BOE having issues with OLED panels for iPhones due to chip shortage

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It has long been established that the global chip shortage has far-reaching consequences. A lot of devices and components use silicon chips, so a shortage could cause production to stall. That seems to be what's happening to this Apple's iPhones this year.

According to The Elec, display manufacturer BOE is having issues with the production of OLED panels for iPhones. Sources claim that the chip shortage will affect the production of the panels in the next two months. The company is getting its display Integrated Circuit (IC) from LX Semicon, but the Korean company is prioritising shipment to LG Display due to a lack of production capacity.

Allegedly, BOE will have to reduce its production volume by 2-3 million units in March 2022. For reference, Apple is expected to order up to 10 million OLED panels from BOE in 1H 2022. In other words, just next month's drop in production could reduce the company's available stock of displays for iPhones by 20-30%. It's also predicted that BOE will only ship around 30 million OLED panels, rather than the company's initial goal of 40 million.

Could this result in a delay in the iPhone 14 series launch? It's possible but it's still too early to say for sure. We'll keep an eye on more news, so please stay tuned to TechNave for more updates.