Apple’s upcoming iPhone 14 is facing supply-related problems, but the company’s large and diverse supply chain should be able to make up for the short-term shortfall, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said. In a Tuesday tweet, Kuo said he recently learned that some iPhone 14 display panel suppliers and memory suppliers “are experiencing supply issues.” Despite that, he expects the impact on mass production to be limited.
When it comes to LPDDR5 memory, Kuo said that Samsung is “pretty much the only supplier” in the third quarter of 2022. The company is also well positioned to meet production demand for the iPhone 14 Pro during the ramp-up period.
The other two Apple memory suppliers, Micron and SK Hynix, will likely start shipping memory modules in the fourth quarter of 2022. This is due to Micron’s late start on certification and because SK Hynix has encountered quality control issues.
When it comes to OLED panels, Kuo believes that LG Display has encountered problems with the appearance of the panels. While LG solves this problem, Samsung and BOE are expected to fill the supply gap to a large extent – a job that shouldn’t take long.
BOE is the latest company to join Apple’s panel supply chain. In July, it was granted a license to produce OLED panels for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 14 – despite some previous hiccups with its supply.
Earlier in July, Kuo refuted reports that TSMC had cut iPhone 14 chip orders by 10 percent. He still believes that Apple is expected to maintain production expectations for the iPhone 14.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro are expected to introduce a number of improvements to Apple’s smartphones, with many of the more advanced features thought to be exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro. These could include the A16 processor, a new pill-shaped under-punch sensor, and an always-on display.
