LG Display hoping to win approval from Apple for iPhone 14 LTPO OLED

LG Display was in the final stages of review by Apple for its low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED for use in iPhone 14 Pro Max, TheElec has learned.

Whether the South Korean display maker will win the deal will be decided in around two weeks' time, sources said.

This is the first time that LG Display is attempting to commercialize its LTPO thin-film transistor (TFT) OLED.

Rival Samsung Display is already manufacturing the panels for both iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pro. It has commercialized the technology back in 2020.

LG Display’s samples to Cupertino showed problems in thin-film encapsulation and the hole that is placed on top of the front camera.

The company had to change some masks used in the production process due to this, sources said.

New samples following the changes are going through a reliability test.

If Apple rejects the new samples within two weeks, LG Display will have to go through another similar process that will delay approval by another two weeks for a month.

If approved by early October, the South Korean company can start mass production right away, which will win it more orders.

It will be able to supply over 10 million units from newly produced batches from its E6 production line at Paju of up to 8 million units.

LG Display will also be able to salvage some of the panels that are deemed qualified from the batches it already made.

Meanwhile, because LG Display has missed the supply for the initial batch of iPhone 14s, Samsung Display will be supplying more units.

Samsung Display placed more orders for equipment to make LTPO OLED because of the unexpectedly increased demand thanks to its rival’s setback.

Apple uses LTPO OLED panels for its Pro models while the standard and plus models use low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) ones that are easier to make compared to LTPO OLED.