BOE could lose orders for 30 million iPhone 14 screens by altering designs without permission

According to media reports, Apple is considering canceling orders for up to 30 million OLED screens for the iPhone 14 after boe was found to have changed the screen specifications set by Apple without permission. Boe is said to have changed the width of the thin film transistor (TFT) circuit on the iPhone 13, possibly in an effort to improve yield. Changing the design could make screens thicker and therefore easier to manufacture.

Apple discovered the changes in February 2022 and has asked BOE to stop production. As a direct result, BOE is said to have received no orders for OLED screens for Apple's iPhone 14.

Boe has sent C-level executives -- ctO or CHIEF executive -- to Apple's Cupertino headquarters with an unspecified number of employees to coordinate the effort and explain their rationale for changing Apple's original design, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Apple's reaction is unclear, but boe has not received a clear response from the company, which is said to have asked for approval to produce the iPhone14 OLED screen.

Apple is understood to be interested in ordering 30 million OLED screens for the iPhone14 from boe, but the company is now more likely to choose between Samsung Display and LG Display. Apple is said to want to supply more than 150 million OLED screens for the iPhone 14 series, up from the 140 million it originally planned to order.

However, production of the iPhone14 screen is not expected to begin until June at the earliest. Samsung is expected to produce screens for the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro models, while LG is expected to supply screens for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Boe's two factories in China make OLED panels for the iPhone 12 and 13, accounting for 10 per cent of all iPhone screen supply in 2021, but the company always planned a big expansion to replace LG Display in 2023, To become one of apple's major suppliers of iPhone screens.

In addition to tampering with Apple's design, BOE faces a shortage of display driver chips, one of the most in short supply in the world.

The global chip shortage is caused by a number of factors. These include increased demand for chips during the pandemic, epidemic-related production disruptions and growing demand for chips from automakers as cars rely on more and more microprocessor units.

Chip supply shortages in the biggest problem is not a shortage of CPU and GPU, but more common chips are in short supply, such as display drives and power management systems. These relatively low-tech chips are used in a wide range of devices, including Apple's.