Display supplier after Apple’s heart loses out once more due to iPhone 17 improvements

A tale as old as time: Chinese display supplier BOE has reportedly lost out on iPhone orders once more. The company has been trying to woo Apple for years but keeps stumbling one way or another. Despite its recent advancements in OLED displays BOE will not be supplying displays for iPhone 17.

The entire iPhone 17 lineup is expected to feature LTPO displays (about time!) which is something BOE cannot reliably promise to deliver. Thus its bulk of the orders have been passed off to LG Display while Samsung tackles its own share of orders.

Yes, it’s that news again.

With LTPO being applied to all models of the iPhone 17, the manufacturing difficulty has risen significantly, meaning BOE won’t be able to supply displays for the iPhone 17.

As a result, BOE’s share will be transferred to LGD, and LGD will convert its…

— Jukanlosreve (@Jukanlosreve) December 12, 2024

Porting the iPhone 17 family over to LTPO displays is just one step of Apple’s plan to introduce new display technology for iPhone. Apple is supposedly working on a type of display called LTPO+ and another bit of tech that uses ‘Low-Dielectric TEE’ panels. These new displays are going to be used in the iPhone 18 family and will improve battery life, response times and more.

The OnePlus 13 uses a display by BOE. | Image credit — OnePlus

BOE has had a complicated relationship with Apple: the former would love to handle iPhone orders and the latter would love to use cheaper displays in its devices. However, every time BOE was asked to supply displays for the iPhone it couldn’t come through. And one of those was very clearly the company’s own fault.

When BOE was asked to make displays for the iPhone 14 it altered the designs in secret to overcome component shortages. Apple found out in time and immediately terminated the contract. When tasked with supplying displays for the iPhone 15 next year, BOE was unable to produce displays with the required camera cutouts.

Samsung has also asked for an import ban on BOE: alleging infringement of intellectual property. BOE always seems to be one step behind and so keeps failing to secure a contract with Apple.

But the company’s offerings are improving every year and we might soon see the day when a large number of iPhone models feature BOE displays. For now however, Apple will have to continue to shell out more cash for Samsung and LG displays.

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