In October we learned that China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong urged Apple's CEO to invest more in China. We're now learning that Apple's nex-gen 'HomePod' that will provide a touch display will exclusively use displays made by China's Tianma.  

According to the display industry on the 8th, China's Tianma will supply all OLEDs for Apple's new HomePod scheduled for release next year. Tianma is the 4th largest display company in China, following BOE and China Star (CSOT). HomePod is a smart speaker that was first released in 2018, but Apple is trying to transform it into a smart hub that connects devices including Apple products by adding a display to the product. This is the first form factor for HomePod to feature a display.

While industry insiders predict that the new HomePod will likely use a 6-7-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon oxide (LTPO), the most advanced product among the currently mass-produced OLEDs, for having advantages over LTPS. Yet the HomePod is not viewed frequently like an iPhone, so the importance of image quality is low and power consumption is also low, so there is little incentive to insist on the higher level and expensive LTPO for the device.

The Chinese industry, which dominates the liquid crystal display (LCD) supply chain, has been accelerating technological innovation in OLED as well, increasing its presence in Apple’s supply chain. However, this is the first time that China has surpassed Korea to exclusively supply OLED in a single application. Chinese companies have been supplying OLEDs for some iPhone models, but their supply prices are reportedly about $10-$15 lower than Korean companies. It is a kind of cutthroat competition.

Sources: Seoul Economic Daily and IT Home