Apple adds LG as second OLED supplier as iPhone XS rolls off assembly lines
Apple has indeed selected LG Display as its second supplier of OLED panels for iPhone displays, following a successful series of quality tests, a report said on Friday.
LG is preparing mass production via two of the lines at its E6 factory, which only recently emerged from testing itself, according to sources for the Korea Herald. The publication didn't say when the first deliveries might take place.
Until now Samsung has been Apple's exclusive OLED supplier for iPhones, since no other company has had the capacity to support the demand. Samsung has been using OLED in its own phones for years, most notably in the Galaxy S and Note lines.
Multiple reports have indicated that Apple was planning to tap LG, which also makes OLED screens for the Apple Watch. Apple has stringent quality demands for suppliers however, and LG has moreover had to build up its capacity to become a realistic option for iPhones.
Samsung is likely to remain a primary supplier for some time. A report from July claimed LG's initial order would be 3 to 4 million panels, which if true would support just a fraction of the new iPhones Apple is expected to ship by the end of the year.
Nevertheless LG could help alleviate constraints on the supply chain and keep the prices of iPhones in check. The 5.8-inch OLED panel on the iPhone X was believed to cost Apple about $110, making it the device's most expensive component and contributing to a $999 price tag. The iPhone XS, now in preorder, costs the same with a similarly-sized display, and to this the company has added the 6.5-inch XS Max, which starts at $1,099. Despite using a 6.1-inch screen, the LCD-based iPhone XR is $749.
LG is preparing mass production via two of the lines at its E6 factory, which only recently emerged from testing itself, according to sources for the Korea Herald. The publication didn't say when the first deliveries might take place.
Until now Samsung has been Apple's exclusive OLED supplier for iPhones, since no other company has had the capacity to support the demand. Samsung has been using OLED in its own phones for years, most notably in the Galaxy S and Note lines.
Multiple reports have indicated that Apple was planning to tap LG, which also makes OLED screens for the Apple Watch. Apple has stringent quality demands for suppliers however, and LG has moreover had to build up its capacity to become a realistic option for iPhones.
Samsung is likely to remain a primary supplier for some time. A report from July claimed LG's initial order would be 3 to 4 million panels, which if true would support just a fraction of the new iPhones Apple is expected to ship by the end of the year.
Nevertheless LG could help alleviate constraints on the supply chain and keep the prices of iPhones in check. The 5.8-inch OLED panel on the iPhone X was believed to cost Apple about $110, making it the device's most expensive component and contributing to a $999 price tag. The iPhone XS, now in preorder, costs the same with a similarly-sized display, and to this the company has added the 6.5-inch XS Max, which starts at $1,099. Despite using a 6.1-inch screen, the LCD-based iPhone XR is $749.
Comments
I’m holding on to my iPhone 7 until Apple has a 5G ready phone, which the iPhone Excess (X S) has not been reported to be.
Historically, Apple has not been the first to put the latest cellular modems in their phones, instead waiting for more robust and energy efficient revisions. As a practical matter, half the time I don't have a great LTE signal, and when I have 4 bars of LTE it's more than fast enough for me, so 5G far down the list of concerns for me.
As far as Samsung goes, I don't disagree with your assessment, but the bottom line is that they are one of the best manufacturers in the world for screens. With all the acrimony between them, dont' you think Apple would rather go some place else? The fact that they use Samsung as a supplier despite a bitter, decade-long lawsuit is telling.
so if LG has gotten their quality to the point where they rival that of Samsung, then fine. But right now, I’m still concerned that they may not.
There were many Android apologists last year who said the LG screens on the Pixel2XL were fine in their reviews but still complain about them a year later. They say its for the Camera that does machine learning on the pictures (often great but sometime bad). Seems like Samsung can do good hardware but bad software and Google can do good software but bad hardware. Apple gets both working together better but I'm happy they use the Samsung screens because Samsung spent years developing their OLED screen to be the best. Apple should always use the best hardware.
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/28/apple-investing-billions-in-lg-for-oleds-report/
Yes, I agree that Apple knows what they’re doing. Maybe LG’s screens will even be better, given that the lines are newly set up. We shall see.