BOE’s new OLED factory has experienced repeated glass breakages for roughly six months, a problem that could hinder the company’s attempt to win iPad display orders from Apple. BOE has only recently begun Apple’s panel qualification process.
A broken sheet of glass can leave production equipment unavailable for between half a day and a full day while workers remove fragments and inspect machinery, making the incidents disruptive even when most substrates pass through the line without breaking.
Sources said two or three breakages among 1,000 substrates could still interfere with mass production. The impact goes beyond the lost sheet because other production cannot proceed through the affected equipment during recovery. Sources added these incidents must be almost entirely eliminated for continuous operation.
BOE’s B16 line in Chengdu and production uncertainty
The affected facility is B16 in Chengdu, which houses BOE’s 8.6-generation OLED production line. BOE continues to operate two lines at the site but has not yet identified the cause of the glass failures.
Earlier reports tied BOE’s iPad Air plans to a separate B12 facility in Chongqing, while B16 was associated with its effort to supply OLED MacBook Pro panels.
Apple orders and BOE’s prior production problems
A report from August anticipated new iPad Air models with OLED displays in the first half of 2027, with Samsung Display as the primary panel supplier.
BOE’s previous work for Apple has also been interrupted by manufacturing and approval problems. In 2022, Apple reportedly halted production of BOE’s iPhone 13 displays after discovering unauthorized changes to their design. Reports in 2023 described light leakage around Dynamic Island cutouts that constrained supply of iPhone 15 panels. In January, a report said Apple had shifted millions of OLED panel orders for the iPhone to Samsung Display after BOE again encountered production difficulties.
