Poor iPhone X sales slow down Samsung OLED business

Just days after the report that Apple shipped 29 million iPhone X units, industry insiders from South Korea reported Samsung is lowering the production rate of one OLED factory by 10%. The Korean manufacturer is also postponing expansion plans in Vietnam amid growing uncertainties regarding the Apple flagship future.

A source reportedly told that “the A3 plant is specifically designed to supply panels to Apple only. Unless supplies to Apple do not recover, it is unavoidable for Samsung to see weaker earning this year”. The factory produces 135,000 OLEDs per month of which more than 100,000 go to Cupertino.

While there is uncertainty how Apple will proceed with the iPhone X, Korean news agencies report that the company is preparing two phones with the same panel - one is 5.85” in diagonal, and another model comes with 6.46” screen. LG Display might be the manufacturer.

Another subsidiary of the Korean company, LG Chemical, is currently working on an L-shaped battery that is expected to power the 2018 iPhones. As we previously reported, mass production of the power cells is expected to start sometime this year.

Source 1 • Source 2 (in Korean)