Apple's First Foldable iPhone Moves Toward Mass Production, with Samsung Display Poised to Benefit
Apple is formally preparing to enter the foldable-device market, and its longtime partner Samsung Display has received final approval to begin mass production of screen components for Apple’s first foldable iPhone. According to a report in TheElec, the South Korean display maker has already started running some of its back-end production lines at a factory in Vietnam to meet an initial delivery target of about 3 million panels this year.
Apple approved the launch only after Samsung Display proved stable mass-production performance and met a demanding yield threshold. Apple’s minimum requirement is 70% usable components from a production line, and Samsung Display reportedly surpassed that bar with final yields above 80%.
A three-year exclusivity agreement between the two companies makes Samsung the sole supplier of foldable OLED panels for the new iPhone, meaning Apple will not buy foldable screens from rival makers during that period. The final assembly stages, including driver circuits, flexible printed boards, and protective parts, are being carried out in Vietnam, where Samsung is operating about 50 active production lines out of roughly 80 available.
The new panels are expected to use Samsung’s CoE technology, which removes the traditional polarizer and applies the color filter directly to the coating layer, along with Samsung’s latest M16 material set. Those changes are intended to improve brightness, power efficiency, display lifespan, and color performance. Industry rumors say the foldable iPhone will have a 7.8-inch inner screen and a 5.5-inch outer screen, use Touch ID instead of Face ID, feature an A20 processor and a standalone C2 modem, and carry an estimated price of about $2,000.
