BOE to become the largest supplier of MacBook panels

0mdia said that BOE's panel supply to Apple MacBook will account for 51%.

According to Omdia, Apple's MacBook series uses the most advanced notebook LCD displays that integrate high resolution, oxide backplane, mini LED backlight and low power consumption. Laptop suppliers are also preparing to switch from LCD to OLED in the next few years.

According to the report, Apple expects to purchase 22.5 million MacBook panels this year, an increase of 1% compared with last year.

Due to the uncertainty of US tariff policy expected by the end of 2024, Apple has moved its OEM production base from China to Vietnam. In addition, the company has prepared MacBook products, especially MacBook Air, for the US market in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.

This move has increased the shipments of panel manufacturers including BOE, LG Display, and Sharp. However, starting from the second quarter of 2025, major MacBook panel suppliers except BOE may receive conservative forecast values.

Historically, LG Display, which has been Apple's largest notebook panel supplier, is expected to reduce its market share by 9 percentage points in 2025 from 2024 to 35%.

As Apple shifts orders for MacBook Air displays to BOE, demand for MacBook Pro weakens, and LGD's supply is expected to fall 12.2% from last year to just 8.48 million units.

According to the latest forecast, BOE is expected to supply 51% of MacBook panels in 2025, up 12 percentage points from last year.

Linda Lin, chief analyst for tablets, notebook displays and OEMs at Omdia, said: "BOE is expanding orders for MacBook Air panels, especially centered on the popular 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch models. This is the first time that BOE has secured more than half of Apple's MacBook panel orders." BOE aims to supply 11.5 million laptop panels to Apple in 2025, reflecting considerable growth momentum from the same period last year.

He also added: "Sharp will continue to focus on 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch MacBook Pro panels. However, due to weaker demand for MacBook Pro in 2025, Sharp's annual supply to Apple will fall 20.8% from the previous year to 3.1 million units, accounting for 14% of the market share.