Samsung Display, BOE, and Tianma have proposed their prices to Apple for OLED panels aimed at iPhone SE4 that will launch early in 2025, TheElec has learned.
Cupertino has so far only used LCD panels for its budget iPhone line but it is planning to upgrade this to OLED next year.
Sources said Samsung Display proposed a unit price of US$30; BOE offered US$35 and Tianma US$40. Apple is countering with US$20 and their negotiation is still ongoing.
The OLED panel prices are considerably lower than those of iPhone 15 as OLED panels for SE will use recycled parts and legacy techs.
The OLED panel for iPhone SE4 will likely be the same one as those used in iPhone 14 back in 2022 as well as iPhone 13 a year earlier than that. The standard iPhone models sported 6.1-inch panels.
This means display panel suppliers also don’t need to make additional investments into research and development, hence the substantially lowered price tag.
Both Samsung Display and BOE have secured sufficient yield rates for the panel; Tianma is likely not a serious contender as it is behind in OLED tech to its larger rivals.
Samsung Display can use its existing iPhone 14 OLED inventory to respond to demand from iPhone SE4, putting it at an advantage over rivals.
The South Korean display panel maker will also look to focus more on the more profitable OLED panels for iPhone 15 series and iPhone 16 series launching later this year. This gives it room to lower OLED panel prices for iPhone SE4 as much as it needs as it has enough profits to offset less margins to snub BOE.
Meanwhile, for BOE which is in the red when it comes to its iPhone OLED business, any gains from winning more orders for iPhone SE4 are needed.
Last year it lost a great opportunity to increase its OLED panel production capacity as it faced difficulty in making the hole-display for the standard iPhone 15 model, which slowed it down and caused Samsung Display to take more orders.
