Even an apple's life has its own hierarchy.

Apple fans, with the mentality of "opening blind boxes," have successively unpacked the newly arrived iPhone 17 series.

Among the latest iPhone 17 series, the screen suppliers are Samsung, LG, and BOE. Apple fans all hope to get a phone with a Samsung screen.

If their wishes are not fulfilled, some extreme Apple fans will take advantage of Apple's 14-day no-questions-return policy to keep returning and exchanging phones until they get an iPhone 17 with a Samsung screen.

How exaggerated is this situation? Last week in an Apple Store, YuanByte witnessed an Apple fan who failed to get a phone with a Samsung screen losing control of their emotions and having an argument with the staff.

In this generation of iPhones, there is an urban legend that "Samsung screens are the best," even though BOE has proven its strength in high-end phones like Huawei's triple-fold phones. When geopolitical games are added to Apple's supply chain, Apple fans are scrutinizing every detail.

Behind this is the result of the game between Apple and suppliers such as Samsung and BOE.

01 Just for a Samsung Screen

Apple fans use the return and exchange policy skillfully, outwit customer service, and even conflict with the staff in Apple Stores, all just to get a Samsung screen.

Among Samsung, LG, and BOE, Apple fans most recognize Samsung screens. They generally believe that Samsung screens have more accurate colors, do not show color deviation at large angles, have more transparent colors, and the fonts are not blurry.

On social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, and Zhihu, there are numerous comparison posts like this. Whether it's the text in the posts or the subsequent comments from netizens, they are always filled with anxiety about whether to go to after-sales to exchange phones.

Screenshot from Xiaohongshu

In fact, there have been slight differences between different suppliers in previous generations of iPhones, but it has been magnified by social media in this generation of products.

Screenshot from Zhihu

Due to external factors such as geopolitical games, professional topics about Apple's supply chain, which are not very popular among the public, have been escalating in the past one or two years. From the relocation of Apple's supply chain to the "curry-flavored" iPhones, and now to the issue of getting Samsung screens, the public is paying more and more attention to Apple's supply chain problems.

Due to Samsung's brand effect in the display field, the public has a stereotype that "Samsung is the best."

Apple fans' preference for Samsung OLEDs is supported by rational data.

According to data from market research firm CounterPoint Research, in the second quarter of 2025, Samsung Display's share of OLED panel shipments climbed to 35% and its share of shipment value reached 42%, thanks to the triple-digit quarter-on-quarter growth in laptops and smartwatches and the double-digit quarter-on-quarter growth in TVs. The firm expects Samsung Display's share of shipment value to reach 44% in the third quarter of 2025 and 41% for the whole year of 2025, slightly lower than 42% in 2024.

In terms of core technology, Samsung really "has something" in the OLED field. The most noticeable feature for users, "clearer font edges," is due to Samsung's exclusive "Diamond Pixel" patent technology. The characteristic of this technology is that in the Pentile layout where red and blue sub-pixels are shared, there are the most green sub-pixels which are oval-shaped, and the red and blue sub-pixels are diamond-shaped and relatively large.

To avoid Samsung's patent technology, other suppliers mostly adopt other solutions. Coupled with the time needed to adapt to Apple, there are some small differences. After all, Samsung's legal department is no ordinary force. Using relevant technology rashly will surely result in a court summons and a never-ending lawsuit.

Based on YuanByte's overall experience in Apple Stores, the differences mentioned on social media can only be shown under some extreme lighting conditions. If you're not a perfectionist, there's no need to go through so much trouble to exchange your phone.

02 Samsung Is Not Apple's "Optimal Solution"

It's almost impossible for iPhones to use all Samsung screens.

This is related to Apple's supplier strategy. Diversified investment is a long-term strategy it adheres to. It's afraid that a dominant supplier will take advantage of it as the client.

Especially Samsung, a player that can cover the entire hardware supply chain of smartphones, Apple's attitude towards it has always been ambiguous.

In the early days of the smartphone era, Samsung was the core supplier of Apple's processors, but the relationship between the two companies was very delicate. After a short honeymoon period, it quickly turned cold. Samsung is not only a supplier but also the most direct competitor. It even wrote in an internal report: "As long as the Galaxy phone is more like the iPhone, it will be better."

Subsequently, Apple found TSMC. After TSMC founder Morris Chang promised that "TSMC will never compete with its customers," TSMC entered Apple's list of core suppliers, forming a balance against Samsung.

In terms of screen supply, Apple is the same. It has been consciously supporting BOE. For the screen orders of MACBOOK, it has already given half of the share to BOE.

Compared with Samsung's dominance, BOE has an open attitude towards Apple. According to insiders in the supply chain, BOE has specially developed a new color management system to meet Apple's strict requirements.

Relevant data shows that in the global AMOLED smartphone screen market share in 2024, Samsung still ranked first globally with a 44% market share, but BOE's global share has reached 16%, getting closer and closer to Samsung.

Image source: CINNO Research

That is to say, the market's acceptance of BOE is getting higher and higher.

Data from UBI Research shows that BOE has built a production capacity system with an annual output of 100 million iPhone-specific OLED screens in Chengdu, Mianyang, and Ordos. It is expected that its shipments will reach 45 million pieces in 2025, of which about 5 million pieces are specially reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro series.

Historically, Apple's balancing act has not always been successful.

On July 26, 2019, Apple announced that it would acquire most of Intel's smartphone baseband business for $1 billion. Overnight, 2,200 Intel employees, along with thousands of wireless technology patents, changed to Apple's employee badges.

The background of this deal was the long-lasting "century lawsuit" between Apple and another chip giant, Qualcomm. To get rid of its dependence on Qualcomm, Apple once supported Intel's baseband business. Unfortunately, Intel was really "ineffective," and the problem of "poor signal" in iPhones persisted.

At that time, it wasn't that Apple fans were being picky and insisted on Qualcomm basebands. It was just that the products with Intel basebands at that time were hard to satisfy the market in terms of hard indicators such as signal strength.

After going around in circles, Apple used Qualcomm basebands again in subsequent products.

03 BOE Is "Shivering"

BOE's growing strength has caught Samsung's attention.

On July 16, according to South Korean media reports, Samsung Display has achieved a preliminary victory in a trade secret infringement lawsuit against Chinese display panel giant BOE in the United States.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in a preliminary decision that BOE and its seven subsidiaries had infringed Samsung Display's trade secrets and decided to impose an import ban on relevant OLED panels and modules.

It is expected that in November 2025, four months after the ITC's preliminary decision, the ITC will announce its final decision, and the import ban will officially take effect. Within two months, the U.S. President can decide whether to exercise the veto power.

In response, BOE said on the interactive platform that it will actively request a review from the ITC and also actively safeguard the company's rights and interests.

For Samsung, patent wars have long been a regular weapon in market competition.

The timing is very delicate. It's almost at the same time when the market reported that BOE is the screen panel supplier for the iPhone 17 Pro series. In fact, BOE has long been supplying screen panels for Apple phones, but only for lower-end models. This is the first time it has directly supplied high-end flagship models.

At the end of June, just a few days before the lawsuit, news came from the supply chain that Samsung had exclusively won the OLED panel order for Apple's first foldable phone, with a single-unit purchase price approaching 1,000 yuan. The huge profit shocked the entire Apple supply chain.

According to supply chain estimates, Apple's orders can reduce the R & D cost of a single screen using Samsung's UTG technology by 35% and bring an annual revenue increase of about $1.5 billion. In addition, Apple's first foldable phone's dependence on Samsung's display technology not only guarantees cash flow but also gives Samsung more say in setting OLED technology standards.

Having dealt with Apple for decades, Samsung knows that this windfall is only "temporary." Once the time is right, Apple will surely bring in other suppliers to share the foldable phone orders.

Looking globally, only BOE has such potential. High-end foldable phones like Huawei's Ultimate Master are all exclusively supplied by BOE.

Taking action at this time will directly delay BOE's entry into the high-end OLED market and allow Samsung to get more premium space from Apple.

For Apple, the long and uncertain legal process is enough to put its supply chain in a passive and difficult situation. Time is often the most precious resource in strategic games.

Therefore, there is a rumor in the market about "China-exclusive" iPhones, that is, BOE's products will only be provided for models sold in the Chinese market.

Judging from the current feedback from consumers, the proportion of BOE screens in the high-end models of the iPhone 17 series in China is not high. Samsung and LG screens are still the mainstream.

There is news that the high-end models of the iPhone 17 series at the initial launch are still using Samsung and LG screens, and the BOE versions will gradually increase in subsequent batches.

On the consumer side, due to the relatively small proportion of BOE versions, the focus of complaints in this wave of phone exchange storms is on LG screens. Even now, you can easily find a lot of posts on Xiaohongshu and Bilibili listing the "crimes" of LG screen panels.

It is hoped that by the time the BOE versions are gradually launched into the market, Apple fans who pursue perfection too much will have lost their enthusiasm for exchanging phones and screens and gradually return to rationality.

The real test for BOE's screens is yet to come.

Some pictures are from the Internet. Please contact us if there is any infringement.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Yuan Media Hub", author: YuanByte. Republished by 36Kr with permission.