Samsung and LG secure all OLED panel orders for iPhone 18 Pro/iPad; BOE excluded.

Samsung Display and LG Display have begun mass production of OLED panels for Apple’s 2026 product line. The two South Korean companies will supply screens for all new models in the second half of this year. BOE, however, was unable to join this round of mass production due to quality issues with its iPhone 17 Pro panels last year, which disrupted its shipments until April of this year.

The latest reports indicate that the OLED panels needed for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, foldable iPhone, and the new iPad mini have all entered the mass production stage, while the OLED panel production plan for the MacBook Pro will start next month.

In terms of specific allocation, Samsung Display has become the exclusive OLED supplier for the iPad mini, foldable iPhone, and MacBook Pro. The supply of panels for the iPad mini is approximately 2 million units, for the foldable iPhone approximately 10 million units, and the specific supply for the MacBook Pro has not yet been disclosed.

LG Display will be the exclusive supplier of OLED panels for the Apple Watch Series 12, with an estimated shipment of approximately 34 million units. Panels for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be supplied jointly by the two companies, totaling approximately 90 million units.

Apple’s decision to bet its entire OLED supply chain on two South Korean companies, Samsung and LG, has a clear business logic behind it—the South Korean OLED industry is highly dependent on Apple, and Apple itself is the largest customer of these two companies.

According to Samsung Display’s 2025 Sustainability Report, Apple orders account for 45.6% of its revenue, which means that the two companies have a deeply intertwined partnership.