Chinese-made iPhones won't be banned in US over supplier trade theft allegations
US regulator ITC is recommending that BOE smartphone displays, such as those in some iPhones, should be banned, following a preliminary ruling in Samsung's case against its rival -- but Apple is not expecting to be involved.
BOE makes displays for the iPhone 16e
, both Samsung Display and China's BOE were filing multiple suits against one another, each concerning alleged theft of technologies. As part of this, Samsung Display also filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), and that regulator has now made a preliminary ruling.
According to ET News, the ITC has sided with Samsung over the allegation that BOE has violated trade secrets concerning the manufacture of OLED screens. Specifically, the ruling says that Samsung Display "has proven by a preponderance of evidence" that BOE has been making OLED panels through "misappropriation of trade secrets."
The ruling is preliminary, however reportedly the ITC rarely overturns its initial findings in its final judgement. That final judgement is currently expected to be issued in November 2025, when as US President, Trump will have two months to decide whether the exercise any recommended ban.
If the ITC follows its preliminary recommendations, and those are approved, then the ban would cover the import of products, such as certain iPhones, which use BOE OLED panels.
How this could affect Apple
Most recently, Apple has approved BOE as a supplier for iPhone 17 Pro displays, although solely for the Chinese market. The company has previously, however, been reported to produce displays for US models of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and the iPhone 16e.
Even if BOE was not due to continue being a supplier for the iPhone 17 range outside of the China-specific Pro edition, Apple will continue to sell some of these models in the US.
However, iPhones already imported by the time of the ban could continue to be sold. Plus according to South Korean publication JoongAng Daily, there is a complication because of how the ITC has not yet clarified whether the ban would specifically cover importing OLED displays or importing smartphones that use them.
This is different to how the ITC was able to ban the import and sale of Apple Watches into the US in late 2023. In that case, the ban concerned alleged infringement of patents rather than of specific components.
So since no iPhones are assembled in the US, no panel components are imported. Consequently, while BOE is one of the display suppliers for the iPhone 15, iPhone 16, and iPhone 17 ranges, it's reportedly arguable that Apple would not be affected by the ban.
Apple tends to agree. The company made a statement to AppleInsider and others on Wednesday afternoon.
"Apple is not a party to this case, and the order has no impact on any Apple products," the spokesperson said.
However, it's then also possible that Samsung Display could sue companies that use BOE displays in alleged violation of these trade secrets.
Render of a possible iPhone Fold, whose screens are to be made by Samsung Display - Source AppleInsider
Samsung Display would have to weigh the benefits of suing Apple when that company is a major customer. But Apple is such a major customer of Samsung Display that it's unlikely Apple would reduce its iPhone display orders, particularly since it only recently selected the company to make its iPhone fold screens.
Apple has previously cut BOE orders, though, and did so immediately after the supplier was found to have made unauthorized design changes to the iPhone 14. That was in 2022, and it's taken years for BOE to resume being even a small-scale Apple supplier.
BOE is still a minor player in the display market, at least for Apple, and at least compared to Samsung Display and LG Display. However, in June 2025, BOE reportedly expanded its OLED specifically in order to dramatically grow its orders from Apple.
Update July 16, 3:03 PM ET: Updated with a statement from Apple.
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Comments
It is always difficult to judge "theft of trade secrets".
It has been no secret that Chinese companies have hired researchers and top experts from South Korea or Japan.
Even some employees from LG Display or Samsung were accused for selling confidential information to Chinese competitors.
From this case, I start scratching my head why more sensitive components like semiconductors or super computers (H-20) are allowed to be shipped to China while less sensitive components like display are banned?
I think Apple owns a lot of the critical display technology they use, among other tech. It may be a 3rd party OEM that makes it, but Apple owns some part of the technology and manufacturing chain for the components they use. Like miniLEDs and tandem OLEDs. Apple likely owns a good chunk of the display tech in iPhones. This allows them to contract out manufacturing of their displays to multiple companies and guarantees a high likelihood of having the same display performance across multiple contract companies.