Samsung builds more OLED screens than Apple needs

Feb 19, 2018 07:22 GMT  ·  By

Sales of the iPhone X are said to be well below expectations, but Apple’s aggressive push to bring more units to the market appears to be having side-effects, including on OLED supplier Samsung.

Apple launched the iPhone X later than usual due to production struggles with a number of components, including OLED displays manufactured by Samsung. The company started shipping the device in early November, but with constrained supply, in the meantime working with suppliers to get more units ready as soon as possible.

Under Apple’s pressure, suppliers, including Samsung, increased production to maximum capacity, only to end up with excess stock of components following sluggish sales. Apple is said to be reducing orders by as much as 50% for the first three months of 2018, and this is causing trouble to its partners who need to be looking elsewhere to sell their inventory.

LG to supply OLED panels for Plus-sized iPhone X

Nikkei says Samsung isn’t only looking to sell OLED panels to outside clients, but also facing growing competition from Chinese companies which are building display technology at lower prices. Samsung thus has to reduce prices - the iPhone X display manufactured by Samsung is said to be the most expensive part that Apple uses on its flagship device.

The partnership between Samsung and Apple over OLED displays is already uncertain for the next-generation iPhone models. Apple is believed to be looking into several other suppliers, including LG, which could be in charge of building OLED panels for the Plus-size version of the iPhone X launching this year.

Apple could unveil two iPhone models with OLED screens this year, and Apple seeks more suppliers in order to prevent stock issues, and at the same time, reduce its reliance on Samsung and obtain lower prices for iPhone displays.

Neither Apple nor Samsung commented on reports pointing to slower-than-expected iPhone X sales and excess production of OLED panels, but more information should be offered in the coming months in the two companies’ earnings reports.