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Apple adheres to strict quality control measures for its products. This means that if a supplier wants stable orders from a tech giant, which could also mean a lucrative financial period for that supplier, they must maintain near-perfect reporting when mass-producing certain parts. BOE, the display maker, probably didn’t read the memo carefully because it was reportedly caught cutting corners with iPhone 13 displays, resulting in lost iPhone 14 orders.
A deal for 30 million orders for iPhone 14 displays went down the drain this month for BOE as The Elec reports that the Chinese display maker cut corners with iPhone 13 panels. Details allege that the company was changing the circuit width of the iPhone 13 display’s thin-film transistors without informing Apple . A BOE executive was later sent to Apple’s Cupertino headquarters to clear up the incident, but the report says neither the executive nor the firm received orders for the iPhone 14.
The iPhone 14 series is expected to launch this September, and Apple has to make adjustments to its display supply chain after it delisted BOE. With that said, 30 million display orders are likely to be split between LG and Samsung. Samsung may be tasked with supplying Apple with 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro orders, as well as 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max orders, while LG is said to fill the rest for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The “Pro” versions may once again get exclusive LTPO OLED technology, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will retain LTPS panels like the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini. It remains to be seen if Apple will add BOE again after the latter was caught, or if it will be open to the idea of adding another supplier. In a word, this incident will serve as a warning to potential partners not to cheat with orders, otherwise there will be dire consequences.
