It is known that "Apple House" will switch to using organic light-emitting diode ( OLED ) screens in all iPhone lines from 2025 onwards, including the low-cost iPhone SE models. This leads to the two Japanese panel suppliers, Japan Display (JDI) and Sharp, "falling out of favor" with Apple.
JDI and Sharp used to account for 70% of the iPhone display market about a decade ago, but recently they have only supplied LCD panels for the iPhone SE. Currently, Chinese and Korean suppliers are the key suppliers of OLED screens for Apple.
Apple has reportedly begun ordering OLED displays for the upcoming iPhone SE from China's BOE Technology Group and South Korea's LG Display. The move marks the end of LCD displays on iPhones, with the SE model due to launch next year also featuring an OLED display, along with the standard-priced iPhone models and the high-end Pro models.
Accordingly, South Korea's Samsung Electronics also holds about half of the OLED screen market for iPhones, while LG Display accounts for about 30% and BOE accounts for about 20%.
With the increasing demand for watching movies, sports and playing games on smartphones, Samsung has been selling OLED screens instead of LCD screens since 2009. Because OLED screen technology does not need a backlight, it brings more vivid colors and sharper contrast than LCD.
Apple first used OLED panels in the iPhone X in 2017. Since then, the company has switched from LCD to OLED for its high-end models. Around 2015, JDI and Sharp used to supply nearly 200 million LCD panels annually for iPhones, but that number has dropped to around 20 million by 2023.
OLED displays will surpass LCDs in the number of panels shipped for smartphones for the first time this year, according to market research firm Omdia.
On the other hand, Apple is expected to continue cutting LCD purchases as iPads and other products begin using advanced OLED displays.
Until recently, Japanese manufacturers counted Apple as their main customer and expanded production to meet iPhone sales.
However, the transition to OLED has left them with excess capacity. Although JDI also develops energy-efficient OLEDs, it currently supplies only small-sized OLED displays for devices like the Apple Watch , while LCDs are relegated to automotive applications.
Sharp is also scaling back its LCD business. In August 2024, it suspended operations at its Sakai plant in Osaka, which makes large LCD panels for TVs, and reduced capacity at its Kameyama plant in Mie Prefecture.
