A report claims that Apple’s fourth-generation “Special Edition” iPhone SE 4 OLED screen likely came from a Chinese company.
According to reports, the iPhone maker has been negotiating the price of the display with three suppliers for the future mid-range smartphone; one of them seems to have dropped over the cost of each display.
Apple has not yet announced any plans to release a new iPhone SE model, the current model was released in 2022.
Chinese electronic component maker BOE (Jingdongfang) has secured a contract to manufacture the OLED screen for the alleged iPhone SE 4, according to a report by ZDNet Korea (in Korean) citing industry sources.
The article stated that Apple is accepting proposals for the iPhone SE (2022) replacement from three vendors: Samsung, BOE, and Tianma.
The report says that BOE is likely to supply most of the iPhone SE 4 screens after Samsung pulled out of the competition due to concerns about the feasibility of the deal.
Samsung Display reportedly offered a price of between $35 and $40 for each display unit, while Chinese companies reportedly wanted $30. With Face ID, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to have a similar design to the iPhone 14.
According to reports, Samsung ended negotiations in mid-March after Apple made a much lower offer of $25. Due to lower cost concerns, the South Korean tech giant was not particularly interested in making mid-range phone screens from the start, the source said.
Of the two Chinese suppliers, BOE appears to be the only company capable of producing display units for the iPhone SE 4, and they are set to supply the component for Apple’s more affordable smartphone.
Meanwhile, Tianma was unable to meet Apple’s technology specifications for the display of the iPhone SE 4, which is expected to launch in 2025.
