Step aside Samsung; Apple will now buy millions of LCD/OLED panels from LG

We all know that Samsung is a major supplier of LCD and OLED panels to many smartphone makers and the Cupertino giant Apple is one of its major clients. Samsung made millions of LCD/OLED panel for iPhones and earned billions from the US company. While some reports suggest that Samsung made a whopping $22 billion by selling OLED panels to Apple in a time span of one year. However, things are changing from now onwards as the rumors which surfaced earlier this year claiming that LG Display will supply OLED panels to Apple in 2018, are being affirmed by a new supply-chain report.

According to a new report from Korean site Newspim cited by DigiTimes, LG will not only supply OLED panels to Apple but it is also assigned to make millions of cheaper LCD panels for the US company in a newly signed deal. And those cheaper LCD panels are apparently being made for the cheaper 6.1-inch LCD iPhone that has been surfacing in numerous rumors for quite a while now.

The report says that LG Display will make 20 million LCD panels and around four million OLED panels for 2018 iPhones. As DigiTimes notes;

“Based on the contract, LG Display is expected to ship 3-4 million OLED panels as well as 20 million LCD smartphone panels to Apple in 2018, said the report, which added that LG Display will produce the OLED panels needed for the iPhone from its E6 6G fab in Paju.”

While shedding light on the roadmap of 2018 iPhones launch, Newspim reports that LG will “start shipping both LCD and OLED panels to the US smartphone vendor for the production of its next-generation iPhone devices in the second half of 2018.”

It must be noted that Apple will still have to rely upon Samsung Display for providing OLED panels in bulk. However, for LCD panels the company will be mostly relying upon LG Display and Japan Display. Meanwhile, Apple is also working on its own MicroLED displays in order to reduce reliance upon display market giants to cut the cost of their products in coming years.

image– The Verge