According to a new Bloomberg report on the matter, it has been known that the four main suppliers of OLED panels for Apple will not be able to meet the production capacity necessary to meet the expected demand for new iPhone terminals throughout 2017. In response Due to this insufficiency, it is expected that there will be restrictions in the supply of the product so that the existing units can last until 2018.
OLED screens are more difficult to mass produce than LCD screens, which means that Apple's situation is complicated in this regard, since it is at the mercy of suppliers and that they are willing to produce the necessary quantities to meet existing demand and have the capacity to do so. Bloomberg also notes that supply constraints may force Apple to finally move to restrict OLED usage with an alternative LCD version of the next iPhone. Another option for Tim Cook's company is to force suppliers to adapt their production and assembly lines to the demand imposed by the consumer.
While Apple and Samsung have an exclusive agreement for the manufacture by the Korean company of OLED panels in 2017, this does not guarantee that it will be able to meet Apple's demand. For example, Samsung's OLED supplies have already been limited for its own smartphones, such as the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. How then are you going to satisfy the demand for a competitor if you can't even cover your own demand?
Apple's need for OLED displays is for screens larger than 5 inches, according to Bloomberg. The Cupertino-based company has placed an initial order for 100 million units, which are due to be supplied over the next year, but Samsung will only be able to supply a portion of that requested quantity. Therefore, Apple could run into quite a bit of trouble if Samsung cannot meet its demand in two different ways. On the one hand, the demand for Apple devices will not be satisfied and the company will lose credit with its customers and will stop making hundreds of millions of dollars. On the other hand, Samsung, its supplier and at the same time its competitor, will be able to take advantage of the situation to gain commercial ground from Manzanita and place its devices on users who demanded an iPhone and cannot obtain it on the market.
If Samsung itself sees supply constraints in its OLED panel input for the fall 2017 launch of the new iPhone, Apple can't afford to be left in the dark by another vendor. This is why Apple typically has several key component vendors. For example, you receive LCD panels from all the major display manufacturers based in Asia. For the next year, at least, it seems that the OLED supply chain may be a one-company affair, under the exclusive agreement with Samsung, but for the sake of the company and its numbers, this situation must change. and Apple must ensure a sufficient production of OLED panels in 2017.
Last Tuesday, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he believes Apple will launch an all-new OLED iPhone alongside 4,7-inch and 5,5-inch LCD iPhones. At the same time, it seems quite likely that these different versions of the Apple smartphone will be accompanied by some novelties, such as a rear glass panel. The new OLED iPhone will also have an edge-to-edge curved screen. Previously, Kuo already said that the new iPhone would have an OLED screen; a 5,8-inch screen with a frameless design. The developments that are being advanced on the new Apple phone that will be released in a little less than a year, in autumn 2017, are also attracting many Android users, so it is of the utmost importance that the company can supply this growing demand and retain new