Apple suddenly cuts iPhone 13 display supplier from chain

Iphone 13 Pro Ios 15 Hero
Iphone 13 Pro Ios 15 Hero (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

  • One Apple supplier has reportedly stopped making panels for Apple.
  • BOE has apparently made almost no panels for the iPhone 13 since February.
  • It's reportedly because of a design change issue.

A new report claims that Apple supplier BOE has reportedly made almost no panels for the company since February because of a design change.

As reported by The Elec:

BOE had manufactured only a meager amount of OLED panels for iPhones since February, TheElec has learned.The Chinese display panel maker had begun supplying OLED panels for the 6.1-inch model of the iPhone 13 series since last year.But since February, the company's panel volume for the phone plummeted over the past four months, sources said.

According to the report, an initial dip in production was caused by a shortage of display driver ICs, however, the more pressing matter of a design change has seen Apple cut the manufacturer out of the chain, asking it to halt production.

The report says changes made to the design of the OLED panel used in the iPhone 13 were discovered by Apple. Apple's advanced OLED display is one of the best iPhone features thanks to its extremely high level of detail and the 120Hz ProMotion display on the iPhone 13 Pro.

The report says that Apple will likely try to keep BOW as a supplier to foster competition for its main display suppliers, LG and Samsung Display.

Apple's iPhone 13 has proven popular with customers, with the company expected to unveil a new flagship in its usual September launch window later this year.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9