Apple’s Mac sales have seen better days, and as the company prepares to launch the first models with an OLED screen, its suppliers are reportedly getting nervous over the transition. It appears that their anticipation of profit generation was overestimated, as the two suppliers have not made key investments, likely believing that they will not be able to make any money off of this venture.

Building a Gen 8 OLED production line can take around a year to complete, and Korean suppliers are hesitant to make a move

Earlier statistics revealed that Apple’s Mac business suffered a 40 percent shipments declineyear-over-year in Q1 2023, and it was the biggest drop compared to any PC maker in that quarter. The California-based giant’s Q2 2023 earningsdid not bring any positive news either, revealing that the Mac segment’s revenue saw a dip from $10.4 billion to $7.2 billion. Naturally, with these numbers being public information, The Elec now reports that Apple’s Korean supply chain partners are spooked over the lack of profitability for setting up machinery that will cost them millions.

According to the report, Apple has plans to bring OLED technology to the iPad Pro and, shortly after, the MacBook range. Initially, Apple is said to utilize the existing Gen 6 production lines for the iPad’s OLED panels. However, for future models and MacBooks, the company will be required to gravitate to the Gen 8 production line, which can mass produce more units per substrate than Gen 6, resulting in significant cost savings for suppliers and Apple.

Samsung and LG Display will likely undertake the responsibility for setting up Gen 8 production lines, but so far, both firms have not purchased any key equipment that is necessary to get them up and running. Keep in mind that these production lines take around a year to be fully operational, assuming the right machinery has been purchased. However, Samsung and LG Display might be in two minds concerning the lack of profits they will make over the millions spent in equipment expenses, meaning that their investment could potentially go to waste.

The report also states that Apple has not clarified how much it plans to pay for those OLED panels once they enter mass production, so it is possible that Samsung and LG Display do not want to make unnecessary purchases unless they are confident it is worth their time. Earlier, Apple was said to be in talks with LG to purchase third-party OLED evaporator equipment, so it would reduce the cost of those next-generation displays. However, a Nikkei report stated that both Korean manufacturers have poured nearly $6 billioninto their OLED production facilities to prevent Chinese companies from obtaining orders from Apple.

Given the opposing information from different sources regarding the OLED transition roadmap for Apple’s iPad and MacBook family, we recommend our readers treat the latest report with a pinch of salt and await future updates.

News Source: The Elec