Sources: Apple plans to use OLED displays in all iPhone models sold from 2025, switching its lower-priced iPhone SE models from LCDs to OLEDs made by BOE and LG
U.S. tech giant to switch iPhone SE's screen to OLEDs in 2025 — TOKYO — Apple will use organic light-emitting diode (OLED) …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s lower-cost iPhone strategy had previously kept LCD in the mix because OLED panels were pricier; earlier coverage expected LCD models to account for most sales in a fall lineup before the transition accelerated. This report makes the long-running LCD-versus-OLED split in iPhones appear to be ending.
The move also extends Apple’s broader OLED deployment beyond phones: it had reportedly planned advanced OLED screens for iPads and a MacBook after relying on display suppliers for iPhone panels for years.
First-order effects
- Apple would eliminate LCD displays from its iPhone range, making OLED the common screen technology for both flagship and lower-priced models.
- BOE and LG would gain a role supplying OLED panels for the iPhone SE, while Apple’s LCD display procurement for that model would be displaced.
Second-order effects
- A single display standard across iPhones can concentrate Apple’s panel purchasing and quality requirements around OLED suppliers, increasing the importance of supply qualification and manufacturing yield.
- The loss of the iPhone SE as an LCD outlet would remove a prominent demand source for LCD panel makers, while OLED suppliers compete for a larger share of Apple’s phone business.
Third-order effects
- If sustained, the shift would make OLED the baseline display technology across major smartphone price tiers rather than a premium-only differentiator.
- Apple’s expansion of OLED across product categories could further concentrate leverage among suppliers able to meet its specifications, even as the company has separately explored developing its own mobile displays beginning with microLED for the Apple Watch Ultra.
The trend: Apple’s reported iPhone SE change is part of the broader migration of once-premium display technologies into mainstream device lineups.