, and LG also has to deal with the fact that it has a smaller production capacity.
Samsung's Dilemma
Even still, Samsung has plenty of reason to worry. It was reported this past February that the company needed to cut down OLED production because fewer iPhone X units were sold than anticipated, which also forced it to look for other clients beyond Apple.
For Apple, this is somewhat a gamble. The V30's screen has been heavily criticized as being sub-par to Samsung, and Apple, of course, is a company that thrives on the "premiumness" and "it just works" qualities of its products. Time will tell how all this will pan out.
