Apple, which has surrendered smartphone market share to Samsung Electronics' Galaxy series, is expected to benefit Apple partners like Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and LG Innotek as it embarks on a major specifications upgrade for the iPhone 17. Apple, which has been hesitant about hardware upgrades, is projected to include a number of high-spec components in the iPhone 17 series, which will be unveiled next month.
According to industry sources on the 26th, the iPhone 17 model, set to be released next month, will debut as the thinnest iPhone ever. The iPhone 17 series will be comprised of four models in total, adding an 'Air' to the existing basic, Pro, and Pro Max models, with the especially slim iPhone 17 Air expected to replace the existing Plus model. The device is predicted to have a thickness of only 5.5 mm.
The iPhone 17 series will expand the application of low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, previously limited to the Pro lineup, to all models, leading to an increase in the supply proportion from Samsung Display and LG Display. LTPO is a low-power display technology that belongs to a higher category compared to low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS), and it was known that the LTPO OLED used in the previous iPhone 16 Pro lineup was supplied entirely by Samsung Display and LG Display.
The industry expects that LG Display, which has been competing for market share with China's BOE, will be a beneficiary of this iPhone specifications upgrade. BOE has yet to implement LTPO OLED displays on the level of Samsung Display and LG Display. Previously, IT media outlet Phone Arena reported that BOE was excluded from the iPhone 17 supply chain.
According to domestic market research firm UbiResearch, LG Display's market share is expected to increase as BOE's position in the iPhone 17 series weakens. The company predicts that LG Display will supply over 30% of the iPhone panels this year. UbiResearch noted, 'LG Display's panel shipment for iPhones in the third quarter is expected to reach approximately 18.5 million units, representing a 70% increase compared to the second quarter, and it is projected to exceed 25 million units in the fourth quarter.'
Camera functions are also set to see significant enhancements. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models are expected to feature large camera bumps in line with a substantial camera upgrade. Currently leaked real images of the iPhone 17 Pro model show a large hole for the camera at the top of the device, adding weight to these observations.
The iPhone 17 Pro model is expected to replace the existing 12-megapixel telephoto lens with a 48-megapixel lens, adopting a triple camera setup with 48-megapixel sensors on all lenses. It is also expected to support an 8x optical zoom and continuous optical zoom functions, exceeding the 5x optical zoom currently provided by the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Consequently, the cost of the camera module components is also expected to rise.
LG Innotek, which has a high revenue dependence on Apple, is expected to see a recovery in performance starting in the second half of the year. In the second quarter, LG Innotek's optical solution division, responsible for camera modules, recorded a quarterly loss for the first time in two years, leading to a deterioration in revenue. This was influenced by the off-peak season in the mobile market, a drop in exchange rates, and intensified market competition that lowered camera module prices.
Kim Dong-won, a researcher at KB Securities, noted, 'LG Innotek's performance in the third quarter is expected to increase by 26% and 30% compared to the previous quarter, with revenue projected at 4.9 trillion won and operating profit at 169.2 billion won, driven by an increase in operational rates from optical solutions following the launch of new smartphones by strategic clients and improvements in profitability in the substrate material institutional sector.'