BOE may lose millions of iPhone 14 orders after unauthorized screen changes

Posted:
in iPhone
Apple is reportedly looking to move up to 30 million orders for iPhone 14 OLED screen orders away from BOE, following the company's changes to Apple specifications.




BOE is alleged to have changed the circuit width of the thin film transistors (TFT) on its iPhone 13, and was caught by Apple in February 2022. Apple halted production and now BOE is reportedly at risk of losing all the orders it was due to get for the iPhone 14.

According to The Elec, unspecified sources say that BOE sent a C-level executive -- so possibly the Chief Technology Officer, or perhaps even the Chief Executive Officer -- to Apple's headquarters. He or she, plus an unknown number of employees, presented their case for why they had changed the design.

It's not known how Apple reacted, but The Elec says that the BOE team asked the company to approve its production of iPhone 14 OLED panels. It did not receive a clear response.

The Elec estimates that BOE would have received 30 million orders if it were not for this incident. It believes that Apple is now more likely to place the orders between Samsung Display and LG Display instead.

However, production on the iPhone 14 screens is not expected to begin until June at the earliest.

The Elec has a mixed track record on Apple-related stories. While it has a decent one on supply chain matters, like this one, it has a notably poorer one on Apple's specific plans or making inferences from the data it gleans from within the supply chain.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    Jeez. I bet that's gonna sting them hard. Hopefully Samsung and LG can keep up with ~15 million extra displays for each of them.
    Beats
  • Reply 2 of 3
    maltzmaltz Posts: 454member
    Wow, who the hell do they think they are to unilaterally change a customer's design?  And doing it to Apple of all people, who famously don't screw around with supply chain nonsense?  I'm betting that not only will they lose the future iPhone 14 business, I bet they don't get paid for the faulty screens they did make.  Though I kinda doubt many, if any, made it into phones.  Apple seems likely to keep a pretty close watch on quality control.

    If this is true, I would imagine it will also impact their business with companies other than Apple, as well.  That's not to say they'll go under - there's plenty of crap made in China for them to find customers who won't care.

    MplsPAlex1N
  • Reply 3 of 3
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    But but but iKnockoff morons say Samsung designs iPhone displays!!!!!!
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