Apple’s iPhone SE 4 OLED orders were previously said to be fought over by suppliers Samsung and BOE. Given that this is the company’s low-cost offering slated to launch sometime in 2025, procuring cheaper displays would be Apple’s top priority since this component is largely dependent on how expensive a smartphone gets. On this occasion, a new report claims that BOE has apparently won the skirmish against Samsung on the pricing front and will likely be the exclusive panel supplier for the iPhone SE 4.
Apple reportedly aimed for a $25 price per panel for the iPhone SE 4 but could not reach an agreement with Samsung
As reported by ZDNet Korea, BOE may enter Apple’s supply chain and become the sole supplier of iPhone SE 4 OLEDs, as the California-based giant failed to form an agreement with Samsung. It is mentioned that the Korean manufacturer did not want to go below the $30 mark to commence OLED production, but Apple seemingly had its eyes locked on that $25 figure. As for BOE, we previously reported that the Chinese display maker provided quotes in between the $30 and $40 range, but there was likely some room for flexibility, or else the company would not have become the favorite.
Tienma, another Chinese supplier, also attempted to form a business relationship with its $40 quote for the iPhone SE 4 OLED panel, which would have been the most expensive, and that most likely meant that Apple would ignore it. While the Cupertino firm might appear stingy about not wanting to go above $25, bear in mind that the iPhone SE 4 will be produced in the millions. According to the report, the industry estimates that Apple will place an order for approximately 15 million panels, and assuming the company had agreed to Samsung’s $30 quote, just the component costs alone would have reached $450 million.
With Apple’s $25 limit, those costs will not exceed $375 million, allowing it to save $75 million in the process, which can be used to make purchase orders for other components. The iPhone SE 4 is said to be the most advanced low-cost model that Apple will ever release, with previous high-resolution renders revealing that it will have a design language similar to the iPhone 14 and sport other changes such as a USB-C port. All of these iterations mean that it will cost Apple more to produce a single iPhone SE 4 unit, and for that, it will have to remain firm on its own pricing.
News Source: ZDNet Korea
