Despite Apple's focus on diversifying its suppliers for various components in its products, Samsung Display is expected to still provide nearly 80 percent of the OLED displays used in this year's "iPhone 12" lineup, according to a preview of a DigiTimes report that will be published in full tomorrow.
Samsung Display has obtained nearly 80% of the overall panel orders for Apple's next-generation iPhone series tentatively dubbed iPhone 12 slated for launch later this year, according to industry sources. LG Display and BOE are other panel suppliers for the upcoming iPhones.
Samsung was the exclusive display supplier for Apple's first OLED iPhone, the iPhone X back in 2017. LG came on board the following year as a second supplier, and BOE is now reportedly entering Apple's supply chain for the 2020 phones as Apple goes all-OLED in its flagship lineup for the first time.
Apple is widely rumored to be launching four new iPhone models in the usual September or October timeframe, although supply constraints and delays in production ramp-up may lead to a somewhat staggered release as we've seen in recent years.
Of the four new models coming this year, rumors have indicated that Samsung will supply the displays for three models: the 5.4-inch entry-level iPhone 12 and 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch "iPhone 12 Pro" models. The fourth new model, a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 with similar specs to the entry-level model, is where BOE and LG are said to be supplying displays.
Update May 27: The full report is now available, with DigiTimes repeating many of the display specs that have previously been rumored. Samsung is reportedly planning to ship 30-35 million displays for the 5.4-inch model and 15-20 million displays for each of the high-end 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models.
As previous sources have indicated, LG Display and BOE are expected to split the display supplies for the low-end 6.1-inch model, with LG supplying the vast majority with 18-23 million panels while BOE provides just two million.
