iPhone 15 Display Panels Enter Mass Production Weeks Ahead of Anticipated Debut: Report

iPhone 15 display panels have entered mass production and Apple supplier Samsung has begun manufacturing the OLED displays for its upcoming smartphone lineup that is expected to debut in the coming weeks, according to a report. This year, Apple is tipped to launch four new models — the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Meanwhile, the production yields for the purported periscope camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max are reportedly below the company's expectations. 

According to a supply chain report in The Elec (in Korean) Samsung Display has begun mass producing the panels for Apple's upcoming smartphones, after the Cupertino company granted the company permission to manufacture four distinct OLED panels that it will require for the purported iPhone 15 series of smartphones. Unlike their predecessors, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are also tipped to feature the Dynamic Island this year.

Meanwhile, Apple has reportedly given LG conditional approval and the latter must make some improvements before it begins mass production of the iPhone 15 series displays. BOE, the iPhone maker's third supplier that is currently dealing with a lawsuit over alleged patent violations from Samsung, has not been granted approval to manufacture displays for the iPhone 15 lineup, and this is not expected to change until next year, as per the report.

Previous reports have hinted at the inclusion of a periscope camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple's top-of-the-line model that is expected to debut as part of the iPhone 15 series. The South Korean publication states that the production yields for the zoom components (from LG Innotek) and image sensors (from Sony) are below the iPhone maker's expectations. If Apple does launch the iPhone 15 Pro Max with a periscope camera, it is likely to offer nearly twice the optical zoom performance on its predecessor.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman stated in his weekly Power On newsletter than the iPhone 15 Pro models will come with a faster 3nm chip, an Action button to replace the mute switch, reworked internals to make them more repairable, and titanium edges instead of stainless steel — for improved durability. Meanwhile, Gurman states that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models will feature the Dynamic Island and will be powered by the 4nm A16 Bionic chip that powered both iPhone 14 Pro models that were launched last year.