Apple is in the final stages of certifying advanced OLED screens from Chinese display company, BOE Technology Group, according to a report.
The company is said to be aggressively testing flexible OLED displays from BOE to reduce costs, and its dependence on Samsung Electronics, the current maker of iPhone screens.
Apple is said to be testing BOE's flexible OLED displays from the company's facility in Sichuan Province, Chengdu -- the location of BOE's first site to produce such advanced displays.
Single Most Expensive Component
Organic light-emitting diode or OLED displays are considered as the single most expensive component in the iPhone, with Samsung charging Apple more than US$100 per screen, according to reports.
In 2017, the OLED display in the iPhone X cost Apple US$110 per screen, or nearly 30 percent of the total US$370.25 cost of the iPhone X at the time. The following year, the cost of the OLED display increased to US$120 on iPhone XS Max because of the larger panel.
At present, Samsung Electronics is the only supplier that makes high-quality OLED screens for smartphones. It dominates the global premium screen market globally with more than 90 percent share.
However, China's BOE, one of the world's largest producers of large liquid crystal screens is planning to expand its OLED panel market. It began producing flexible OLED screens in late 2017, and supplies advanced display panels to Huawei Technologies' Mate X foldable smartphone.
BOE already supplies liquid crystal displays for Apple's iPads and MacBooks while LG supplies OLED displays for the Apple Watch. It is also a supplier to leading tech companies such as Hisense, Lenovo Group, HP, and Dell.
Although Apple has sourced displays from other companies, it has remained with the more expensive Samsung OLED panels for the iPhone. By the end of the year, the company would reportedly decide if it would take BOE on as a screen supplier for iPhones.
Expanding OLED Market
According to IDTechEx Research, the OLED market is expected to expand swiftly soon. This year, it expanded to US$30 billion from last year's US$25.5-billion market.
OLED displays are regarded as superior to LED screens because of the former’s ability to represent colors better. They allow better contrast and color. It is also less battery-intensive than LED screens because the displays use electric current passing through thin films of organic materials to generate light.
OLED screens are also lighter and more flexible, making them suitable for thinner smartphones and foldable screens for wearable and other electronic devices.
"Apple has the incentive to qualify a new supplier for OLED display as [others] are a bit reluctant to invest too much to expand capacity," said Eric Chiou, a veteran display analyst from Taipei-based research company WitsView.
If BOE would be an OLED supplier for Apple, it can give Apple more bargaining power to gain price cuts from the South Korean suppliers Samsung and LG.
