Foldable iPhone Displays May Come from China’s BOE

Bloomberg reported that Apple was seeking to cooperate with BOE, China’s largest screen maker, to develop OLED screens in February. At the time, there was no significant OLED manufacturing in BOE, but a source in South Korea said the yield of OLED panels in BOE may be changing.

BOE is investing in Apple’s exclusive production line, which it hopes will provide flexible, and foldable OLED panels. In fact, OLED screens produced by BOE may be used in next year’s iPhone XI or iPhone XI Plus, assuming Apple continues its phone naming trend. BOE already decided to make a huge investment, which tells a lot.

SEE ALSO: Bendable Phones May be on the Way from China’s Giants

Sources said BOE is not only committed to the production of flexible OLED screens, but is also researching foldable OLED panels. It plans to increase the production to 50:50, which coincides with Apple’s intent to explore the feasibility of flexible OLED panels on the new iPhone and iPad. Samsung is also rumored to unveil a foldable Galaxy X phone next year.

Bloomberg previously reported that Apple was testing the display device produced by BOE, and was likely to use the BOE OLED screen for its next generation of iPhones starting in 2018. If next year’s iPhones use BOE’s screens, BOE could be Apple’s first Chinese display supplier.

Founded in 1993, BOE has the world’s largest display business by shipments. At SID Display Week in Los Angeles, BOE showed multiple editions of its flexible AMOLED display, and said AMOLED would be mass produced on BOE’s sixth generation flexible AMOLED production line in Chengdu. BOE is the global leader in this technology. It will become the world’s largest supplier of AMOLED display screens in 2019, according to a new forecast from IHS Markit, a leading research firm.