A preliminary U.S. ruling puts BOE’s future with Apple in question — and the effects could hit iPhone production.
Recently, it was reported that BOE was working hard to win Apple’s favor for OLED iPhone production back, but now it seems things may not turn out in BOE’s favor. Not because of Apple, but because of an alleged violation of federal trade secret laws.
A preliminary ruling issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the Chinese display maker could have violated federal trade secret laws, which could potentially force Apple to drop the company as an iPhone display supplier.
Apparently, the ITC found that BOE and seven of its subsidiaries misappropriated Samsung Display’s trade secrets in order to manufacture panels. This could be a violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act.
The commission proposed that BOE be banned from OLED imports and also that all existing U.S. inventories be removed from sale. If this ruling stands, Apple could be facing a significant supply chain disruption.
BOE supplies around 20% of OLED displays for the iPhone 16 lineup. It has also built an annual capacity for 100 million iPhones. Now, the company has even made a dedicated facility in the province of Sichuan specifically for Apple.
