Production of Apple's 'iPhone 8' said to be affected by unspecified Samsung OLED problems

Posted:
in iPhone edited April 2017
Another supply chain source suggests that the "iPhone 8" supply in 2017 will be profoundly hamstrung has emerged, but for a different reason -- tight supplies of the the Samsung OLED screen.



"iPhone 8" OLED concept via iMore.


A new report from the Nikkei Asian Review cites Samsung as one of the reasons why there may be delays in shipments of large quantities of the "iPhone 8" beyond "normal" constraints faced every winter. Previous reports pegged low yields of the fingerprint sensor for any potential availability delay.

"There might be a one to two month delay in Samsung's production of OLED panels for Apple," said analyst at research company IHS Markit Brian Huh to the Nikkei Asian Review. "Samsung originally plans to begin churning out OLED panels in May but now the schedule will likely be pushed back to the end of June or sometime in July."

Other reasons claimed to be potentially holding up the deice are overheating issues in wireless charging modules, the much smaller printed circuit board having low yield issues, and possibly 3DNAND flash supply.

"The placement of orders is much more aggressive than the previous two years but not as high the year when they rolled out iPhone 6 in 2014," said a memory chip industry executive. "The demand from this year's iPhone looks healthy but the memory chip suppliers are a bit concerned whether the upcoming iPhone's migration to advanced 3D NAND flash memory chips would be smooth enough to avoid tight supply or a shipment delay."

The report claims that the first batch of "iPhone 8" devices will see customers hands in late October or early November.

On Monday, Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo cautioned investors that Apple's anticipated flagship "iPhone 8" could be in extremely limited supply in 2017, thanks to the expected adoption of a number of new technologies. As a result, customers could wait, or shift interest to the "iPhone 7s" family of phones which are expected to be released at the same time, potentially capping iPhone shipments in the holiday quarter.

The "iPhone 8" is predicted to sport an edge-to-edge OLED panel with a 5.1-inch user space -- the rest dedicated to virtual buttons. Slimming or removing the bezels would allow Apple to cram a larger battery into a form factor similar in size to the 4.7-inch iPhone 7. Also expected is a new 3D facial scanner .

With a complete redesign said to be forthcoming in the device implementing a curved glass back with wireless charging, some reports have pegged the starting price of the "iPhone 8" at more than $1,000.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    FatmanFatman Posts: 513member
    Sabatoge? 'Sorry, Apple we're not getting the yields expected & can't give you the displays you need for your biggest launch ever' We have a more important client to cater to ... ourselves. Apple desperately needs an alternate supplier of displays!
    jcdinkinslkruppwatto_cobraHBW1
  • Reply 2 of 24
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member
    Freaking Samsung! First Intel now this. Apple needs to start their own vertical integration and own more of the manufacturing process for critical components. Apple needs to switch over to their own processors for a MacBook (not necessarily a pro model) and buy Sharp or LG or something for displays. Or make their own manufacturing plant.
    Fatmanwatto_cobraHBW1
  • Reply 3 of 24
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Apple has always been a stickler for color accuracy. Wonder if the issue Samsung is having with the red-tinted S8 screens is also apparent on the displays they are producing for Apple.
    jcdinkinslkruppbb-15mejsricjony0watto_cobrabadmonk
  • Reply 4 of 24
    As Upgrade/Lease programs enter another year of maturity, it is prime time for Apple to release a flagship model that goes for $1,000+ USD has come. For most buyers, or should I say lessees, it will be just a few dollars more per month than their previous iPhone was. 

    Apple is going to yet again make a lot of money on iPhone this year.
    patchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 24
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    Release no wine (iPhone) before it's time. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 24
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member
    Hey, Apple. Get a new supplier one preferably that's not your competition. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 24
    iushnt1iushnt1 Posts: 12member
    mike1 said:
    Apple has always been a stickler for color accuracy. Wonder if the issue Samsung is having with the red-tinted S8 screens is also apparent on the displays they are producing for Apple.
    That's just a software calibration issue which will be soon fixed via software update. Apple doesn't have to worry about that.
  • Reply 8 of 24
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    iushnt1 said:
    mike1 said:
    Apple has always been a stickler for color accuracy. Wonder if the issue Samsung is having with the red-tinted S8 screens is also apparent on the displays they are producing for Apple.
    That's just a software calibration issue which will be soon fixed via software update. Apple doesn't have to worry about that.

    Believe everything that you read online, eh?

    Apple has their own display calibration tech built into iOS, so why would this be an issue on a large scale, unless of course there's a hardware manufacturing issue.
    mike1watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 24
    Fatman said:
    Sabatoge? 'Sorry, Apple we're not getting the yields expected & can't give you the displays you need for your biggest launch ever' We have a more important client to cater to ... ourselves. Apple desperately needs an alternate supplier of displays!

    If that is Samsung's intention, they wouldn't even have negotiated with Apple for supplying OLED panels to begin with, isn't it? Most importantly, this is just a RUMOR with no credibility or whatsoever. Trusting that rumor fully AND then making an allegation on an Apple partner (albeit a love-hate relationship) is just not on.
  • Reply 10 of 24
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
    Fatman said:
    Sabatoge? 'Sorry, Apple we're not getting the yields expected & can't give you the displays you need for your biggest launch ever' We have a more important client to cater to ... ourselves. Apple desperately needs an alternate supplier of displays!

    If that is Samsung's intention, they wouldn't even have negotiated with Apple for supplying OLED panels to begin with, isn't it?
    Apple and Samsung likely negotiated over OLEDs for many years but Samsung has never been willing to go low enough in price and Apple hasn't had a high enough ASP for the two companies to cut a deal. Particularly if the S8 is selling better than expected, it would behoove Samsung to postpone production for Apple as long as possible, even if some penalties are involved.

    But any delay might also be tied to OLED manufacturing changes for TouchID that simply can't be implemented quickly on such a large scale as the iPhone.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 24
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    There might be some truth here, mainly due to Apple wanting to integrate the finger print sensor.  If that is still on i could imagine any OLED supplier having problems.  

    As for Samsings OLED division screwing Apple i highly doubt it. If they have actually won the contract it would be too impirtant to the bottom line to screw iit up.    People need to remember Samsung is amassive corporation, the different divisions have dramatically different goals, managment and even locations worlwide.  Their cell phone operations are tiny overall
  • Reply 12 of 24
    mike1 said:
    Apple has always been a stickler for color accuracy. Wonder if the issue Samsung is having with the red-tinted S8 screens is also apparent on the displays they are producing for Apple.
    I believe the standard response to any question of Samsung display quality is mention antennagate. Problem: solved.
    mike1watto_cobrabadmonk
  • Reply 13 of 24
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    mike1 said:
    Apple has always been a stickler for color accuracy. Wonder if the issue Samsung is having with the red-tinted S8 screens is also apparent on the displays they are producing for Apple.
    Apple signed a deal based on samples made available to it. Part of the contract will establish the tolerances which are considered acceptable to them. Up to here it is normal business practice for any manufacturing component. Just what tolerances Apple has deemed acceptable is another matter. I think they would be very picky on display quality for a high end device, though.
  • Reply 14 of 24
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    Fatman said:
    Sabatoge? 'Sorry, Apple we're not getting the yields expected & can't give you the displays you need for your biggest launch ever' We have a more important client to cater to ... ourselves. Apple desperately needs an alternate supplier of displays!
    No. Apple will have signed a contract to guarantee capacity up to certain levels. It is reasonable to assume that there are penalties for non-compliance. 

    Finding a different supplier will not necessarily mean the problems vanish. They could even be worse. That said, the more suppliers the better (provided quality levels are assured)
  • Reply 15 of 24
    So, basically, this is another, "Apple is screwed" rumor. Wall Street and the tech-head idiots are always crying about how Apple can't keep pace with the rest of the smartphone industry. But what good would it do if Apple tried? If a company can't get enough reliable components then what's the point of trying to get the jump on everyone else in the business. Apple requires huge numbers of components, more than most companies do. Unless Apple can build all of its own components there can always be outside problems hindering production.

    It's a shame how Apple is always being targeted with "severe delay" rumors while other companies don't seem to ever be targeted in this way.  Apple should acquire a news media business to combat this type of attack.  Attacks on the iPhone using myriad reasons are like buckshot so no one can pin down any specific reason as to why production could be slowed.  I think I'll basically ignore the rumors.  They have no basis on my buying or selling Apple stock.  A month or two delay is nothing in the long-term scheme of owning Apple.

     I think Samsung could possibly delay Apple's iPhone production on purpose although I'm not saying that's the case. I wouldn't blame Samsung if they did. After all, this is a cut-throat business with billions of dollars at stake.  However, if Samsung were suspected of hindering production it could have fairly large repercussions for future contracts.  That sounds like fairly risky business for other Samsung divisions.  Anyway, I'm not going to start some conspiracy theory based on unsubstantiated rumors.
    edited April 2017
  • Reply 16 of 24
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    avon b7 said:
    Finding a different supplier will not necessarily mean the problems vanish. They could even be worse. That said, the more suppliers the better (provided quality levels are assured)
    Samsung is the only manufacturer that can even come close to producing the quantities that Apple needs. As far as multiple suppliers, I remember the first MBP LED 15" had screens from Samsung and LG. There was a way to tell which screen you had by a command line script but you had to buy it first. As it turned out the maxed out spec versions had Samsung and the lower speed ones LG. The Samsung screens were much better than the LG. If perhaps, as rumored, that there will be a flagship model and an entry model perhaps that is what they will do again and put the Samsung screen in the high end model.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 24
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    volcan said:
    avon b7 said:
    Finding a different supplier will not necessarily mean the problems vanish. They could even be worse. That said, the more suppliers the better (provided quality levels are assured)
    Samsung is the only manufacturer that can even come close to producing the quantities that Apple needs. As far as multiple suppliers, I remember the first MBP LED 15" had screens from Samsung and LG. There was a way to tell which screen you had by a command line script but you had to buy it first. As it turned out the maxed out spec versions had Samsung and the lower speed ones LG. The Samsung screens were much better than the LG. If perhaps, as rumored, that there will be a flagship model and an entry model perhaps that is what they will do again and put the Samsung screen in the high end model.
    LG is one of the world leaders in OLED display technology. I hope Apple uses LG at some point for their OLED models. I actually think LG makes better OLED screens than Samsung. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 24
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    The purpose of this 'fake' news is to prompt buyer not waiting for iPhone 8 and buy the Galaxy S8 which is on sale since last Friday. 
  • Reply 19 of 24
    Hm.... so for a product without given specs, or start of sales date suddenly one by one all components are in "severe delay"? Yeah. Right. 

    Worst of all is Kuo by first pushing expectations to beyond 110 mil units, only to try to shatter this a few weeks later by babbling about "worst case scenarios demongly beoncong true". 

    Give me frickin sharks with frickin laser beams to tell those guys what I think about them. 
    watto_cobraHBW1
  • Reply 20 of 24
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    512ke said:
    Hey, Apple. Get a new supplier one preferably that's not your competition. 
    If it was that easy, they would have done it. Obviously it isn't. Not that many suppliers are capable of reliable yields, with ultra low tolerances and precise specifications, in the tens/hundreds of millions of units. 
    watto_cobraHBW1
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