Chinese manufacturer BOE has reportedly entered Apple's supply chain to produce displays for the upcoming iPhone 13.

This comes after BOE failed verification testing of the iPhone 12, forcing Apple to continue placing orders with Samsung and LG.

The news comes from Taiwanese publication Economic News Daily, as interpreted by Macrumors, that BOE is working with General Interface Solution (GIS), a touch panel manufacturer under the Hon Hai Group, to produce OLED It appears that they are manufacturing OLED displays that meet Apple's standards. The goal is not only to pass Apple's verification tests, but also to ensure a sufficient yield rate.

Production yield is the percentage of good panels produced. Allegedly, when entrusted with the production of the iPhone 12 display, BOE could only achieve a yield rate of 20%, too low to meet Apple's demand.

If this report is true, BOE will be able to supply OLED panels for both the iPhone 12 reproduction model and the upcoming iPhone 13. According to Economic News Daily, BOE's displays are now "approaching those of the leading Korean manufacturers." They say. Given Apple's high quality standards, close may not be close enough yet. Of course, Apple will continue to order displays from both Samsung and LG, the two largest manufacturers of OLED displays for mobile devices.

It may also become more difficult to manufacture displays for the iPhone, as Apple is rumored to be using 120Hz LTPO technology. This is the same type of display currently used in the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and the rumored OnePlus 9 Pro.

Also, given that Apple has now surpassed Samsung as the world's leading smartphone seller, it will be important to find more manufacturing partners to keep up with demand.

If BOE enters Apple's manufacturing pipeline with a slightly worse display than LG or Samsung, a meta market could be created with the iPhone 13. The most picky Apple fans could actively seek out units with LG or Samsung displays, forcing a surge in demand for those models.

This is already happening with other electronics that have multiple manufacturing partners; many people who are frantically googling where to buy an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, like Zotac, from manufacturers that have a reputation for producing shoddy cards They still refuse to buy. And the Nintendo 3DS community, for example, knows which models offer users the highest quality IPS panels. Of course, those 3DSs demand the highest selling prices.

Apple's acceptance of the BOE is curious, especially after CEO Tim Cook testified before Congress last year condemning the use of slave labor. In response to a question from Congressman Ken Buck of New York, Cook said, "Let me be clear, forced labor is an abomination." However, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, BOE, along with many other companies, is suspected of using forced labor of the imprisoned and persecuted Uyghur Muslim minority.

BOE sources some of its displays from High Broad Advanced Materials, which allegedly uses forced labor. Either Apple is pretending that it did not see this problem, or BOE is cleaning up its manufacturing pipeline to ensure slave-labor-free production.

Apple is lobbying against the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act. This law would require U.S. companies to ensure that their manufacturing lines do not use forced labor from the Muslim Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Canada recently voted to recognize China's treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide. Both Canada and the UK have announced measures to ban imports of goods made through forced labor in Xinjiang. Tim Cook could be in big trouble if investigations prove that BOE and other Chinese manufacturers in Apple's supply chain are using Uyghur labor.