Although the number of models using the AMOLED screen has increased to two, the purchase volume of the AMOLED panel has dropped sharply. It is reported that the total purchase volume of the AMOLED panel of the two models is only about 50 million pieces. This kind of purchase amount is equivalent to the original iPhone X. Half of it.
Why did Apple reduce AMOLED panel purchases?
Last year, the 10th anniversary of the release of Apple's iPhone X used the AMOLED full screen for the first time, which is also the most expensive iPhone in history. However, this iPhone X profit is nearly as good as the iPhone 7 model.
As we all know, the AMOLED screen used by iPhone X is all supplied by Samsung Display. Samsung sold it to Apple at a high price of 150~160 US dollars. At present, only Samsung's AMOLED screen can meet Apple's requirement, so unfortunately Apple can only reduce their profits. .
Last year, Apple planned to produce 100 million iPhone X. Samsung Display added multiple production lines and expanded production capacity to meet Apple's demand. However, due to the sluggish sales of iPhone X, Apple immediately reduced the amount of AMOLED purchases. It is reported that the number of AMOLED purchases has been reduced by half. Even more, it also hurt both Apple and Samsung Display.
Samsung Display has always been committed to the development of AMOLED screens. When a small-sized IPS mobile phone screen was just about to emerge a few years ago, Samsung decided to research and develop AMOLED technology.
Since Samsung first applied the AMOLED screen to its own mobile phone in 2008, it has begun to dominate the entire mobile phone market towards the AMOLED era. At present, the Samsung AMOLED screen has occupied over 90% of the entire mobile phone market.
For the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus that will be released this year, Apple apparently does not want to repeat the mistakes of the iPhone X. It is also quite conservative for the purchase of AMOLED. The total purchasing volume of the two models is controlled at about 50 million.
At the same time, Apple is also actively discussing panel supply issues with LG Display, another major panel maker in South Korea, and is no longer exclusive to Samsung. This year, Apple’s main push model will be the iPhone 9 with an LCD screen. The screen purchase volume is expected to reach 1.5. Billion tablets.
Apple's development of Micro LED is forced to help?
Apple's suppliers for iPhone screens have never been the only one to choose. Japan's JDI, the mainland's BOE, South Korea's LG Display, and Samsung Display have supplied LCD screens.
The iPhone X launched last year is an exception. Because of Samsung’s monopoly on AMOLED, Apple can only choose Samsung.
In order to be able to break this situation, Apple began to actively deploy Micro LED technology, and began further research and development after the acquisition of LuxVue.
The reason why Apple is eager to apply Micro LED to its products is to compete with AMOLED and is no longer tied with Samsung.
However, Apple's research and development of Micro LED technology is not as imaginative as it has been. It was rumored that the next-generation Apple Watch 3 will take the lead in applying Micro LED technology. However, the fact is that it still uses the OLED Retina screen, which also makes Apple's current situation very embarrassing.
The principle of the Micro LED technology is to thin, miniaturize and array the LED backlight source, allowing the LED unit to be smaller than 100 micrometers. As with the OLED, each pixel can be individually customized and driven individually (self-luminous).
The advantages of Micro LED technology lie in low power consumption, high brightness, high color saturation, fast response, long life, etc. It is understood that the power consumption of Micro LED is only about 10% of LCD.
At present, Micro LED technology still faces three major problems, namely, full colorization, production yield, and consistency of the emission wavelength.
Monochrome Micro LED arrays can be realized by flip-chip packaging and driving IC bonding. However, RGB arrays need to be transferred in red, green and blue three-color grains, and hundreds of thousands of LED chips need to be embedded in the LED chips. Light efficiency, wavelength consistency and yield requirements are even higher.
Apple is very good at using its own products to promote display technology, just like the iPhone used to promote Retina screen.
However, Micro LED technology now apparently is not mature enough. Although many TV manufacturers have begun to display TV products equipped with Micro LED technology, they have not really entered the consumer level. It takes time to achieve large-scale production.
The application in the field of mobile phones does not even show the models at present, so in the short term, Apple will continue to rely on AMOLED technology.
Apple most hopes to see the rise of Chinese panel makers
OLED is undoubtedly the most mature and reliable self-luminous technology at present. Whether it is in the field of large-screen TVs or in the field of small-screen mobile phones, OLED technology has begun to gradually occupy the high-end market.
But the core technologies of this technology are all in the hands of Korean panel makers (large-screen OLEDs are dominated by LG Display, and small-screen AMOLEDs are dominated by Samsung Display), and whether downstream manufacturers can apply to OLED panels depends entirely on the two panel makers. The production capacity.
China, as the largest LCD panel producer, is actively chasing the pace of South Korean manufacturers in the OLED field. It not only actively invests in the OLED panel industry, but also the local governments have given strong support to the panel industry. There are a large number of preferential policies in land and taxation. .
BOE, Huaxing Optoelectronics, Tianma, Visionox and other Chinese panel makers are all making efforts to layout the production of OLED panels. Among them, BOE Chengdu Flexible AMOLED VI has achieved volume production.
China's panel makers are so optimistic about the OLED industry. This is what Apple is very willing to see. Since the iPhone is not yet capable of applying Micro LED technology in the short term, future high-end iPhone models will continue to use AMOLED screens.
When more and more Chinese panel makers are capable of mass production of AMOLED panels, Apple’s supplier selection will become more abundant, and procurement costs are expected to further reduce.
However, the current mass production of AMOLED screens has not yet reached Apple's requirements. Samsung has been developing AMOLED technology for more than 10 years. It has taken at least 4 to 5 years to improve the yield, and it has gone through generations. The optimization of the Samsung S-series phones has only reached today's standard.
While actively investing in mass production, China's panel makers should further strengthen cooperation with South Korean manufacturers, and strive to mass produce high-density AMOLED panels as soon as possible to get rid of the situation in which Korean plants are located together.