Skip to main content

Amid OLED supply issues, Apple mulls over another supplier for iPhone 8 screens

Apple has been assembling a team of suppliers to satisfy demand for OLED displays in future iPhones, and it appears one of those suppliers could be China’s BOE Technology Group, according to Bloomberg.

The switch from LCD technology, which has powered every previous iPhone, to OLED has been one of the major changes predicted for the upcoming iPhone 8. Trouble is, OLED panels are more costly and difficult to produce, and Samsung, which was initially tipped to be Apple’s exclusive OLED supplier for this year’s batch of smartphones, is not confident it will be able to produce enough. This has caused Apple to look elsewhere, and one of the companies it is reportedly courting is BOE.

Recommended Videos

BOE, which Bloomberg cites as the world’s largest producer of LCD displays by market value, is constructing one plant in Chengdu specifically for OLED manufacturing purposes, scheduled to be completed in the summer, and will start up on another in Mianyang soon after. Apple has been testing BOE’s displays for months, according to the report, and is still unsure if it will enlist the company’s services. While BOE seems likely to miss the cutoff for the iPhone 8, the companies might partner on Apple’s 2018 smartphones, and BOE is ramping up capacity in response.

The upshot of all of this is that Apple still may not have enough OLED displays on hand by the end of the year to equip the entire iPhone range — something the Cupertino, California, company was reportedly considering. Even with production from LG, Japan Display, and Sharp, in addition to Samsung, some analysts say Apple might be forced to restrict OLED to the flagship iPhone 8, or just shelve the new screens entirely until next year.

OLED displays are favored for their impressive contrast ratio and frugal energy consumption compared to conventional LCD. Previous sources have suggested the iPhone 8’s implementation could be curved and run from side to side, similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Edge series.

Adam Ismail
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adam’s obsession with tech began at a young age, with a Sega Dreamcast – and he’s been hooked ever since. Previously…
The iPhone 18 Pro could see a major design change
A person holding the Apple iPhone 16e showing the screen.

If the iPhone 18 release schedule wasn't enough of a shift, it looks like the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models could switch to under-screen Face ID and have only a small camera in the top-left corner of the screen. The news comes from Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a leaker with an inside hook into Apple's supply chain.

"Well, I checked with the Apple supply chain a few days ago. The iPhone 18/18 Pro Max is indeed testing 3D faces under the screen, with a single HIAA hole; the iPhone 8/18 Air is a regular 2+1 hole," they write (as translated by Google.)

Read more
The iPhone 17 Air might not stack up in terms of battery life
Alleged concept render of the iPhone 17 Air in black.

Concerns over iPhone 17 Air battery life might have been spot-on, according to a new report from The Information. Apple allegedly conducted internal tests that showed only 60 to 70 percent of iPhone 17 Air devices would make it through the day without needing a recharge, versus between 80 to 90 percent for other iPhone models.

Of course, part of that is due to the design of the handset. At just 5.5mm, the iPhone 17 Air is set to be the thinnest iPhone ever (and one of the thinnest phones on the market overall), but it might come at the cost of battery capacity. To help offset this problem, Apple is supposedly planning to launch an optional battery case accessory to give users a little bit more juice to get them through the day.

Read more
Galaxy S25 Edge leak reveals a look that’s almost iPhone Air like
Galaxy S25 Edge

Two highly anticipated smartphone models are set to launch before the end of the year: Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge and Apple’s iPhone 17 Air. Newly released images of the Galaxy S25 Edge, scheduled to arrive this month, reveal a striking resemblance to rumored images of the iPhone 17 Air, which is expected to hit the market in September.

The Galaxy S25 Edge, which Samsung teased earlier this year, will arrive on May 13. When the phone launches, it’s expected to be one of the thinnest smartphones in the world.

Read more