(Yicai) Sept. 3 -- Several Chinese companies along the foldable display supply chain have supplied precision structural components for ultra-thin glass and hinges for a new foldable iPhone, with some boosting production ahead of Apple's Sept. 9 product launch event when the device will likely be released, according to an analyst from a third-party research institution.

The assembly of Apple's upcoming foldable phone is mainly handled by Hon Hai Precision Industry, a Taiwan-based supplier better known as Foxconn, with South Korea's Samsung Display as the exclusive panel provider for the first batch of the new iPhone, Zhou Hua, chief analyst at CINNO Research, told Yicai. Shenzhen-based Lens Technology is the major ultra-thin glass supplier, Zhou pointed out.

Regarding hinges, the primary assembly suppliers are mainly the US connector provider Amphenol and the world's biggest notebook computer spindle maker Shin Zu Shing, which is based in Taiwan, Zhou noted, adding that Chinese companies mainly serve as secondary parts suppliers, with Eontec providing liquid metal hinge spindles and Jiangsu Gian Technology focusing on the processing of metal injection molding precision components.

"Chinese firms have achieved deep integration in Apple's foldable display supply chain, but still mainly play a secondary supporting role in core links," Zhou stressed.

Lens Tech, BIEL Crystal, and other Chinese suppliers produce glass cover plates for the iPhone's foldable display, Chen Jun, deputy general manager and chief analyst at Sigmaintell, said to Yicai.

Lens Tech has started supplying ultra-thin glass, colorless polyimide film, ultra-thin glass support plates, and three-dimensional glass cover plates for major customers' foldable phones since the second half of this year, the company told investors on Aug. 23. The value of these products has surge because they are difficult to process, making the company a beneficiary of the increase in structural components of foldable phones compared to bar ones, it noted.

Looking ahead to next year, Lens Tech expects overall growth in foldable-phone production from major clients, it noted, adding that its titanium frame, 3D printing, and 3D glass will be widely used in high-end models and will contribute to its performance in the coming years.

The structural components of foldable phones involve complex manufacturing processes, which lifts the added value of a single product to several times that of components for bar phones.

The value of hinge spindles is based on the precision required in the preparation process, so the cost is mainly constrained by the complexity of the process, covering mold design and development, as well as the efficiency of specialized equipment die-casting processes, Eontec said on Aug. 28.

Eontec's new plant in the Changshantou Industrial Zone in Dongguan, where the company is based, is expected to go live in the first half of next year, while its Zhuzhou liquid metal factory will likely start trial production by the end of this month. The company aims to seize the growth opportunity created by increasing adoption of foldable smartphones by expanding production capacity.

Lingyi iTech, another Chinese precision structural component supplier, said that it provides hinge chain precision structural components, screen support plates, ultra-thin vapor chambers, ultra-thin stainless steel battery case modules, and other parts for the next-generation terminal products of Apple when asked by investors what products it can provide for the first foldable iPhone on Aug. 30. A single phone's value is several times that of a bar phone, it noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev