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from the article: > BOE will initially split orders for the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 displays with Samsung Display these types of "splits" have always confused me a

from the article: > BOE will initially split orders for the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 displays with Samsung Display these types of "splits" have always confused me a bit. I guess Apple provides certain constraints - brightness, color accuracy, etc - and both manufacturers must meet those requirements. But OLED displays are such complex things! Surely there must be some noticeable/functional difference between a "Samsung-display iPhone" and a "BOE-display iPhone" ? Slightly different viewing angle? Blues are a bit less saturated? Burn-in happens a few dozen hours sooner? 5% difference in power efficiency?

freetinker 5y ago
Apple provides spec, and controls spec compliance.
b112 5y ago
Different models can use different displays.
wishawa 5y ago
IIRC back in iPhone 6 days the CPU production was split between TSMC and Samsung. The TSMC ones were measurably better (performance, thermals, battery life), but the difference wasn’t very big, so most people didn’t care.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  Edit: Nope, my memory was completely wrong, I was thinking of modems.
  - ace2358 5y ago
    You may be thinking of the intel/Qualcomm modem situation?
    - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
      Ah, yes—that was it!
stefan_ 5y ago
They do this a lot. Modems used to be split between Infineon (then bought by Intel, then bought by Apple) and Qualcomm, with the Qualcomm ones rumored to have better throughput and signal strength.
- cptskippy 5y ago
  Yeah, iircc Apple did this as a negotiating tactic with Qualcomm. Intel had acquired and did nothing with their modem business so they eventually sold it to Apple. Apple is still using Qualcomm as their supplier but it wouldn't surprise me if they pull an M1 with their modem. For now they're at least using it as a bargaining chip with Qualcomm.
  - philistine 5y ago
    Qualcomm has already basically announced that Apple is making their own modems: https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/11/16/qualcomm-predicts-it-will-supply-only-20-of-modems-for-2023-iphone https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/11/16/qualcomm-predicts...
  - tooltalk 5y ago
    Apple bought two top botique IC design companies, Intrinsity and PA-Semi, and many years of in-house development to get to where they are now today with M1. Infineon was a laggard and many who bought iPhones with Infineons modems thought they were laggard. I don't anticipate any breakthrough from this. I don't think Qualcomm is that worried either.
    - cptskippy 5y ago
      It's less about Infineon's product quality and more so about their patent portfolio.
      - tooltalk 5y ago
        I thought it was a kickback for testifying against Qualcomm in FTC vs Qualcomm anti-trust trial which Apple helped orchestrate behind the scene. I mean there was hardly anything to salvage from this declining business.
kalleboo 5y ago
With the first retina MacBook Pro, they split the displays between Samsung and LG, and the LG displays had some pretty nasty image retention issues, I had my display swapped due to them.
- MBCook 5y ago
  Oh yeah, that’s right. Of course that was an actual defect. Obviously that wasn’t supposed to happen.
- AzN1337c0d3r 5y ago
  Yup I was able to reproduce it by displaying a high contrast checkerboard pattern for 2 minutes. After I returned the 2nd laptop, I started opening the laptop in store to check for the issue and went through 4 more additional laptops before I got the Samsung display. A couple of months later, in their repair catalog, Apple apparently created a new part number consisting only of Samsung displays and started replacing with a Samsung screen for all repairs.
coldtea 5y ago
>But OLED displays are such complex things! Surely there must be some noticeable/functional difference between a "Samsung-display iPhone" and a "BOE-display iPhone" ? So? People get the base compatibility. What are they gonna do, compare micro-differences with another guy's device and complain?
- MBCook 5y ago
  Some Apple fans will. Yes. And I say that as an Apple fan. For example two or three years ago the top-of-the-line iPhone had either an Intel or a Qualcomm modem in it. People figured out the Qualcomm modem was faster. And some of them complained or tried to figure out a way to get a Qualcomm model. Of course no normal user would care. Apple‘s standards are so high that even if you got the “bad“ OLED screen it would still be very very good.
- bunnie 5y ago
  One of the many social messages sent by Apple products is "I deserve/have the best". Once you are selling to customers like that, you have left the realm of the so-called economically rational customer which has a value curve that seeks a good product at a fair price. Instead they feel entitled to the best product because they can/have paid the top price for it. Thus there is going to be a subset that will deeply care that they have "the bestest of the best", and so micro differences become an obsession.
Latty 5y ago
Almost all computer hardware is sold within a range of specs, not absolute specs. The silicon lottery is a thing, and what you get could be exactly on the spec or above it to some level. As long as all the providers meet a given spec, if some of them are better that isn't inherently a problem. This applies to having different suppliers as well as variance within a manufacturing process. Now, of course if all reviewers happen to get the better version this could be an issue, as seen with lots of SSDs recently with components getting swapped out after-the-fact. Of note, Samsung use different chips in different markets. The US version of the Galaxy S20 uses a Snapdragon chip which is generally considered better than the EU version's Exynos chip, particularly when it comes to power efficiency. That caused some anger. I would say that as long as a manufacturer handles it correctly with reviewers so consumers see the minimum they could get, not a best-case, it's fine. Otherwise, it should probably be sold under a different name.
- bserge 5y ago
  Still can't unlock the bootloader on Snapdragon/NA models though lol
a9h74j 5y ago
You might well imagine what advantages go to Apple (or any major OEM) from having multiple suppliers tooling up to supply a complex component within a spec. Multiple sourcing. Big-failure avoidance. Competitive development with different cultures, insights, and constraints. Testing which suppliers are better able to meet "stretch" (negotiable) requirements. Ongoing leverage in negotiation. But presumably such an OEM must [often?] reward multiple suppliers with splits on orders.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Also easier stated, don't put all your eggs in one basket. While less nuanced, it just goes to show how old the concept is
- tooltalk 5y ago
  >> Multiple sourcing. Big-failure avoidance. That must be why Apple is putting all eggs in one basket, aka, China. /s
toast0 5y ago
You see some of this in other products. I think some of the varieties of Nintendo 3DS had different screen types, with no difference in model number; have to open the box to see what's in it. It's generally called the panel lotery; some purchasers will return a device if it doesn't have the panel they want and there's no way to specify. Apple could split by model or destination market if there's a significant difference in quality or price, or just shuffle and you get what you get (or you return it until they change the return policy)
bserge 5y ago
You could clearly see the difference between a BOE OLED (on the Huawei Mate series) and a Samsung one (Galaxy Note/S) a few years ago. At first glance, they were great, but comparing it to the Samsung it was clear that the colors are less vibrant, more washed out. Perhaps they improved on that. I'd love to see newer panels side by side.
ansgri 5y ago
In my experience with measuring display characteristics (research lab working between computer and human vision), this is typical. One device we've worked with a couple of years ago, also with OLED, used different panels depending on the regional version, European or Asian. The spectra were measurably different, but visually there was only a very slight variation in color temperature. Most of these differences can be adjusted for in software, which would be trivial considering Apple's competency in color science.

freetinker 5y ago

Apple provides spec, and controls spec compliance.

b112 5y ago

Different models can use different displays.

wishawa 5y ago

IIRC back in iPhone 6 days the CPU production was split between TSMC and Samsung. The TSMC ones were measurably better (performance, thermals, battery life), but the difference wasn’t very big, so most people didn’t care.

Wowfunhappy 5y ago
Edit: Nope, my memory was completely wrong, I was thinking of modems.
- ace2358 5y ago
  You may be thinking of the intel/Qualcomm modem situation?
  - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
    Ah, yes—that was it!

stefan_ 5y ago

They do this a lot. Modems used to be split between Infineon (then bought by Intel, then bought by Apple) and Qualcomm, with the Qualcomm ones rumored to have better throughput and signal strength.

cptskippy 5y ago
Yeah, iircc Apple did this as a negotiating tactic with Qualcomm. Intel had acquired and did nothing with their modem business so they eventually sold it to Apple. Apple is still using Qualcomm as their supplier but it wouldn't surprise me if they pull an M1 with their modem. For now they're at least using it as a bargaining chip with Qualcomm.
- philistine 5y ago
  Qualcomm has already basically announced that Apple is making their own modems: https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/11/16/qualcomm-predicts-it-will-supply-only-20-of-modems-for-2023-iphone https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/11/16/qualcomm-predicts...
- tooltalk 5y ago
  Apple bought two top botique IC design companies, Intrinsity and PA-Semi, and many years of in-house development to get to where they are now today with M1. Infineon was a laggard and many who bought iPhones with Infineons modems thought they were laggard. I don't anticipate any breakthrough from this. I don't think Qualcomm is that worried either.
  - cptskippy 5y ago
    It's less about Infineon's product quality and more so about their patent portfolio.
    - tooltalk 5y ago
      I thought it was a kickback for testifying against Qualcomm in FTC vs Qualcomm anti-trust trial which Apple helped orchestrate behind the scene. I mean there was hardly anything to salvage from this declining business.

kalleboo 5y ago

With the first retina MacBook Pro, they split the displays between Samsung and LG, and the LG displays had some pretty nasty image retention issues, I had my display swapped due to them.

MBCook 5y ago
Oh yeah, that’s right. Of course that was an actual defect. Obviously that wasn’t supposed to happen.
AzN1337c0d3r 5y ago
Yup I was able to reproduce it by displaying a high contrast checkerboard pattern for 2 minutes. After I returned the 2nd laptop, I started opening the laptop in store to check for the issue and went through 4 more additional laptops before I got the Samsung display. A couple of months later, in their repair catalog, Apple apparently created a new part number consisting only of Samsung displays and started replacing with a Samsung screen for all repairs.

coldtea 5y ago

>But OLED displays are such complex things! Surely there must be some noticeable/functional difference between a "Samsung-display iPhone" and a "BOE-display iPhone" ? So? People get the base compatibility. What are they gonna do, compare micro-differences with another guy's device and complain?

MBCook 5y ago
Some Apple fans will. Yes. And I say that as an Apple fan. For example two or three years ago the top-of-the-line iPhone had either an Intel or a Qualcomm modem in it. People figured out the Qualcomm modem was faster. And some of them complained or tried to figure out a way to get a Qualcomm model. Of course no normal user would care. Apple‘s standards are so high that even if you got the “bad“ OLED screen it would still be very very good.
bunnie 5y ago
One of the many social messages sent by Apple products is "I deserve/have the best". Once you are selling to customers like that, you have left the realm of the so-called economically rational customer which has a value curve that seeks a good product at a fair price. Instead they feel entitled to the best product because they can/have paid the top price for it. Thus there is going to be a subset that will deeply care that they have "the bestest of the best", and so micro differences become an obsession.

Latty 5y ago

Almost all computer hardware is sold within a range of specs, not absolute specs. The silicon lottery is a thing, and what you get could be exactly on the spec or above it to some level. As long as all the providers meet a given spec, if some of them are better that isn't inherently a problem. This applies to having different suppliers as well as variance within a manufacturing process. Now, of course if all reviewers happen to get the better version this could be an issue, as seen with lots of SSDs recently with components getting swapped out after-the-fact. Of note, Samsung use different chips in different markets. The US version of the Galaxy S20 uses a Snapdragon chip which is generally considered better than the EU version's Exynos chip, particularly when it comes to power efficiency. That caused some anger. I would say that as long as a manufacturer handles it correctly with reviewers so consumers see the minimum they could get, not a best-case, it's fine. Otherwise, it should probably be sold under a different name.

bserge 5y ago
Still can't unlock the bootloader on Snapdragon/NA models though lol

a9h74j 5y ago

You might well imagine what advantages go to Apple (or any major OEM) from having multiple suppliers tooling up to supply a complex component within a spec. Multiple sourcing. Big-failure avoidance. Competitive development with different cultures, insights, and constraints. Testing which suppliers are better able to meet "stretch" (negotiable) requirements. Ongoing leverage in negotiation. But presumably such an OEM must [often?] reward multiple suppliers with splits on orders.

dylan604 5y ago
Also easier stated, don't put all your eggs in one basket. While less nuanced, it just goes to show how old the concept is
tooltalk 5y ago
>> Multiple sourcing. Big-failure avoidance. That must be why Apple is putting all eggs in one basket, aka, China. /s

toast0 5y ago

You see some of this in other products. I think some of the varieties of Nintendo 3DS had different screen types, with no difference in model number; have to open the box to see what's in it. It's generally called the panel lotery; some purchasers will return a device if it doesn't have the panel they want and there's no way to specify. Apple could split by model or destination market if there's a significant difference in quality or price, or just shuffle and you get what you get (or you return it until they change the return policy)

bserge 5y ago

You could clearly see the difference between a BOE OLED (on the Huawei Mate series) and a Samsung one (Galaxy Note/S) a few years ago. At first glance, they were great, but comparing it to the Samsung it was clear that the colors are less vibrant, more washed out. Perhaps they improved on that. I'd love to see newer panels side by side.

ansgri 5y ago

In my experience with measuring display characteristics (research lab working between computer and human vision), this is typical. One device we've worked with a couple of years ago, also with OLED, used different panels depending on the regional version, European or Asian. The spectra were measurably different, but visually there was only a very slight variation in color temperature. Most of these differences can be adjusted for in software, which would be trivial considering Apple's competency in color science.