Apple is facing problems finding a second supplier for its new iPhone screens and will have to keep using Samsung displays if LG Display’s manufacturing issues aren’t fixed anytime soon.
Apple doesn’t want to depend on Samsung for supplying phone screens, but it is now facing an unforeseen problem. According to The Wall Street Journal reports, LG Display which is to be used by Apple as a second source of its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens in its new phones, is facing manufacturing disorders.
Since LG Display has already fallen behind schedule, Apple is reconsidering its use. As for Apple’s iPhone X screens, they are currently manufactured by the display division of Samsung.
According to Hiroshi Hayase, a Tokyo-based analyst at IHS Technology, in a discussion with The Wall Street Journal, Samsung being Apple’s competitor creates a major difficulty for Apple if it still has to continue buying the screen-based components from Samsung.
LG Display is well-known for its larger OLED panels for televisions, but smaller screens obviously require a different technology which it seems to be encountering failures.
Apple has been looking for a new OLED supplier since last year to facilitate the cost-cutting of its phones. While the price for iPhone X started at $999, the Samsung Galaxy S9 had a definite advantage, with a price of $720. LG Display was recently assigned the task of creating a third round of prototypes for the new iPhones, which is outside the usual norm for suppliers.
As for official source verification, spokespeople and information personnel from both of Apple and LG Display were not available at the time of publication of this story.
