Apple will use OLED panels from Chinese display supplier BOE in its upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE smartphone models, the media reported. Due to production problems, BOE missed the initial number of OLED panels intended for this year’s iPhone 15 series, with Samsung and LG claiming the majority of orders, reports MacRumors.
Now it is likely trying to make up for it by concentrating on making OLED panels for the budget-friendly iPhone SE 4. Around 20 million OLED screens are anticipated to be used in the iPhone SE 4 next year.
Last month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the tech giant has restarted development of the iPhone SE 4 smartphone, which will feature a 6.1-inch OLED display and an in-house 5G baseband chip. Kuo also mentioned that the mass production of the iPhone SE 4 will go “smoothly” in the first half of next year.
Apple had already launched a 5G iPhone SE the last time, but the next one is likely to use the company’s in-house G baseband chip. This chip is reportedly built using a 4nm process and supports only sub-6GHz. This could be the first iPhone model to use that chip, which has been in development for years, and Apple deciding to use it on an entry-level iPhone would mean a dry run for the chip before it makes its way to flagship iPhones.
Apple’s premium-range iPhone models still use Qualcomm’s modem chips for 5G. Previous reports have suggested Apple would begin using its own 5G modems in the coming years, but due to some complexity, Apple has refrained from replacing the Qualcomm modems with the in-house ones. Even if what Kuo has said holds any water, it still does not offer clarity as to whether or not the iPhone models in 2024 would come with Apple’s own 5G modems. That is because the modems do not currently support mmWave and satellite communications — two of the most advanced features of the iPhone.