Apple’s iPhone 16 series was previously rumored to be arriving on time for September, despite the Apple Intelligence Suite’s launch reportedly being delayed until October.
Ahead of the phones’ launch, Samsung and LG have begun mass production of display panels for the upcoming iPhone 16 models.
According to sources in Korea, Apple ordered 80 million panels from Samsung and 43 million from LG. Apple’s iPhone 16 shipments this year are estimated to be around 90 million, so it looks like the company ordered about 30% more panels.
The Korean supply chain has “confirmed” that both Samsung and LG are currently producing panels normally in line with this order volume. Both companies will benefit from Apple’s orders, with improved efficiency in the second half of this year.
According to reports, the Korean supply chain believes that the iPhone 16 series, being the first to be equipped with Apple Intelligence, will convince many people to purchase these models, creating “huge demand” for them.
LG will benefit the most from this, with its display panel shipments increasing by about 10 million compared to last year, and it will also take over 30% of the pie it shares with Samsung. LG is also said to be meeting its production schedule without delays for the first time this year, which should also help improve efficiency.
In 2022 and 2023, LG’s delays in starting mass production of OLED panels for the iPhone left Samsung as the sole supplier of the initial batch of panels after launch.
On the other hand, Samsung’s numbers haven’t grown significantly (in terms of Apple’s iPhone orders) compared to previous years, but it does have a larger share of panels for the Pro and Pro Max, which are more expensive, so its revenues are likely to grow. Of all the panels Samsung ships, those for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max account for about 60%.
As for the Chinese BOE, it is apparently having problems obtaining approval to supply devices from the iPhone 16 family, so it is likely that it will simply not be present in this generation.
Source (in Korean)
