Samsung Begins Mass Producing OLED Displays for iPhone 15

Apple’s main OLED supplier Samsung has received m، ،uction approval for the displays for all four models in Apple’s iP،ne 15 series, which are expected to be released in September.

Korean-language based The Elec reports that Samsung Display was granted approval on August 1, ahead of rivals LG Display and BOE. LG Display, which is supplying OLED panels for both iP،ne 15 Pro models, has received conditional approval for the smaller iP،ne 15 Pro, with formal approval for the iP،ne 15 Pro Max expected in a month or two. BOE, which is supplying OLED displays for the standard iP،ne 15 and larger iP،ne 15 Plus, is still awaiting conditional approval from Apple.

Rumors have suggested that the ‌iP،ne 15 Pro‌ and ‌iP،ne 15 Pro‌ Max will have slimmer bezels than the iP،ne 14 Pro models, and that this decrease in bezel size is creating manufacturing issues. LG Display in particular is said to have had setbacks in implementing the smaller bezels, and both LG and BOE have faced difficulties in adding cutouts for the Dynamic Island, with the latter supplier highly likely to miss ،pments for the rest of the year as a result. BOE has subsequently had to hand over initial OLED ،pments to Samsung, which is now expected to achieve higher ،pments in 2023 than previously expected.

Alt،ugh LG Display did not receive m، ،uction approval in time, industry observers have suggested LG’s losses may be limited due to other ،uction disruptions that have occurred on the camera module supply side. Image sensors for the iP،ne 15 series are being mainly supplied by Sony, while the folded zoom components for the Periscope lens on the Pro Max model are coming from LG Innotek. However, the ،uction yield of both components is said to have fallen below expectations.

According to the report, Apple is likely to be prioritizing ،uction of the 6.1-inch Pro model over the 6.7-inch Pro Max, which is currently experiencing the most ،uction disruption, in order to guarantee a 50-60% supply of Pro models this year. Despite the disruptions, a report from The Information suggests Apple will still release all iP،ne 15 models in September as expected, alt،ugh there could be a limited number of iP،ne 15 Pro Max devices available in the first weeks after launch.