Smartphones featuring OLED displays have become a major trend in the tech industry. Chinese manufacturer BOE is showing strong confidence in this growing market. This year, the company plans to start mass production of OLED panels for smartphones and is aiming to secure significant orders from Apple in the future.
According to a report by Nikkei on the 24th, BOE’s Sichuan B7 plant is set to begin mass production of smartphone OLED panels by the end of this month. Engineers will remain at the factory during the National Day holiday to ensure continuous operations, with the goal of accelerating shipments by the end of October.
In addition, BOE executives revealed that the company is constructing a new OLED facility in Mianyang, Sichuan, which is expected to begin operations in 2019. This plant is reportedly intended to supply OLED panels for the iPhone. According to industry sources, Apple is currently evaluating BOE’s technology and plans to first incorporate it into the Apple Watch before expanding its use to iPhones.
Currently, all iPhone OLED orders are handled by Samsung Electronics. To reduce dependency on a single supplier, Apple has been reaching out to BOE, LGD, and Japan Display, sharing technology with these companies to support their development efforts.
Can BOE’s technology match that of industry leader Samsung? Experts employed by Chinese factories suggest that BOE’s B7 plant technology is comparable to Samsung’s. With strong government support and substantial financial backing, BOE has invested over RMB 93 billion in its Chengdu and Mianyang plants—far exceeding Japanese competitors and enabling rapid progress toward catching up with Korean manufacturers.
Today, Samsung dominates the smartphone OLED market with a 90% share, followed by LGD and then BOE. While Nikkei has a positive view of BOE’s capabilities, Chinese media remains more cautious, noting that the technology still lags behind South Korean factories.
The Global Times reported on the 23rd that the rising demand for OLEDs has made them a strategic component for Chinese smartphone manufacturers. This has attracted major panel makers like BOE, Huaxing Optoelectronics, and Huiguang. In December last year, Hefei Optoelectronics launched its sixth-generation OLED line in Shanghai, while BOE started a flexible OLED production line in Mianyang, Sichuan. Industry estimates suggest that domestic manufacturers have invested hundreds of billions of yuan in OLED development, though new capacity may not be stable until 2020.
Zhang Baizhe, a professor at Tsinghua University and an LCD expert, noted that while China’s investments are significant, OLED technology is highly complex. Samsung has been developing it for over a decade, and it took several years to improve yield rates. Chinese manufacturers must be fully prepared for the challenges ahead.
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