BOE wants a share of the OLED supply chain for Apple's next iPad Air , aiming to land a secondary sourcing role behind primary supplier Samsung Display, according to a report from South Korea's The Elec . Sources cited by The Elec say the Chinese panel maker is building out its iPad Air ‌OLED‌ effort at its B12 fab in Chongqing, home to BOE's sixth-generation ‌OLED‌ production line, ahead of the launch of a redesigned ‌iPad Air‌ that isn't expected to launch until the first half of 2027 . Samsung Display already holds the lead supply role for that panel and is on track to begin ramping production toward the end of this year or the start of next, as previously reported . BOE still has to clear Apple's qualification process. Samples reportedly still need to be submitted for evaluation, and a verdict on whether the company wins any commercial orders is not expected until closer to the end of the year. Even a favorable outcome may only translate into modest volume at first, with output confined to ‌iPad Air‌ units destined for the Chinese market or to refurbished devices, rather than the entire global launch. The sources put BOE's qualification decision at some point in November or December, noting Apple typically finalizes production approval just one to two months ahead of mass production actually starting. Should BOE fall short of that bar, Samsung Display will end up carrying the entire initial production run by itself. Becoming a supplier for the ‌OLED‌ ‌iPad Air‌ would be a meaningful expansion for BOE, which has experience providing ‌OLED‌ panels for the iPhone, but has struggled to break into larger ‌OLED‌ products. Samsung Display and LG Display have held onto that ground in tablets specifically, and BOE has lost, rather than gained, footing elsewhere in Apple's ‌OLED‌ lineup recently; its utilization on Apple-dedicated lines reportedly slid from roughly 82% in 2024 to about 48% earlier this year as Apple is set to lean on Samsung instead for the upcoming ‌OLED‌ iPad mini . The redesigned ‌iPad Air‌ is expected in 11 inch and 13 inch sizes, with a hybrid ‌OLED‌ panel pairing a glass substrate with thin film encapsulation, a single stack RGB emissive layer, and an LTPS backplane, with a refresh rate of 60Hz. That keeps it below the iPad Pro 's tandem stack ‌OLED‌ panel on cost, while still moving the ‌iPad Air‌ away from an LCD. BOE is also reportedly pursuing a secondary supplier role for Apple's ‌OLED‌ MacBook Pro from its 8.6 generation B16 fab in Chengdu, but persistent yield problems there make commercial shipments to Apple unlikely soon. Industry sources do not expect BOE to enter that supply chain until sometime after 2028. Related Roundup: iPad Air Tags: BOE , OLED , The Elec Buyer's Guide: iPad Air (Buy Now) Related Forum: iPad This article, " iPad Air OLED Panel Orders Could Be Split With BOE in 2027 " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Aiming to refute a report from Jefferies analyst Edison Lee earlier today that claimed Apple's all-glass iPhone planned for the device's 20th anniversary next year has been canceled, Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman says that the "glass-centric" redesign remains on track for 2027 . Gurman says that the 20th-anniversary iPhone will make heavy use of glass, with the front and rear wrapping around the edges to sandwich a thin metal band. The company expects to launch iPhone Pro models next year that will make use of a new glassy look, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is confidential. Glass is used on the front and back of the phones — known internally as V73 and V74 — and the material will curve into the sides of the devices, with a metal band in the middle. Gurman does mention a "more aspirational version" that "used even more glass," but says that design "was scrapped early on" in the development cycle. It's possible that this more ambitious design is the one Lee was referring to in today's report, but Gurman implies that it was discarded some time ago, rather than being a more recent development as Lee had suggested. Lee's report also appeared to suggest that the all-glass design would have been for an all-new model, saying the Jefferies analysts believed Apple's plan was to "extend the all-glass features to future iPhone Pro and Pro Max models," but we have not heard anything about such a potential additional model in quite some time. All recent rumors have been pointing toward the glass-heavy design already being for the Pro and Pro Max models in next year's lineup. Tags: 20th-Anniversary iPhone , Bloomberg , Mark Gurman This article, " Apple Still Planning 'Glass-Centric' iPhone Redesign for 2027 " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
The iPhone is a surprisingly capable meteor-hunting camera, but it's definitely not a point-and-shoot sort of situation. Here's how to take excellent photos of the Perseids, satellites, and more. Image credit: Florian Seiffert / @ popipaan on X It's August, which means those in the northern hemisphere are being treated to the annual Perseids meteor shower. If you've got an iPhone, you're pretty much ready to go take some stunning astrophotography shots yourself. Of course, it's not as simple as heading outside and pointing your iPhone at the sky, but you probably already knew that. Fortunately, we're here to help. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
