BOE has once again fallen short of Apple’s display requirements, resulting in a major shift in the iPhone 17 supply chain. According to multiple industry reports, Apple has reassigned BOE’s planned LTPO OLED allocation to Samsung Display after the Chinese panel maker failed to resolve reliability issues ahead of mass production.
The change affects BOE’s original plan to supply up to ten million LTPO OLED panels for the iPhone 17 Pro in the Chinese market. Apple granted BOE initial mass production approval in the third quarter of 2025, but internal testing flagged persistent defects in yield, performance, and long term reliability. These problems prevented BOE from meeting Apple’s LTPO standards, which support features like ProMotion and always on display.
As a result, BOE’s entire Pro model allocation has shifted to Samsung Display. Samsung was originally slated to supply around eighty million OLED panels for the iPhone 17 lineup. That figure now rises to roughly ninety million units to cover the shortfall. BOE had hoped to reach forty million OLED shipments to Apple this year, but the latest forecasts show its contribution falling far below that target.
The BOE iPhone 17 OLED supply setback highlights the challenges of competing with Samsung and LG in advanced LTPO production. BOE has not previously manufactured LTPO panels for Apple. Despite its experience producing OLED displays for devices like the OnePlus 15, the company’s LTPO yields have struggled to pass Apple’s testing thresholds. Industry sources note that BOE’s factory yields hovered near eighty five percent, which fell short of the consistency Samsung and LG deliver on their more mature lines.
Complicating matters further, BOE faces a long term ban in the United States. The US International Trade Commission ruled that BOE had infringed Samsung Display’s OLED patents, blocking BOE panels from entering the US market for fifteen years. This restriction gives Samsung and LG relatively unrestricted access to the US portion of Apple’s supply chain.
Market data from UBI Research shows how large that imbalance already is. As of October 2025, Samsung controlled 64.5 percent of iPhone 17 OLED shipments, LG held 34.1 percent, and BOE accounted for only 1.4 percent. With the reallocation of BOE’s Pro model orders, Samsung’s share is expected to grow even further.
Apple’s reported plan to use the same Samsung M14 OLED panel across the entire iPhone 17 lineup reinforces a shift toward uniform display performance. Using a single high end panel reduces calibration differences between standard and Pro models and ensures consistent power efficiency and brightness across the series. It also lowers risk in Apple’s supply chain by relying on suppliers with demonstrated LTPO reliability.
Despite the setback, BOE continues to invest heavily in domestic OLED expansion. Reports from China indicate the company is putting more than sixty billion yuan into new AMOLED production lines in Chengdu, targeting monthly output of thirty two thousand panels per line. BOE is reassessing multiple lines to meet future domestic and Apple related demand, suggesting it still intends to compete for long term LTPO orders once reliability improves.
(via ZDNet Korea)
