Apple weighing Chinese supplier for next-gen iPhone screens

San Francisco

APPLE Inc is in discussions with China's BOE Technology Group Co to supply next-generation displays for future iPhones, a key component that's being provided by a Samsung Electronics Co unit, sources said.

Apple's been testing BOE's active-matrix organic light-emitting diode screens for months but hasn't decided if it will add the Chinese company to its roster of suppliers, one of the sources said. BOE, one of the country's largest screen makers, is spending close to 100 billion yuan (S$20.7 billion) building two Amoled plants in the south-western province of Sichuan in anticipation of future business. Talks are at an early stage and it's unlikely to supply the next iPhone, but BOE is banking on outfitting the one in 2018 or later, the source said.