A new supply chain report claims that Korea's SI Flex, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) company, has entered Apple's supply chain. SI Flex will supply flexible circuit boards (RFPCBs) for the Apple iPhone 16 series debuting in September. Youngpoong Electronics was excluded from the related RFPCB supply chain for this year's iPhone 16 series due to quality issues.

The Elec reports that SI Flex is planning to supply RFPCB for the new iPhone series to Samsung Display starting this year. RFPCB is a component that connects an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel and the main board. A Radio Frequency Printed Circuit Board (RFPCB) has both rigid and foldable properties, making product design easy.

It was reported that Youngpoong Electronics had problems with defective chip removal in the RFPCB for the iPhone 15 series delivered last year. For this reason, Youngpoong Electronics will not be able to supply RFPCB for this year's new iPhone 16 series, and is expected to supply RFPCB for legacy iPhone models such as last year's iPhone 15 series.

If SI Flex overcomes production yield problems early, it could have a positive effect on SI Flex's performance. SI Flex is also supplying FPCB to its existing main customer, Samsung Electronics.

In Samsung Display's RFPCB supply chain for iPhone OLED, BH is expected to maintain its upper hand as before. BH and SI Flex's expected sales of RFPCB for iPhone OLED this year may be affected not only by total iPhone shipments, but also by the iPhone OLED volume secured by LG Display. This is because Apple is expected to give LG Display an opportunity to reduce its dependence on Samsung Display. LG Display's RFPCB for iPhone OLED is supplied by a Chinese FPCB company.