Samsung has refused to manufacture 2025 iPhone SE 4 display, reports say

Samsung has refused to manufacture displays for the iPhone SE 4, which is expected to arrive with a major upgrade in 2025, according to a new supply chain report.

According to a South Korean report, Samsung was unable to reach an agreement with Apple on the price of the display, which will be manufactured by China’s BOE instead.

iPhoneSE4

We first heard about Apple’s plans for a major upgrade to its entry-level phones last November. The company is said to be planning to do away with the home button and bring the iPhone SE 4 in line with today’s all-screen design.

This was backed up by subsequent reports in which Apple said the display used on the iPhone 13 is essentially the same as the one used on the iPhone 14.

We previously pointed out that reusing technology from older iPhones is a good way to minimize costs, as all the R&D work has already been completed and the costs are built into existing production processes. Did.

At the time, Samsung, BOE, and Tianma were said to be competing for the display manufacturing contract.

According to the supply chain report, Samsung refused

IT Home Today, we are citing a South Korean report that all of the iPhone SE 4’s displays will be made by China’s BOE, following Samsung’s withdrawal from negotiations.

According to Korean media ZDNet Korea, BOE took the initiative to become the screen supplier for Apple’s iPhone SE 4, and Samsung withdrew from negotiations due to price issues. […]

samsung [reportedly] Apple abandoned supply negotiations in the middle of this month due to price, mainly because Apple’s price was only $25. Samsung’s previous offer was $30.

According to the report, BOE was awarded the sole contract because Tenma could not demonstrate that it could meet Apple’s quality standards for its displays.

There’s some risk, but neither company will be too unhappy.

Switching to BOE comes with some risk. Samsung, which previously made displays for the iPhone 13 and 14, would have been able to solve all the production line challenges and achieve high yields from the start. BOE can use the lessons learned from Samsung, but there are still likely to be some glitches on the way to mass production.

Apple also generally prefers to have multiple suppliers to reduce risk and maximize bargaining power.

But considering this isn’t a flagship product and Apple couldn’t come to terms with Samsung on price, they’re probably happy with the result. Samsung, too, has clearly decided that it doesn’t make commercial sense to take tiny margins on older products when it has a strong revenue stream making displays for its flagship iPhone.