According to a recent report from the “Korea Herald“, due to lower-than-expected demand for iPhone 12 mini models, Apple is likely to compensate Samsung Display due to insufficient orders for OLED panels.
According to Omdia market data, Samsung’s global small-size OLED shipments in January fell 9% month-on-month to 45 million units. The company attributed the decline to the sluggish iPhone 12 mini sales. An industry insider said that Apple is likely to compensate Samsung for missing OLED panel procurement targets.
An industry official said on condition of anonymity
“It is uncertain whether Apple would pay a penalty to Samsung Display, but considering its contract history and sluggish sales of the iPhone 12 mini, it is likely that Apple will compensate Samsung Display,”
Samsung is the only supplier of the 5.4-inch panel used by the iPhone 12 mini. Also, the iPhone 12 mini is the smallest model in Apple’s latest 5G iPhone 12 series.
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If the forecast is accurate, this will be the third time that Apple has had to compensate Samsung for missing its OLED display target. Apple had previously stated that it would purchase a certain number of panels from South Korea’s Samsung.
Apple has compensated Samsung in the past for the same reason
According to reports, Apple paid Samsung approximately $683 million and approximately $950 million in compensation for similar substandard OLED panel orders in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Samsung is still the world’s leading supplier of display panels for smartphones. The company has been the provider of most of the OLED panels for Apple’s iPhone in the past few years.
According to Omdia’s data, global OLED panel shipments hit 53 million in January this year. Interestingly, Samsung Display accounts for 85% of these shipments. Obviously, the South Korean manufacturer has a very firm grip on the OLED market
There have been a series of reports showing that the iPhone 12 mini is not selling well. However, Apple will still retain the smallest 5.4-inch iPhone model size in the iPhone 13 series.
In recent times, there have been multiple reports regarding the upcoming iPhone 13 series. One of these reports is that the iPhone 13 mini is staying put. This will be the cheapest model in the series and Apple can not afford to miss out on its “little” sales. Of course, users will a smaller budget will have to rely on this device. Furthermore, the notch on the iPhone 13 series will be smaller and the earphone relocates to the top bezel.
