Call me skeptical, but a new South Korean report praising local display leaders Samsung and LG has gone out of its way to cast a negative shadow on BOE, a Chinese competitor. Korean sources continue to play the Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) tactic while defending their local heroes.

In August 2019, IHS Markit noted that BOE was the second largest OLED OEM with 5.9% market share. LG only had 1%. BOE supplies high-end OLED displays to Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and more.

A June 2020 review of the Huawei P40 Pro by The Verge loved the display as did many other reviews. BOE is the sole supplier to most if not all Chinese smartphone vendors. Samsung has lost most if not all display business in China. So it's understandable that the local Korean tech press want to cheer on Samsung with another hit job on BOE.  

Back in September we posted a report titled "China's OLED Display Maker BOE will have their B11 Production Line, known as the 'Apple Line,' Ready for business in H2 2021." BOE believes that in the second half of 2021 is when they'll enter Apple's supply chain. So these "failure" tests quoted by "The Elec" appear to be more about propaganda than something credible.

Another dimension to BOE that may be good for Apple, is BOE's new venture called BOE Pixey that is focused on the development of both mini and micro-LED displays. With Apple about to launch their next iPad Pro with a mini-LED display, having more supplier is in Apple's interest. BOE Pixey touts that they have a process for mass production which has been the missing piece of the manufacturing puzzle for mini and micro-LED displays.

The Korean site The Elec is a decent news source but when it comes to their position against BOE, it's bent on cheering on their local suppliers under growing pressure from BOE. Another Korean website did a similar hit job on BOE back in June on the very same issue of so-called "failed" tests with Apple. It appears these "failed tests" are only being reported on by Korean sources.

With BOE pointing to the second half of 2021 as the time frame when they'll enter Apple's supply chain, we'll wait and see how that pans out before going along with the Korean narrative.

Apple has reportedly chosen to work with BOE and the reality is that we don't have all of the facts at this point in time to understand their relationship.

The Elec report could be reviewed here.