Until about ten years ago, JDI and Sharp together supplied about 70% of iPhone displays. However, they subsequently remained the only supplier of LCD displays for the affordable iPhone SE, as Apple switched to using OLED displays in all other smartphone models, which are mainly made by South Korean companies.
Now, according to several sources, Apple has begun placing orders for OLED displays for the upcoming iPhone SE as well, with them coming from China's BOE Technology Group and South Korea's LG Display. This change marks the end of the era of LCD screens in the iPhone, writes Nikkei. The new iPhone SE model to be released next year will also feature an OLED display, along with the standard iPhone and premium Pro models.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics supplies OLED displays for about half of iPhones, while LG Display's share is about 30% and China's BOE is about 20%. Neither JDI nor Sharp mass-produce OLED displays for smartphones. The supply of their iPhone LCDs is expected to stop with the end of the current SE version.
OLED displays create images using organic compounds that emit red, green and blue colors. Without the need for a backlight, they provide brighter colors and higher contrast than LCD screens. Apple first used OLED panels in the iPhone X, which debuted in 2017.