Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

LG will help supply OLED panels for Apple’s iPhone XS models

Published Sep 14th, 2018 6:20PM EDT
iPhone XS
Image: Apple Inc.

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Samsung’s reign as the sole supplier of OLED panels for Apple’s iPhone X models has reportedly come to an end. According to a report from The Korea Herald, Apple has tapped LG as a secondary supplier of OLED panels for the recently unveiled iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Hardly a surprise, there have been a few reports over the past few months indicating that Apple was keen on lessening its reliance on Samsung. Indeed, Apple reportedly wanted to use LG panels for last year’s iPhone X before finding that the company’s panels weren’t up to par with Samsung’s.

With word that LG is now a partner with Apple, it stands to reason that the company’s OLED panels have improved such that they can now pass Apple’s rigorous technical requirements.

The report reads in part:

The sources said LGD’s sixth-generation flexible OLED panels recently passed a series of Apple’s quality tests. In addition, the display company is preparing to begin mass-production of OLED panels at two manufacturing lines of its E6 plant, which have been operational only for a test run until recently.

With displays typically comprising the most expensive part of a smartphone, Apple’s new OLED partnership with LG should help the company keep costs down. Equally as important, having two OLED suppliers means that Apple won’t be stuck in as much of a bind in the event that production issues arise at either Samsung or LG.

Incidentally, a speculative report that surfaced this past July claimed that LG will initially supply Apple with upwards of 5 million OLED panels. In other words, the OLED split between Samsung and LG will certainly not be anywhere close to 50/50 anytime soon as Samsung will continue to do most of the heavy lifting.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.