BOE has been trying to become a fixture in display supply for Apple. However, it looks like its plan is in trouble. This is not because of any change of heart, but because of the alleged violation of trade secret laws by the display manufacturer. The case is currently under scrutiny of the US International Trade Commission.
Preliminary US ITC ruling is unfavorable to BOE
Samsung Displays is the major name in the OLED display manufacturing segment. That said, BOE was recently found to be misappropriately using Samsung’s trade secrets. The firm was allegedly doing this along with seven of its subsidiaries. The ITC department alleges that BOE was using those trade secrets to manufacture its displays.
In the preliminary ruling, the US International Trade Commission has ruled that BOE must be banned from OLED display imports, and the existing inventories of the firm in the United States must be removed from sale. The manufacturer allegedly violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act.
BOE Display Supply to Apple Might Get Affected
BOE is one of the display suppliers to Apple. It produces around 20% of the panel for the iPhone 16 series. In fact, the number was predicted to go up for the upcoming iPhone 17 series. The firm targets producing displays for as many as 100 million iPhones in a year. To give this plan a boost, it has even opened a dedicated tech center in Sichuan City, specifically for Apple.
The final ruling of the ITC is supposed to be out in November. It will then be put on 60-day presidential review. However, the majority of the final rulings of the department have been exactly similar to its preliminary ruling. And therefore, the chances of the final ruling being different in this case are also low.
Even if the department orders the ban, it will most likely not cause much problem for Apple. This is because of the fact that LG and Samsung will eventually start producing more displays for the brand, taking over the gap left by BOE.
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