LG Display to procure DDI from Novatek for iPhone OLED

LG Display has diversified its supply line for display driver ICs (DDI) it uses in OLED panels for customer Apple.

Taiwan’s Novatek will supply the chips for the first time this year along with existing supplier LX Semicon, for OLED panels to go on iPhone 16.

LG Display’s move is likely aimed at controlling the cost of OLED panel production.

Still, LX Semicon is the sole supplier of DDI used by BOE for its iPhone OLED panels.

Samsung Display meanwhile will continue to solely use Samsung System LSI for its iPhone OLED panels.

LG Display has only half the production capacity for iPhone OLED compared to rival Samsung Display, so it has a limit on bringing costs down through scaling.

By comparison, Samsung Display, as the largest supplier of iPhone OLED panels, has very little incentive to add another supplier in case technologies get leaked.

Meanwhile, Apple has changed the design of the OLED panels for iPhone 16. Both Samsung Display and LG Display are facing difficulty in increasing their yield rates at the current time.

The new OLED panels have a border reduction structure, aimed at making the bezel on the bottom of the screen thinner. This means more circuits need to be placed on narrower surfaces.