Apple’s iPhone 16 line has already been rumored to arrive on time in September, despite the fact that the Apple Intelligence suite has allegedly been delayed to October.
Ahead of the release of the handsets, Samsung and LG have started mass production of the display panels for the upcoming iPhone 16 models.
According to sources in Korea, Apple has ordered 80 million panels from Samsung and 43 million from LG. Apple’s iPhone 16 shipments this year are apparently estimated to be around 90 million, so it looks like the company has ordered around 30% more panels than that.
The supply chain in Korea has “confirmed” that both Samsung and LG are currently carrying out the panel production normally in line with this order volume. Both companies will benefit from Apple’s orders, with improved performance in the second half of this year.
The Korean supply chain reportedly believes that the iPhone 16 series being the first ones shipping with Apple Intelligence will convince a lot of people to upgrade to these models, thus creating “a massive demand” for them.
LG will benefit most from this, with its supply of display panels increasing by about 10 million compared to last year, and taking more than 30% of the pie it shares with Samsung. It’s also said that this year is the first time LG is carrying out its production schedule without delays, which should also contribute to improving performance.
In 2022 and 2023, LG’s delays in starting mass production for iPhone OLED panels led to Samsung being the sole supplier of the initial volume upon launch.
On the other hand, Samsung’s numbers haven’t risen substantially (when talking about Apple orders for the iPhones) compared to previous years, but it has a bigger share of panels for the Pro and Pro Max, which are more expensive, so its revenue is expected to grow. Out of all panels Samsung is supplying, those for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max represent about 60%.
As for China’s BOE, it’s apparently having issues being approved for supplying the iPhone 16 family, so it may just sit this generation out.
Source (in Korean)