According to RUNTO data, in 2022, BOE flexible OLED panel shipments reached 79.5 million pieces, an increase of 22.6% compared to 2021. Among them, shipments to Apple iPhone reached 31 million pieces, up 89% year-on-year in 2021.
As early as the end of 2021, BOE has already achieved OLED panel import for almost all mainstream phone brands in the world, including Apple, Samsung, Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, and Honor.
BOE will ship approximately 31 million units to Apple in 2022, an 89% increase
In 2022, BOE’s small-sized panel business, in addition to the Magic Vs folding project of the Honor brand and the Mate 50 Pro delivery project of the Huawei brand, is quite concerned about the supply situation of the Apple iPhone.
Although the supply of BOE to iPhone 13 in the first half of the year was adversely affected and lower than expected, the second half of the year benefited from the introduction of iPhone 14, with shipments increasing by more than 140% compared to the first half of the year, and the end of the year was close to the high level of 5 million pieces per month.
For the whole year, according to RUNTO data, BOE shipped 31 million OLED phone panels to Apple, an 89% increase compared to 2021. 15%, while in 2021, the share is less than 10%.
The next target is product development for iPhone 15 and LTPO OLEDs
Next, BOE aims to complete mass production delivery and LTPO introduction for Apple’s iPhone 15 by 2023.
According to upstream and downstream industry chain information, all four models of Apple’s iPhone 15 series to be launched in the second half of this year will use Hole exclamation point cutout panels (two models of the iPhone 14 series use Hole type). The lower-tier Standard and Plus versions will use LTPS, and the higher-tier Pro and Pro Max will use LTPO OLED panels. Throughout 2023, Apple plans to purchase a total of approximately 101 million flexible OLED panels for the iPhone 15.
For the new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models, BOE has already received panel procurement interest from Apple. According to industry estimates, Samsung Display (SDC) will supply 55 million panels, LGD will supply 28 million panels, and BOE will supply 18 million panels. LGD will continue to supply LTPS and LTPO products in 2023, but SDC will only start supplying LTPO panels to iPhone 14 after a delay in October of that year due to the LTPO certification.
BOE’s final shipments will depend on the progress of iPhone 15 certification and mass production in 2023, as well as the progress of key competitor LGD’s products. If 18 million units are shipped, BOE’s share of new iPhone panels in 2023 will triple from 6% in 2022 for iPhone 14 to approximately 18%.
Other key growth drivers for BOE over the next three years include Apple’s OLED for IT, Mini LED and folding screens, in addition to LTPO.
