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Apple may cancel BOE as an iPhone 14 display supplier over iPhone 13 blunder

BOE may lose Apple-supplier status. (Source: BOE)
BOE may lose Apple-supplier status. (Source: BOE)
BOE has been tipped as one of three sources of display panels for the upcoming iPhone 14 series. However, this lucrative contract now reportedly hangs in the balance following a dispute over a previous dispute concerning 13-series screens. BOE has been conducting corporate damage control, but may yet lose the chance to help manufacture the latest iPhones.

Apple has been rumored to engage 3 display OEMs as iPhone 14-series supply partners: the usual suspects LG and Samsung, as well as BOE, an emerging name in OLED technology. The Cupertino giant's reasons for doing so are thought to include contingencies against further industrial disruption, as well as a bargaining chip to keep the prices any one of these companies can charge it.

Nevertheless, the situation may have worked out very well for BOE, which has been said to have secured orders for up to 30 million units possibly destined for the vanilla (yet still OLED) iPhone 14. Unfortunately for the company, its burgeoning position as an Apple supplier is now reportedly in jeopardy.

According to TheElec, the hardware giant is yet to give BOE the go-ahead to start making iPhone 14 panels as planned. Apple's hesitation is said to have stemmed from an earlier controversy in which the latest batch of iPhone 13-series displays made by BOE were found to have an unauthorized modification to their construction.

BOE is said to have sent some employees, a high-level executive included, to Apple Park with the aim of smoothing things over with its potential client and explain its rationale for the impromptu design change. However, there is no word on whether the delegation achieved its ends or not as yet.

Therefore, it is now possible that Samsung and LG might snap the entirety of 14-series orders after all. The former stood to gain contracts for the Pro and Pro Max, while the latter was to make panels for the Pro Max only; now, they may be the source of 14 and '14 Max' screens as well, leaving BOE by the wayside.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2022 05 > Apple may cancel BOE as an iPhone 14 display supplier over iPhone 13 blunder
Deirdre O'Donnell, 2022-05-21 (Update: 2022-05-21)