Multiple iPhone models might be blocked from import into the United States. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that one of the companies that makes displays for iOS handsets infringes on the patents of another, and products that use the infringing displays face an import ban.
President Donald Trump has the option to veto the ban, however.
Samsung Display v. BOE could get iPhone banned
Apple often sources components from multiple companies, which allows it to play suppliers against each other and lower production costs. That usually successful strategy might bite Cupertino in the butt this time, though.
Samsung Display accuses BOE of infringing on its patents related to producing OLED screen panels. Last week, the ITC agreed and issued a preliminary ruling that products that include infringing BOE screens should be banned from import into the United States, as reported earlier this week by ETnews.
A final ruling on Samsung Display’s patent-infringement case against BOE is scheduled for November. It’s possible the preliminary ruling could be overturned at that time, but that’s rare. After the final ruling has been made, Trump will have two months to decide whether to veto the import ban.
What this means for Apple
Apple is caught in the middle of the dispute between the Korean and Chinese companies. If the import ban goes into effect, Apple will still be allowed to import iPhones and other products that use BOE displays if they were assembled before the ban started. But it can’t make additional units with BOE screens and then import them into the United States.
With the ban potentially going into effect in late 2025, one option is to only use OLED screens made by Samsung Display in the iPhone 17 series coming in the autumn for units brought into the United States.
It’s possible Apple CEO Tim Cook will heavily lobby Trump to overturn the import ban. But it remains questionable whether such a campaign would succeed, given Trump’s vocal criticism of products made outside the United States.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
