Curiously enough, it seems BOE is not ready to give up the fight for iPhone 14 display orders and The Elec now reports the company is presenting new display samples to Apple for approval.
BOE caught altering iPhone 13 displays now wants to earn a second chance with Apple
It seems that Cupertino is willing to evaluate samples from BOE for OLED panels for the iPhone 14 series, according to The Elec sources. The same sources also stated that Chinese display maker BOE is hoping to get approval from Apple within the month. And if Apple decides to grant BOE a second chance, that will mean that BOE will be able to start mass production of the panels for the standard model of the iPhone 14 series sometime in July or August.
This would place the Chinese company a couple of weeks behind its competitors: Samsung Display and LG Display. BOE’s rivals are expected to start mass production near the end of this month.
But what exactly happened with BOE to cause Apple to drop its orders for iPhone 13 displays it had with the Chinese display maker? Well, interestingly enough (and without any reported reason) BOE went ahead to change the iPhone 13 OLED panels. And that, without saying anything to Apple!
The modification they did is reportedly changing the circuit width of the thin film transistors on the OLED panel. What this meant was basically, lowering the specs of the panel for the iPhone 13, making it thicker so it would be easier to manufacture.
Before choosing to cheat, BOE was facing issues such as low stock of display driver chips, which were hit by the shortage of parts the entire industry experienced due to the pandemic. Additionally, the Chinese display maker was failing to meet its yield targets, reportedly.
As you might imagine, quality-obsessed Cupertino was not at all happy with BOE’s actions. At the beginning of February, Apple dropped BOE from its place as one of the iPhone 13 display manufacturers.
“Sorry, I won’t do it again?” – it seems BOE wants to try to earn back Apple’s trust and score some iPhone 14 orders. According to The Elec, BOE executives visited Cupertino to explain the situation and get approval.. and it seems it worked. The Elec sources said that BOE has recently gotten approval to supply panels for the iPhone 13.
The same unnamed sources predict BOE is likely to supply around 5 million iPhone 14 display units at most, given the recent fallout it had with Apple. Whether or not it gets approval at all is unclear at the moment.
