Apple Reportedly Approaches BOE to Develop LCD Version of iMac, Casting Doubt on OLED Transition Timeline
nashnova research
Apple has sent LCD panel requests for information to BOE and other suppliers for a future iMac; the company may ship both LCD and OLED iMac models around 2029 rather than switching outright — OLED cost pressure and weak iPad Pro sales are the key variables.
Why is Apple still shopping for LCD suppliers?
Digitimes reports that Apple recently sent an LCD panel request for information (RFI) to BOE for future iMac development, and separately contacted LG Display about LCD panels for a future Studio Display.
An RFI is Apple's pre-specification technical scouting step — it comes before locking specs or issuing a formal request for quotation. This means → Apple is seriously evaluating the LCD path, not just making a routine inquiry.
The industry had broadly expected the first OLED iMac to arrive in 2029–2030. The LCD iMac's potential launch window points to roughly the same period — the two tracks overlap in time.
Why not switch entirely to OLED?
Cost is the core logic. OLED panels offer advantages in thinness, contrast, and color, but manufacturing costs remain higher.
The OLED iPad Pro launched in 2024 has seen persistently weak sales, now in its third year of sluggishness. In plain terms = Apple's own OLED flagship product has not sold well, making an accelerated push for OLED iMac hard to justify.
Memory chip prices have risen sharply since 2026 and are expected to climb further in 2027. This means → overall bill-of-materials costs are already rising; adding a pricier OLED panel compounds the pricing pressure.
An industry source says Apple may launch both LCD and OLED iMac versions in 2029–2030 rather than making a full switch.
What does the supplier landscape look like?
LCD camp: LG Display remains Apple's primary LCD supplier for high-end IT products. BOE and Tianma also supply Apple — Tianma focuses on smaller displays. CSOT has not yet entered Apple's LCD supply chain and is submitting samples to win orders.
OLED camp: Samsung Display is preparing large-format quantum-dot OLED technology for the iMac project. LG Display's earlier white-OLED proposal was not advanced, but the company is developing a different process aimed at a future OLED Studio Display.
This reflects Apple's intent to maintain dual LCD-and-OLED tracks on the desktop, rather than betting on a single display technology.
Where is Apple's OLED expansion actually focused?
Apple's decision to retain LCD on the desktop contrasts with its OLED push in laptops and smaller tablets. Yonhap reports that Samsung Display will be the sole supplier of panels for Apple's first OLED touch-enabled MacBook Pro and OLED iPad mini, both expected to launch in late October.
Samsung Display's Gen 8.6 IT OLED fab in Asan, South Korea began mass production in July. The line cost roughly ₩4.1 trillion (~$3.1 billion); its glass substrates are about twice the area of Gen 6 lines. Put simply = larger substrates mean more panels per sheet of glass, which should bring down unit costs.
LG Display is pursuing the FLiPP process — a lithography-based method that directly patterns red, green, and blue OLED sub-pixels — for laptops and monitors. It can reuse existing white-OLED infrastructure, but mass-production viability is unproven.
What does this mean for OLED market forecasts?
Counterpoint Research projects global laptop panel shipments will decline 3% in 2026, while OLED laptop panel shipments will grow 50%, followed by another 24% increase in 2027.
UBI Research estimates that IT products' share of Apple's annual OLED panel demand will rise from 4.1% in 2026 to 12.5% by 2030.
This means → those forecasts assume Apple's desktop lineup will also move toward OLED. If Apple truly pursues a parallel LCD-and-OLED strategy, the pace at which those projections materialize could stretch out.
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