Report: Apple increases iPhone 14 OLED order to 150 million, one supplier in trouble

What you need to know

• A new report says Apple is planning to make 150 million OLED panels for iPhone 14, up from the 140 million it first intended.
• Supplier BOE may see its 30 million orders given over to rivals.
• It made a design change to its OLED panels for iPhone 13 that Apple isn't happy with.

A new report says Apple is planning to make 150 million OLED panels for the iPhone 14, but that supplier BOE could lose its 30 million expected orders because of a design problem.

A new report from The Elec Friday states that BOE "is yet to receive approval from Apple to manufacture OLED panels for the upcoming iPhone 14 smartphones series." The company was "caught" having changed the circuit width of the film transistors it uses on the OLED panels for Apple's current best iPhone, the iPhone 13, a previously reported snafu that led to Apple ceasing orders from the company.

That same design change may now also see BOE lose its order of 30 million OLED panels for the iPhone 14. According to the report the company sent "C-level" executives and employees to Cupertino to explain themselves, but when they asked about the approval for the manufacture of iPhone panels they "didn't receive a clear response."

The report says that Cupertino "seems poised to give the order" to rivals Samsung Display and LG Display instead, a crushing blow for the under-pressure screen maker.

The Elec says Apple "is planning to manufacture over 150 million units of OLED panels" for iPhone 14, up from the 140 million it had previously intended, possibly suggesting the iPhone maker is anticipating increased demand or supply issues down the line.

The report says production on the panels will begin in June "at the earliest". Samsung Display is expected to supply the OLED panels for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. LG Display is also expected to supply LTPO TFT OLED panels for the 14 Pro Max for the first time later this year.

According to numerous reports from reliable sources, Apple is planning to ditch the 'mini' iPhone in favor of a new 6.7-inch iPhone 14, offering customers two 'regular' and two 'Max' variants of its new flagship device. Other rumored features include a new pill-shaped hole punch front-facing camera assembly that will replace the notch on the iPhone 14 Pro only, along with a new processor (again, only for the Pro), and a new 48MP camera. The design is expected to remain largely unchanged, save for a bigger rear camera bump on some models.