According to a story from The Elec, Chinese display maker Beijing Oriental Electronics (BOE) may lose 30 million display orders for the future iPhone 14 because it purportedly changed the design of the iPhone 13's display to enhance the yield rate or the manufacturing of non-defective goods (via 9to5Mac).
Last October, Apple tasked BOE with producing iPhone 13 screens, but the arrangement was short-lived after Apple reportedly detected BOE changing the circuit width of the iPhone 13's thin-film transistors without Apple's knowledge early this month. (Did they really expect Apple to go unnoticed?)
This move may come back to haunt BOE, as Apple may also drop the business from the production of the iPhone 14's OLED display. BOE dispatched an official to Apple's Cupertino headquarters to explain the matter, according to The Elec and claims it did not get an order to build iPhone 14 screens. Apple is slated to unveil the iPhone 14 during a fall event, but The Elec reports that production on the display might begin as early as next month.
The Elec anticipates Apple splitting the 30 million display order between LG Display and Samsung Display, its two key display vendors, in place of BOE. The 6.1 and 6.7-inch screens for the next iPhone 14 Pro are expected to come from Samsung, while the 6.7-inch panel for the iPhone 14 Pro Max will come from LG.
BOE historically solely made screens for reconditioned iPhones, according to MacRumors. The startup was then recruited by Apple to supply OLED screens for the next iPhone 12 in 2020, however, the first batch of panels failed Apple's stringent quality control testing. A display driver chip shortage has been affecting BOE's output since the beginning of this year.