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Apple Adds LG as a Potential Supplier for Foldable OLED Panels
The display of the foldable iPhone could be supplied by LG, although Apple’s primary iPhone OLED supplier, Samsung has already shipped foldable test panels. LG was recently added as a foldable supplier and is working with Apple on a prototype folding phone. Given a target date of 2023, Apple has time to make a decision once the prototyping phase is complete. Samsung is dominant supplier of high quality and foldable panels, but the volume in 2020 was only 2.5m and is not expected to exceed 5m in 2021. Even with the announcements by OPPO, Xiaomi, Huawei and Royole, Samsung is still expected to maintain an 80% share of the fledging foldables market. Reports have also suggested that the foldable iPhone will support input from Apple Pencil, similar to the S-Pen support expected in the Z Fold 3.
Apple’s production of the iPhone 12 mini has reportedly been reduced by 70 percent or more in the first half of this year, making up the majority of a 20 percent cut in total iPhone 12 production. Some suppliers have been asked to temporarily stop producing iPhone 12 mini-specific components, while other parts are being reallocated to the Pro and Pro Max, Nikkei reports.
Alongside the iPhone production news, Nikkei also reports that Apple has pushed back production for two new Apple Silicon MacBooks. Originally due to enter mass production in May or June, the laptops will now be manufactured in the second half of the year. Despite the cuts, iPhone production is still scheduled to be up overall compared to 2020 at 75 million handsets in the first half of the year, and 230 million phones over the course of 2021.
The display of the foldable iPhone could be supplied by LG, although Apple’s primary iPhone OLED supplier, Samsung has already shipped foldable test panels. LG was recently added as a foldable supplier and is working with Apple on a prototype folding phone. Given a target date of 2023, Apple has time to make a decision once the prototyping phase is complete. Samsung is dominant supplier of high quality and foldable panels, but the volume in 2020 was only 2.5m and is not expected to exceed 5m in 2021. Even with the announcements by OPPO, Xiaomi, Huawei and Royole, Samsung is still expected to maintain an 80% share of the fledging foldables market. Reports have also suggested that the foldable iPhone will support input from Apple Pencil, similar to the S-Pen support expected in the Z Fold 3.
Apple’s production of the iPhone 12 mini has reportedly been reduced by 70 percent or more in the first half of this year, making up the majority of a 20 percent cut in total iPhone 12 production. Some suppliers have been asked to temporarily stop producing iPhone 12 mini-specific components, while other parts are being reallocated to the Pro and Pro Max, Nikkei reports.
Alongside the iPhone production news, Nikkei also reports that Apple has pushed back production for two new Apple Silicon MacBooks. Originally due to enter mass production in May or June, the laptops will now be manufactured in the second half of the year. Despite the cuts, iPhone production is still scheduled to be up overall compared to 2020 at 75 million handsets in the first half of the year, and 230 million phones over the course of 2021.
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