Apple Uses Tiny QR Codes to Track Display Manufacturing Failures and Cut Costs

[MacRumors]

Apple etches iPhone displays with small QR codes that let it precisely track the number of defective screens that are thrown out by suppliers, according to a new report from The Information.

One barcode is the size of a grain of sand and can be viewed only with special equipment, while the other is on the inside of the display along the bezel. Apple spent millions of dollars developing the barcode process and installing laser scanning equipment at Lens Technology and Biel Crystal, two manufacturers that make the iPhone's cover glass.

With this system, Apple has a precise count of every piece of glass produced by Lens and Biel, and an exact read on how much material is wasted due to defects. A source that spoke to The Information said that when the barcodes were first implemented, Apple found that as many as three out of 10 pieces of cover glass were thrown away due to manufacturing errors, and with pressure from Apple, the suppliers have been able to cut that down to one in 10. Because Apple pays for production, lowering error rates has saved it hundreds of millions of dollars.

Apple has used the display barcodes to streamline manufacturing since 2020, and the company is able to see which company made the glass and the date it was manufactured for tracking production level and yield rate. Other iPhone components have had small barcodes to trace defects or find the source of leaks for many years, but prior to the display system, barcodes were primarily used for metal parts.

The Information's full report goes into more detail on the barcode, including the complex, multi-step process that Apple uses to get the barcodes onto the displays.

Article Link: Apple Uses Tiny QR Codes to Track Display Manufacturing Failures and Cut Costs

 

[Attirex]

next level sh*t right there.

Apple execs prob have barcodes, too.

 

[sack_peak]

This is a supply chain dream... I am surprised this has not been implemented chain-wide a dozen years ago.

These "waste" may end up being sold as spare parts for unauthorized repairs or be used to manufacture fake iPhones that runs Android skinned with iOS UI & a 30nm SoC.

These fake iPhones proliferate poor nations with weak IP law implementations.

25 years ago LCD TVs sold at $15,000.

Today it is under $150.

The price became that low when production yield became that perfect.

 

[The Barron]

I can now sleep after learning this. Whew

 

[Powerbooky]

This is clearly the work of Cook.

 

[jayducharme]

That's pretty mind-blowing.

 

[t0rqx]

If these millions of dollars would be invested in QA rather than a microscopic QR code.

 

[EBone12355]

I remember the iPhone 3G had a QR code hidden in the back plastic of the casing that you could only see if you shined a very bright light at it.

 

[havaloc]

It's probably a Data Matrix code, not a QR code.

Data Matrix - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"The most popular application for Data Matrix is marking small items, due to the code's ability to encode fifty characters in a symbol that is readable at 2 or 3 mm2 (0.003 or 0.005 sq in) and the fact that the code can be read with only a 20% contrast ratio.[1] A Data Matrix is scalable; commercial applications exist with images as small as 300 micrometres (0.012 in) (laser etched on a 600-micrometre (0.024 in) silicon device) and as large as a 1 metre (3 ft) square (painted on the roof of a boxcar). Fidelity of the marking and reading systems are the only limitation. The US Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) recommends using Data Matrix for labeling small electronic components.[2]"

 

[GMShadow]

If these millions of dollars would be invested in QA rather than a microscopic QR code.

Apple found that as many as three out of 10 pieces of cover glass were thrown away due to manufacturing errors, and with pressure from Apple, the suppliers have been able to cut that down to one in 10. Because Apple pays for production, lowering error rates has saved it hundreds of millions of dollars.

This is QA.

 

[sack_peak]

If these millions of dollars would be invested in QA rather than a microscopic QR code.

The QR code acts like an serial # per part/component. Doing that helps automate QA eliminating human error or intervention.

 

[zilchfox]

If these millions of dollars would be invested in QA rather than a microscopic QR code.

Did… did you even read the article before replying?

 

[Think|Different]

Whoa, that's genuinely cool and interesting as hell!

 

[QuarterSwede]

Apple spent millions of dollars developing the barcode process and installing laser scanning equipment at Lens Technology and Biel Crystal, two manufacturers that make the iPhone's cover glass.

Apple spent nothing.

Millions is nothing when you have $64 Billion in liquidity. It’s not even a hundredth of a percent of the CASH they have let alone their valuation (which is truly stupid). This isn’t even lost money in the couch for them. It may as well be nonexistent.

Accountants: I know, I know.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Did… did you even read the article before replying?

You must be new here. Nobody reads the articles; heck most people barely get 40% of the headline.

 

[Shirasaki]

You must be new here. Nobody reads the articles; heck most people barely get 40% of the headline.

New guess game: which word does people focus on the most when seeing the MR article title.

 

[constantsnags!]

If these millions of dollars would be invested in QA rather than a microscopic QR code.

It literally is QA. That’s the entire point of the article.

 

[svish]

Interesting information. Good to know about the QR codes on the display.

 

[Nekomichi]

This has been a thing for a while, I've seen Data Matrix codes on parts like the camera modules and chassis from older devices like the iPhone 4 (and maybe 3GS? Can't remember that far back). Those weren't microscopic though. Other companies also use similar methods, like Nintendo. Recent products like the Nintendo 3DS also have Data Matrix codes printed on various components, they act as serial and batch identifiers in order to isolate potentially faulty batches.

 

[bgillander]

This is a supply chain dream... I am surprised this has not been implemented chain-wide a dozen years ago.

These "waste" may end up being sold as spare parts for unauthorized repairs or be used to manufacture fake iPhones that runs Android skinned with iOS UI with 30nm SoC.

These fake iPhones proliferate poor nations with weak IP law implementations.

25 years ago LCD TVs sold at $15,000.

Today it is under $150.

The price became that low when production yield became that perfect.

I agree with most of this, but feel the need to point out that even if LCD TV production yield was by some miracle 100% on the very first run, it would have still been sold at a similar price, because of R&D and initial production costs, as well as the usual early (lack of) market pressures. The entire production process and infrastructure has changed several times since that date to cause much of the price drop, and competition also plays a part. Certainly, if yield is poor, it does increase costs and therefore prices, but there are many other factors in this specific example (Not to mention many, if not most LCD TVs still sell for over $150, and many are still over $1000… admittedly, they are now much larger, but the increasing initial production panel size is also part of the pricing / value equation.)

 

[bgillander]

Apple spent nothing.

Millions is nothing when you have $64 Billion in liquidity. It’s not even a hundredth of a percent of the CASH they have let alone their valuation (which is truly stupid). This isn’t even lost money in the couch for them. It may as well be nonexistent.

Accountants: I know, I know.

Actually, they spent nothing because the article indicates the QA improvement has already saved hundreds of millions for their initial millions outlay. There is this funny concept called return on investment, where this expense has already paid for itself and is effectively now paying Apple an extra 2 screens for every 10 produced at these factories. They went from 7 to 9, which means they basically increased the production by 29% with this move, meaning the ROI was quite impressive.

These are the kind of results no one can complain about. Oh, wait, never mind… I forgot I was on MacRumors.

 

[Square-Eyes]

I don’t really get why Apple need a fancy-schmancy barcode to work out how many screens are being thrown away. The article implies they pay for every manufactured screen, in which case it is trivial to work out (manufactured screens minus useable screens)…🤔

 

[bgillander]

I don’t really get why Apple need a fancy-schmancy barcode to work out how many screens are being thrown away. The article implies they pay for every manufactured screen, in which case it is trivial to work out (manufactured screens minus useable screens)…🤔

Well, I can’t confirm because I won’t pay to see the original article, but my first guess would be that the barcode actually indicates exactly where on the entire full panel that individual screen was located and the production line, so they could determine when there was a repeating defect in a specific location. If there are multiple production lines and the QA is only at the end, it can be hard to narrow down the exact source of an issue… you just know you have some garbage, you don’t know exactly where it came from. I had to do something like that with non-microscopic barcodes years ago, so my company could identify the order of tape rolls that were cut, so if any issue with a roll was found they could isolate the rolls on either side and confirm they weren’t bad, as well. Fun stuff!

 

[sack_peak]

I agree with most of this, but feel the need to point out that even if LCD TV production yield was by some miracle 100% on the very first run, it would have still been sold at a similar price, because of R&D and initial production costs, as well as the usual early (lack of) market pressures. The entire production process and infrastructure has changed several times since that date to cause much of the price drop, and competition also plays a part. Certainly, if yield is poor, it does increase costs and therefore prices, but there are many other factors in this specific example (Not to mention many, if not most LCD TVs still sell for over $150, and many are still over $1000… admittedly, they are now much larger, but the increasing initial production panel size is also part of the pricing / value equation.)

Pls go further and provide a well fleshed out business plan.

 

[bgillander]

Pls go further and provide a well fleshed out business plan.

“In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.” 😀

Yeah, sorry for the book… I guess I could have just said it was a lot more complicated than just yield, but I recently read an article on LCD production and it was actually quite interesting!