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Graph illustrating 2025 foldable OLED shipment decline and anticipated 2026 market recovery driven by Apple’s foldable iPhone (Source: UBI Research)

Slow Growth in Foldable Phones Due to High Prices and Weak Demand… The 2026 Foldable iPhone Expected to Be a Turning Point

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OLED shipment trend for foldable smartphones in 2025 by quarter showing QoQ and YoY changes (Source: UBI Research)

OLED Shipment Trend for Foldable Phones (Source: UBI Research)

According to UBI Research’s recently published Small OLED Display Market Tracker, global shipments of OLEDs for foldable phones continued to show weak year-on-year performance for three consecutive quarters.

Cumulative shipments for January–September 2025 totaled 16.7 million units, down about 20 percent from 21 million units during the same period last year. On an annual basis, foldable OLED shipments in 2025 are expected to reach 21.3 million units, a 14.4 percent decrease from the previous year.

The foldable-phone market, now in its fifth year since launch, has entered a mature stage but faces limitations in expanding its consumer base. Although leading brands such as Samsung Electronics and Huawei continue to release new products, new demand beyond replacement purchases has slowed.

The biggest constraint is price. While high-end bar-type smartphones remain in the 1.3 to 1.7 million-won range, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series sells for over 2 million won, and Huawei’s tri-fold model exceeds 3 million won. The foldable iPhone, expected to launch next year, is also likely to be priced above 2.5 million won, making it less accessible to consumers.

As a result, even within the premium market, the perception that “technological innovation does not bring enough practical benefit” is spreading, deepening consumers’ hesitation to buy.

The foldable OLED market is expected to stagnate through 2025, but structural change is likely to begin in 2026. Samsung Display is reportedly set to be the sole supplier of OLED panels for Apple’s foldable iPhone, and once full-scale mass production begins, Samsung’s foldable OLED shipments are expected to rise sharply.

Meanwhile, Chinese panel makers are responding mainly through domestic brands. BOE, CSOT, and Visionox are working to increase market share by improving next-generation hinge structures, enhancing UTG (ultra-thin glass) durability, and expanding low-cost foldable lineups. In particular, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are pursuing both “vertical integration” and “domestic-market-focused strategies” to secure price competitiveness.

UBI Research Executive Vice President Changwook Han said, “Foldable phone shipments are stagnant in both Korea and China, but 2026, when Apple enters the market, will be a turning point. Samsung Display is expected to strengthen its influence in the market by maintaining technological superiority and exclusively supplying foldable OLEDs to Apple.”

He added, “Chinese companies are expanding their market share through strong domestic bases, but in terms of panel performance and reliability, they still have not fully closed the technological gap with Samsung.”

The industry expects that although growth in foldable phones will remain stagnant through 2025, it will recover double-digit growth from 2026 after Apple’s market entry.

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

Tianma official blue logo representing the company’s expansion of its Xiamen 8.6G LCD TM19 line for Apple IT display supply

Tianma to Significantly Expand Capacity of Xiamen 8.6-Generation LCD TM19 Line to Prepare for Apple IT Display Supply

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Tianma official logo image (Source: Tianma)

Tianma is rapidly strengthening its competitiveness in the IT and industrial display markets by significantly expanding the capacity of its 8.6-generation LCD production line, TM19, located in Xiamen.

Currently operating at a capacity of 40K sheets per month, the TM19 line is set to expand to 70K per month by early 2026 and further to 160K per month by early 2027. The current production allocation consists of approximately 15K sheets per month for mobile applications, 20K for IT applications, and 5K for 50-inch industrial panels.

Notably, Tianma has completed technical evaluations aimed at supplying panels for Apple’s iPad and MacBook and is planning to invest in three module lines capable of supporting products ranging from 7 to 16 inches. Among them, one line investment is being prioritized and is reportedly awaiting Apple’s final approval. Industry sources anticipate that part of LG Display’s supply volume may be transferred to Tianma.

In addition to the LCD capacity expansion, the company is also reviewing potential investments in 8.6-generation OLED production. While the specific technology direction and timeline have not yet been finalized, the Xiamen plant is likely to serve as the main base if the OLED investment proceeds.

Junho Kim, Analyst at UBI Research (alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶ China Trends Report Inquiry

Graph showing forecasted growth of OLED notebook shipments from 2025 to 2029 based on UBI Research data

OLED Notebook Market Stagnant in 2025, Poised for Strong Growth from 2026

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Forecast graph showing OLED notebook panel shipments from 2025 to 2029 (Source: UBI Research)

OLED Shipment for Notebook Forecast (Source: UBI Research)

The global shipment of OLED notebooks in 2025 is expected to reach about 10 million units, remaining at a similar level to the previous year.

According to UBI Research’s “Mid-to-Large OLED Display Market Tracker”, cumulative shipments through the third quarter of 2025 are estimated at about 6.7 million units, and the total annual shipment is projected to be similar to that of 2024.

The OLED notebook market will remain in an adjustment phase through 2025, but it is evaluated as a period to strengthen the foundation for mid- to long-term growth. The market is currently led by Samsung Display, while LG Display and EverDisplay are also gradually expanding their shipments.

As OLED panel prices continue to fall, Chinese panel makers are expanding the supply of 2-Stack Tandem OLEDs and low-cost Single OLEDs, and steady market growth is expected to follow. Major Chinese companies such as BOE, Visionox, TCL CSOT, and EverDisplay are establishing mass-production lineups for global set makers such as Lenovo, Dell, HP, and Huawei, thereby enhancing their competitiveness.

In 2026, the market structure is expected to change significantly. Industry attention is focused on whether Apple will adopt OLED displays for the MacBook Pro. Apple introduced OLED for the first time in the iPad Pro in 2024 but experienced limited demand due to higher prices. Accordingly, the company is taking a cautious approach to applying OLED to the MacBook series, reportedly reviewing cost structure, demand elasticity, and supply-chain stability.

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President of UBI Research, said, “If Apple launches an OLED MacBook in 2026, the notebook OLED market is expected to grow by more than 30% year on year and to more than double by 2029 compared to 2025.” He added, “Not only Apple but also major global brands such as Acer, Dell, and HP are expanding OLED adoption in their high-end lineups, and OLED notebooks will gradually replace LCDs to become the mainstream premium display.”

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

Chart showing quarterly tablet OLED shipments by UBI Research with QoQ and YoY growth trends in 2024–2025

Tablet OLED Demand Rebounds… Mid- to Large-Size OLED Shipments Up 11% in Q3 2025

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Quarterly OLED shipment trend for tablet PCs from 2024 to 2025, showing QoQ and YoY growth (Source: UBI Research)

Quarterly OLED Shipments for Tablet PCs (Source: UBI Research)

According to UBI Research’s Q4 Mid- to Large-Size OLED Display Market Tracker, the mid- to large-size OLED market in Q3 2025 rose 11% QoQ in shipments and 7.2% QoQ in revenue. This indicates that demand for mid- to large-size OLED panels is gradually recovering, exiting the slump that persisted since the second half of last year.

Within this segment, tablet PC OLED panels posted particularly strong growth. Q3 tablet OLED shipments increased 56% QoQ and 25.9% YoY, largely driven by the full-scale ramp of panel supply for Apple’s new iPad Pro. After a lull since Q3 last year, tablet OLED demand is rebounding quickly alongside the resumption of iPad Pro shipments.

By panel maker, Samsung Display supplied approximately 1.5 million OLED panels for tablets in the third quarter, while LG Display shipped about 1.3 million units. Among Samsung Display’s shipments, around 700,000 units were for the iPad Pro, whereas all of LG Display’s shipments were used exclusively in the iPad Pro. Both companies count Apple as a key client. In addition, Samsung Display solely supplies OLED panels for Samsung Electronics’ own Galaxy Tab S series.

Chinese panel makers are also increasing shipments of tablet OLEDs. Everdisplay (EDO) has been rapidly expanding its market share, recording 600,000–800,000 units per quarter since Q4 2024. BOE and Visionox are likewise supplying tablet OLED panels—albeit in smaller volumes—to Chinese device makers, steadily raising their output.

UBI Research’s Executive Vice President Chang-wook Han commented, “Today’s tablet OLED market is dominated by Apple, which supports the strong position of Korean panel makers. However, as OLED adoption expands beyond the iPad Pro to more affordable lineups such as iPad Air and iPad mini, Korean vendors could see their share pressured. At the same time, higher adoption among Chinese brands is expected to gradually lift the market share of Chinese panel makers.”

He added, “Amid these shifts, it remains to be seen whether Samsung Display and LG Display can maintain their technology lead and defend their market shares.

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

Apple LTPO+ OLED backplane compensation circuit structure showing oxide TFTs for both switching and driving

iPhone 18 with LTPO+: Intensifying Technology Race Among Panel Makers

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The iPhone 18 will feature a new type of OLED backplane technology called LTPO+. While existing LTPOs employed a hybrid structure using oxide semiconductors only for the switching TFT, LTPO+’s key feature is the switch to oxide TFTs for both the switching TFT and the driving TFT. This is believed to be Apple’s strategy to improve power efficiency in its next-generation OLED panels and to address brightness uniformity and image retention issues during extended use.

LTPO+ compensation circuit structure — Apple’s OLED backplane patent diagram (Source: Apple)

LTPO+ Compensation Circuit Patent (Source: Apple)

Conventional LTPS (low-temperature polycrystalline silicon)-based driving TFTs offer high mobility, making them advantageous for high-brightness operation. However, the numerous traps at grain boundaries result in high hysteresis and unstable current characteristics, making them prone to gradation errors and brightness unevenness over extended periods of use. In contrast, oxide TFTs boast low hysteresis and stable current characteristics, maintaining a constant current under constant gate voltage conditions. This reduces pixel-to-pixel current variation, improving brightness uniformity and color stability. Furthermore, residual charge accumulation is suppressed, reducing image retention.

Despite these advantages, many technical challenges remain for the application of oxide as a driving TFT. Oxide semiconductors have lower mobility than LTPS, making it difficult to secure sufficient driving current. This can lead to slower current response times at high brightness and refresh rates. Furthermore, ensuring stability under prolonged bias and thermal stress is essential. This is because electron trap accumulation during extended driving can lead to current reductions and subtle color shifts. Meanwhile, even in the LTPO+ structure, some circuit elements are still composed of LTPS. Since these LTPS elements are not as high-performance as the driving TFTs, securing cost-effective, low-cost LTPS manufacturing technology is crucial. Unlike high-quality driving LTPS, LTPS for peripheral circuits or sensing elements prioritizes yield, uniformity, and low-cost processes over high mobility. These process simplifications and cost-saving technologies enhance the competitiveness of LTPO+ mass production.

In other words, LTPO+ is a structure achieved through a balance between oxide and LTPS processes, with one key focus being high performance (oxide) and the other being low cost (LTPS).

From this perspective, the key challenges for oxide-driven TFTs can be summarized as four:

First, ensuring bias and thermal stress reliability – technology to suppress electrical degradation during long-term operation and minimize ΔVth (threshold voltage shift).

Second, integrating compensation circuits – designing a circuit-level compensation circuit to compensate for fluctuations in oxide device characteristics and ensure operational stability.

Third, securing large-area uniformity – a technology that minimizes current variations across the substrate to maintain luminance uniformity.

Fourth, appropriate subthreshold swing (SS) control – an excessively low SS can lead to sensitivity to threshold voltage variation and time variation (ΔVth), which can increase current dispersion. Therefore, SS optimization is required to balance power efficiency and operating stability.

Ultimately, the success of LTPO+ depends not only on the performance of the oxide driving TFT but also on the cost competitiveness of the auxiliary LTPS process. Apple will only be able to fully adopt LTPO+ for the iPhone 18 if it reaches target levels in mobility, reliability, uniformity, and manufacturing cost. The industry predicts that technological competition among existing iPhone panel suppliers will intensify, focusing on securing oxide TFT performance and developing low-cost LTPS processes. LTPO+ is expected to mark a new turning point for panel technology in the next-generation mobile OLED market.

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

Comparison of Google Android XR, Apple Vision OS, and Meta smart glasses — Image created via sora

Big tech companies enter the race to lead the next generation of wearable platforms

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XR platform comparison showing Google Android XR, Apple Vision OS, and Meta smart glasses (Image created via sora)

XR platform competition among Google, Apple, and Meta (Image created via sora)

Global big tech companies are forming a full-scale competitive landscape in the next-generation wearable device market. Samsung Electronics plans to unveil its “Project Moohan” Galaxy XR headset this month. Samsung’s Galaxy XR is a high-performance headset based on Google’s Android XR platform, bringing a 4K micro OLED display (4,032 PPI, 29 million pixels) and a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 processor. It has a lightweight design of 545 grams and a multimodal interface that integrates hand tracking, eye tracking, and voice recognition.

It will target the premium market with a higher resolution than Apple Vision Pro (23 million pixels) and better display quality than Meta Quest 3. Battery life is expected to be in line with competitors at 2 hours of normal use and 2.5 hours of video playback, and the price is expected to be around $1,800 (about $2.5 million).

Samsung has partnered with Google to build the One UI XR interface and secure major app ecosystems such as Chrome, YouTube, and Netflix. The initial production will be 100,000 units to test the market response before entering a full-scale mass production system.

Apple has temporarily halted development of its low-cost N100 (Vision Air) headset and reallocated resources to the AI smart glasses project, a strategic decision in response to the success of Meta’s Rayban and the rapid growth of the AI-powered smart glasses market.

Apple is developing two models of smart glasses. The first generation, codenamed N50, will be a display-less, iPhone-connected, audio-centric AI wearable that is expected to launch in 2027. The second-generation model will bring a display and compete directly with Meta Rayban, and development is being accelerated from the original 2028 plan.

Apple’s smart glasses are based on Vision OS, with a camera, microphone, health tracking, and a voice command interface with next-generation Siri AI at its core. It will also offer a wide range of frame options and colors, reinforcing its positioning as a fashion accessory.

Currently, the smart glasses market is dominated by Meta. The Meta-Rayban series has sold more than 3.5 million units cumulatively, with an 80% share of AI smart glasses. The recently unveiled Rayban Display model brings a full-color, high-resolution display that can display messages, photos, and other information.

In response, Google is strengthening its cooperation with Samsung with its Android XR platform and Gemini AI. Samsung will also release Project Coastal smart glasses in collaboration with Google and Gentlemonster early next year, making it a two-track headset and smart glasses strategy.

The future XR/smart glasses market is expected to be a three-way battle between the Android XR platform, Apple’s Vision OS XR platform, and Meta’s first-mover advantage. Each company’s ability to build ecosystems and differentiate user experience will be the key factors in determining market leadership.

Changho Noh,  Senior Analyst at UBI Research  (chnoh@ubiresearch.com)

▶UBI Research’s Micro Display Report

Q3 OLED Panel Shipments Surge with iPhone 17 Effect

OLED panel shipments surge in Q3, with Korean companies showing a clear recovery thanks to the iPhone 17 launch

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Bar chart of quarterly OLED panel shipments for smartphones in 2025

OLED panel shipments for smartphones by company in Q1–Q3 2025,  (Source: UBI Research)

According to the “OLED Display Market Tracker,” published quarterly by UBI Research, Korean panel manufacturers saw a significant increase in smartphone and foldable phone panel shipments in the third quarter. This is the result of a rapid recovery from a temporary decline in the second quarter, a period of weak smartphone demand, driven by the popularity of the iPhone series and Samsung Electronics’ new products.

Samsung Display saw a surge in panel shipments for the iPhone 17 series and the Galaxy S25 FE in the third quarter, significantly boosting flexible OLED shipments that had stagnated in the second quarter. Rigid OLED shipments remained stable, maintaining similar levels to the previous quarter.

LG Display’s panel shipments surged from approximately 10.8 million units in the second quarter to approximately 20 million units in the third quarter, nearly doubling forecasts. LG Display supplies smartphone panels exclusively to Apple, so the launch of the iPhone 17 series was the primary driver of shipment growth. Shipments for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, in particular, accounted for approximately 60% of total shipments, the largest share.

Chinese panel makers also saw shipment growth. BOE shipped approximately 5.4 million units, and Visionox increased shipments by approximately 6.7 million units compared to the second quarter. BOE’s main customer was Oppo, followed by Apple and Huawei. With the gradual expansion of iPhone panel supply, Apple is likely to emerge as a key customer for BOE in the fourth quarter. Visionox shipped the most refurbished panels, followed by Honor, Xiaomi, and Vivo.

“Korean panel makers have shown a clear recovery in shipments since the third quarter, and Chinese companies are also continuing to grow,” said  Changwook Han, Executive Vice President of UBI Research. “Securing stable shipments from Apple, their most important customer, will be a key challenge for Korean companies going forward. However, Samsung Display and LG Display have already established a solid presence in the global premium market, so we expect them to maintain their strategic advantage even amidst competition with BOE.”

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

Apple under-display IR and selfie camera design with OTI Lumionics solution

A Turning Point for Under-Display Camera Commercialization: A Close-Up Analysis of Apple’s 2026 Strategy (iPhone 18: IR Camera, Foldable: Selfie Camera… OTI Solutions Are Key)

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Apple plans to apply under-display camera technology differently depending on the device type in its next-generation iPhone lineup, slated for release in 2026. According to industry sources, the iPhone 18 series will feature an under-display infrared (IR) camera, while the foldable iPhone, scheduled for release at the same time, will feature an under-display selfie camera. This is not a simple design change; it is a strategic decision that takes into account the structural characteristics and user experience of each device.

Bar-type iPhones require a polarizer to suppress external light reflection and improve outdoor readability. However, polarizers absorb both visible and infrared light, significantly reducing transmittance. This structural limitation could directly lead to poor image quality and consumer dissatisfaction if the front-facing selfie camera is placed under the display. In contrast, IR cameras only require a 940nm near-infrared wavelength, and their goal is not high-quality photos, but accurate security authentication. Therefore, the iPhone 18 series will incorporate an under-display IR camera to simultaneously implement a full-screen design and Face ID security features. This is the most reasonable approach, minimizing image quality concerns while enhancing design perfection.

The foldable iPhone is a different story. To ensure thickness and flexibility, the device adopts a structure that eliminates the polarizer, replacing it with a color correction film and phase compensation material. This relatively increases display transmittance, facilitating the application of an under-display selfie camera. While camera performance degradation remains, this can be sufficiently addressed through AI-based image correction technology and ISP improvements. Samsung Electronics has already incorporated an under-display camera into the Galaxy Z Fold series, and Apple plans to leverage the same structural advantages to incorporate an under-display selfie camera into its foldable iPhone.

A key technology in this process is the Cathode Patterning Material (CPM) from Canada’s OTI Lumionics. This technology prevents the deposition of metal cathodes in specific areas during the OLED manufacturing process, forming a transparent opening. This technology facilitates the stable operation of the under-display camera and IR sensor. This solution, which maintains screen quality while ensuring the transmittance required by the camera and sensor, has already been verified by major global panel manufacturers, and Apple plans to incorporate it into the iPhone 18 series and foldable iPhone.

(a) Under-display camera, (b) Under-display IR camera structure – Source: OTI Lumionics

(a) UDC and (b) UDIR using a patterned cathode (Source: OTI Lumionics)

UBI Research Executive Vice President Changwook Han emphasized, “Apple’s choice to use an under-display IR camera in the bar type and an under-display selfie camera in the foldable is the result of choosing an optimized solution for each product structure,” and “2026 will be a turning point when Apple commercializes under-display technology in earnest.”

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶2025 OLED Component and Materials Report

Micro-LED smartwatch market forecast, 2023–2030 (Source: UBI Research)

Micro-LED Smartwatch Market Set to Bloom… Projected to Grow to $1.2 Billion by 2030

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The world’s first Micro-LED smartwatch has arrived, sparking a new wave of change in the wearable display market. While Garmin’s Fenix 8 Micro-LED is hailed as a new milestone in wearable display technology, analysis suggests a full-scale market shift will still require time.

Micro-LED smartwatch market forecast chart, 2023–2030 (Source: UBI Research)

Micro-LED smartwatch market outlook, 2023–2030 (Source: UBI Research)

Garmin’s Challenge: Achievements and Limitations

The Garmin Fenix 8 Micro-LED features a 1.4-inch display with a peak brightness of 4,500 nits, delivering overwhelming visibility in outdoor environments compared to existing OLED smartwatches. It also supports satellite messaging, solving connectivity issues in remote locations. These features have earned it significant recognition in the outdoor-focused market. However, its battery life remains inferior to existing OLED smartwatches.

Joohan Kim, an analyst at UBI Research, attributes this to reduced external quantum efficiency (EQE) in miniaturized Micro-LED chips, unoptimized drive circuit designs, and power efficiency losses due to performance variations between chips. He emphasized that overcoming these technical limitations is essential for Micro-LED’s widespread adoption.

Premium Market Expansion: TAG Heuer and Samsung Display

TAG Heuer, a luxury watch brand with strong acceptance in the high-price market, is preparing to launch a Micro-LED smartwatch. UBI Research analyzes that TAG Heuer’s entry will solidify Micro-LED’s premium image.

Additionally, Samsung Display showcased a 6,000-nit-class watch-type Micro-LED display at K-Display 2025, demonstrating its technological prowess. This panel, achieved by precisely transferring approximately 700,000 RGB chips each under 30μm, achieves a resolution of 326 PPI. Its flexible structure with 4,000 nits brightness opens possibilities for diverse designs. It is particularly evaluated for simultaneously ensuring high brightness, low power consumption, and high reliability, thanks to the characteristics of its inorganic light-emitting structure that exhibits minimal brightness and color shift with viewing angle.

The Biggest Variable: Apple’s Entry Timing

Apple Watch is the world’s largest smartwatch platform, shipping over 40 million units annually. UBI Research predicts Apple is highly likely to adopt Micro-LED in its Apple Watch Ultra series by 2027-2028. If Apple fully enters the market, this could trigger supply chain investments and large-scale mass production, potentially becoming the decisive catalyst to propel Micro-LED into mainstream technology.

Market Outlook and Supply Chain Impact

Short-term barriers include high prices and low production capacity. The Garmin Fenix 8’s $1,999 price tag is approximately $700 higher than AMOLED models, indicating a focus on the premium market rather than general consumers.

However, the entry of TAG Heuer, Samsung Display, and Apple is expected to drive significant investment and technological advancement across the entire Micro-LED supply chain. This process is expected to create ripple effects across the entire display value chain, including chip manufacturers, transfer equipment makers, driver IC companies, and back-end packaging and module assembly firms.

Joohan Kim, an analyst at UBI Research, forecasts the Micro-LED smartwatch market will grow to approximately $1.2 billion by 2030. This indicates the potential to move beyond a mere niche market, disrupt the current OLED-centric landscape, and establish itself as the new standard for premium wearables.

Micro-LED smartwatches have only just taken their first steps. Garmin’s pioneering challenge, TAG Heuer’s symbolic entry, Samsung Display’s technological competitiveness, and Apple’s potential influence will collectively propel the market onto a full-fledged growth trajectory.

UBI Research emphasizes that the pace of resolving micro-LED technical challenges and supply chain restructuring over the next five years will be the core factors determining the wearable market’s competitive landscape.

Joohan Kim, Senior Analyst at UBI Research (joohanus@ubiresearch.com)

▶2025 Micro-LED Display Industry and Technology Trends Report

Apple iPhone Fold to feature 24MP under-display camera (UDC) for full-screen design

Apple to bring 24-megapixel UDC to iPhone Fold… Enhancing technological sophistication

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Diagram of under-panel camera (UPC) and pixel structure (Source: Samsung Display Newsroom)

Structure and pixel layout of the under-panel camera (UPC) (Source: Samsung Display Newsroom)

Apple could include a 24-megapixel under-display camera (UDC) in next year’s iPhone Fold, enabling a fully all-screen design without a dynamic island or notch, according to a JPMorgan report. Such a design innovation is highly anticipated by consumers and will be an important indicator of how quickly the expensive UDC technology will proliferate in the premium smartphone market.

Samsung introduced the world’s first UDC in the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in 2021 and kept the 4-megapixel camera on the inside screen until the Z Fold 6. However, consumer satisfaction was not high due to poor image quality and lack of cost-effectiveness, and China’s BOE filed two UDC patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung Display in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in May and July. In the end, Samsung put the UDC on hold for its latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 and kept the punch-hole method, a strategic choice that industry observers believe was based on legal and technical risks.

   Apple combined high transmittance new materials, high pixel sensors, and AI-based image restoration technology to achieve a full all-screen form factor with high-resolution photography and Touch ID. This process will inevitably raise costs due to complex panel processes, lower yields, and increased chipset computational resources, but the idea is to differentiate itself through a “full-screen experience.

 UDC technology is a key factor in realizing full screen, which allows for an aesthetic appearance by not placing cameras on top of the display. However, as light passes through multiple display layers, diffraction, scattering, and attenuation occur, resulting in noise, blurring, flaring, and poor transmittance, leading to practical problems such as poor photo quality and failed face recognition.

To solve these problems, Samsung Display is using AI-based image restoration technology to correct noise from the camera under the display and improve face recognition accuracy, and is currently verifying its performance in real-world environments, announcing a related paper at SID 2025.

At SID 2025, TCL China Star Optoelectronics (CSOT) announced the design of a 4K Real RGB OLED medium-sized panel with Camera Under Panel (CUP) technology. By relocating the pixel circuitry to a bezel section outside the camera area, the CUP technology achieves 85.8% camera aperture, 13.8% transmittance at 550nm, and 1:1 luminance uniformity between CUP and normal pixels. In the future, the company plans to apply colorless PI substrates and COE structures to increase the transmittance to over 22% and reduce reflectance.

As UDC technology becomes more mature through software and hardware design optimization, it is expected to spread from foldable phones to medium-sized displays such as tablets and laptops, beyond mobile. The era of the “invisible camera” for a full-screen experience is just around the corner.

Changho Noh,  Senior Analyst at UBI Research  (chnoh@ubiresearch.com)

▶2025 OLED Component and Materials Report

BOE begins supplying LTPO panels for iPhone 17 Pro, highlighting UBI Research seminar insights (Source: UBI Research)

BOE Begins Supplying LTPO Panels for iPhone 17 Pro…UBI Research Highlights Intensifying Price Pressure

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Seminar presentation on BOE iPhone 17 Pro LTPO panel supply (Source: UBI Research)

BOE iPhone 17 Pro LTPO panel supply presented at UBI Research seminar (Source: UBI Research)

At the “2026 Display Strategy Seminar,” UBI Research analyst Junho Kim stated, “China’s BOE has started supplying LTPO OLED panels for the iPhone 17 Pro from August 2025, expanding its position as a supplier within Apple’s premium lineup.”

According to Analyst Junho Kim, BOE first entered Apple’s supply chain in 2021 with refurbished panels and has since supplied panels for the iPhone 12 through iPhone 16, primarily for standard models. Shipments increased from 18.7 million units in 2021 to 32 million in 2022, 41 million in 2023, and 43 million in 2024. In the first half of 2025 alone, BOE already shipped 23 million units, with full-year shipments projected to reach around 50 million units.

The supply of panels for the iPhone 17 Pro has been confirmed, but the situation differs for the iPhone 17 standard model. Certification schedules have been delayed, making mass production within the year unlikely. However, Apple has recently requested re-verification, leaving room for potential cooperation. Junho Kim added, “From 2026, the iPhone 18 series will adopt next-generation LTPO processes. Whether BOE can continue supplying will depend on yield performance, technological compatibility, and Apple’s stringent quality standards.”

Despite BOE’s expanding role in Apple’s supply chain, panel prices have continued to decline. The unit price peaked at around $55 during the iPhone 13 series but has fallen each year, reaching $40 for the iPhone 17 Pro LTPO panel—the lowest level to date. Junho Kim analyzed, “The fact that even high-complexity LTPO panels are being supplied at historically low prices underscores Apple’s strong bargaining power. Not only Samsung Display and LG Display but also BOE are under significant pricing pressure from Apple.”

Junho Kim, Analyst at UBI Research (alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶ China Market Trend Report Inquiry

Samsung Display’s Mid-Large Area OLED Shipments Surge 58.2% in Q2… Further Growth Expected in the Second Half

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Bar and line graph showing Samsung Display’s OLED panel shipments from 1Q24 to 2Q25, including QoQ and YoY growth trends.

Samsung Display’s OLED panel shipments from 1Q24 to 2Q25

Samsung Display saw a significant increase in Mid-large area OLED panel shipments during the second quarter. According to UBI Research’s quarterly publication, OLED Display Market Tracker, the company shipped a total of 4.9 million large-area OLED panels in Q2 2025, marking a 58.2% rise from 3.1 million units in the first quarter.

By product category, OLED panel shipments for notebooks reached 2.5 million units, representing the largest share and more than double the volume of the previous quarter. UBI Research forecasts continued growth in notebook OLED shipments in the second half of the year, with total shipments in 2025 expected to reach around 10 million units. Furthermore, starting in 2026, Samsung Display is set to supply 2-stack tandem OLED panels for Apple’s MacBook Pro series, which is projected to drive notebook OLED shipments to over 15 million units annually.

OLED panel shipments for monitors also showed solid growth. Q2 shipments were estimated at 700,000 units, up approximately 44% from the first quarter. The annual shipment volume for 2025 is projected to reach about 2.5 million units.

In addition to notebooks and monitors, shipments of OLED panels for automotive displays, tablet PCs, and TVs remained similar to Q1 levels, with slight increases observed.

Chang Wook Han, Executive Vice President of UBI Research, commented, “Samsung Display experienced a temporary decline in shipments during Q1 due to reduced demand for tablet PC and notebook panels, but recovered to typical levels in Q2. From Q3 onward, panel shipments for the new iPad Pro models and notebook panels for DHL are expected to increase, further boosting Samsung Display’s shipment volume in the third and fourth quarters.”

Samsung Display is actively strengthening its presence in the large-area OLED market, accelerating business expansion across various sectors including notebooks, monitors, tablets, and automotive applications. Industry observers expect this trend to become a key growth driver for the overall OLED market.

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

LG Display Sees Recovery in 2H OLED Shipments for iPhone and iPad – Positive Signal for Earnings

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– OLED shipments expected to rise by approx. 70% in Q3 with the mass production of iPhone 17 series

2025 Panel Shipment Share For Apple

2025 Panel Shipment Share For Apple

LG Display is poised for a rebound in earnings in the second half of the year as it ramps up OLED panel shipments for iPhones and iPads. According to market research firm UBI Research, Apple’s new iPhone 17 series and iPad Pro models entered full-scale mass production in July, leading to a projected sharp increase in LG Display’s OLED panel shipments in Q3.

UBI Research reports that LG Display accounted for 21.3% of iPhone panel shipments in Q2, falling behind China’s BOE for the first time, which recorded a 22.7% share. Samsung Display remained the leader, commanding 56% of shipments for iPhones.

Currently, LG Display supplies small- and mid-sized OLED panels exclusively to Apple, primarily focusing on LTPO panels used in the iPhone Pro lineup. These panels are priced higher than the LTPS panels supplied by BOE for the standard iPhone models, which means LG Display still leads in revenue terms despite lower shipment volumes.

The Q2 decline in LG Display’s shipments is seen as a temporary setback. Since Apple’s new iPhone series typically enters mass production in July each year, shipments are expected to surge starting in Q3. In fact, LG Display’s iPhone panel shipments are forecasted to reach around 18.5 million units in Q3—a 70% increase from Q2—and exceed 25 million units in Q4.

In addition to iPhones, shipments for iPad panels are also expected to rebound in Q3. Production of new iPad Pro models, which had sluggish sales last year due to high retail prices, began in July. As a result, iPad OLED panel shipments are expected to double from 800,000 units in Q2 to 1.6 million units in Q3.

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President of UBI Research, stated, “With both the iPhone 17 series and the new OLED iPad Pro models entering mass production in July, LG Display’s performance is set to show a clear recovery starting in the third quarter.” He added, “On an annual basis, LG Display is expected to secure over 30% of total iPhone OLED panel shipments in 2025.”

Changwook Han, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

Next-generation XR ecosystem driven by AI integration and device convergence

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As AI technology advances, the XR market is heating up again, evolving from a simple wearable device to a personalized digital assistant. Global big tech companies such as Google, Meta, Apple, and others are taking the lead in the market with their respective ecosystems, and Samsung Electronics is also joining the trend with aggressive investments and product strategies.

Recent XR devices have gone beyond basic functions such as music listening, camera shooting, and voice control to include advanced AI functions such as real-time translation, object recognition, and personalized information at their core. This is greatly increasing their utility in everyday life and evolving the way they interact with users.

For example, Meta has sold over 1 million units of AI smart glasses in collaboration with Ray-Ban and is leading the democratization of AI glasses with real-time content generation and Q&A capabilities. Google is building a smart glasses ecosystem that combines its Gemini AI with the Android XR SDK, and a joint development project with Samsung is well underway.

Apple is expected to launch a Vision Pro M5 version in Q3 2025, followed by the lighter Vision Air in 2027 and a display-less Ray-Ban-style smart glasses in 2028. In the second half of 2028, the second generation of Vision Pro with an all-new design and XR glasses with a color display are planned for mass production. Vision Air and Vision Pro Gen 2 are expected to be lighter and more affordable with a new design. Apple’s Vision Pro launched in 2024, was priced at $3,499, which was considered too high for consumer expectations and a product that was technologically advanced but disconnected from the market and consumer reality. The Apple Vision Pro’s 1.42-inch, 3391 PPI high-resolution display was a major contributor to its high cost. Apple’s development plan shows Apple’s long-term vision to enter the mass smart glasses market and build an ecosystem while maintaining the premium XR headset market.

Samsung Electronics will officially launch its next premium XR device, Moohan, in the second half of this year. The product will provide new XR experience through the convergence of AI and display technology and will signal Samsung’s entry into the XR ecosystem. The device will feature a 1.3-inch, 2000 PPI OLED-on-Silicon (OLEDoS) display developed by Samsung Display, which is expected to offer light weight, excellent battery efficiency, and a price below $2,000. Samsung initially looked at Sony’s 1.3-inch, 3800 PPI OLEDoS. It remains to be seen whether Samsung will split the product into premium and entry-level variants for price competitiveness or release it as a single product.

Starting with Project Moohan, Samsung plans to launch an integrated strategy that encompasses XR hardware, software, content, and platforms. To this end, Samsung is strengthening its collaboration with big global tech companies such as Google and Qualcomm and is simultaneously promoting ‘Project Hyean’ to maximize connectivity with the entire Galaxy ecosystem, including smartphones, watches, and rings.

Changho Noh, Analyst at UBI Research  (chnoh@ubiresearch.com)

▶UBI Research’s Micro Display Report

BOE Secures Annual Production Capacity of 100 Million iPhone OLED Panels with B11 Line… 350,000 Units per Module Line

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BOE's panel shipments for iPhone

BOE’s panel shipments for iPhone

According to UBI Research’s China Industry Trends Report, BOE has established an annual production capacity of up to 100 million OLED panels for iPhones, primarily through its B11 line.

BOE currently operates 26 Apple-dedicated module lines, of which 11 lines are in mass production and 3 lines are being used for development purposes. With a tact time reduced to 5.5 seconds, each line can produce up to 350,000 modules per month, resulting in a total monthly capacity of around 8 million iPhone modules. If the B11 line is fully dedicated to iPhone production, BOE can produce 8–9 million panels per month, or approximately 100 million panels annually, based on a 90% utilization rate and 85% yield.

Despite this significant production capacity, BOE’s actual panel shipments remain well below this level. In the first half of 2025, BOE shipped approximately 21 million iPhone panels, marking a 13% increase compared to 18.6 million units during the same period in the previous year. The company is expected to ship 24 million units in the second half of 2025, with total annual shipments projected at 45 million units. Should BOE succeed in supplying panels for the iPhone 17 series, shipments could increase further. However, as with the iPhone 16, BOE is likely to face difficulties in the early phase of new model production.

Although BOE still lags behind Samsung Display and LG Display in terms of technology, industry analysts note that it is rapidly narrowing the gap.

UBI Research’s Analyst Junho Kim commented, “As BOE’s share of iPhone panel supply continues to grow, this is expected to put increasing pressure on Samsung Display and LG Display during pricing negotiations with Apple. With BOE aggressively catching up, it will be critical to see how the Korean companies maintain their technological lead and strategic partnership with Apple.”

Junho Kim, Analyst at UBI Research (alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶ China Industry Trend Report Inquiry

OLED Panel Production for Next iPad Pro to Begin in July, Shipments Expected to Match 2024 Volumes

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Apple iPad Pro 2024

Apple iPad Pro(2024)
(source: Apple)

Following the introduction of OLED displays in the 2024 iPad Pro series, Apple is set to continue using OLED panels in the 2025 iPad Pro lineup. Panel production for the next-generation iPad Pro is scheduled to begin in July.

In 2024, Samsung Display and LG Display supplied OLED panels for the iPad Pro. Samsung Display delivered 2.8 million units for the 11-inch model, while LG Display supplied 700,000 units for the 11-inch and 2.8 million units for the 13-inch model. However, total shipments fell short of the initially expected 9 million units, as high retail prices led to sluggish sales and reduced shipments in the third and fourth quarters.

In 2025, both Samsung Display and LG Display are expected to supply panels for both the 11-inch and 13-inch models. Notably, Samsung Display, which previously did not supply panels for the 13-inch model, is expected to begin production of 13-inch panels starting in July.

In Q1 2025, Samsung Display shipped 300,000 units and LG Display 700,000 units for the OLED iPad Pro. Overall shipments for the upcoming model are expected to remain at a similar level to 2024. Apple’s OLED tablet PC lineup is anticipated to expand beyond the iPad Pro starting in 2025, with OLED displays expected to be adopted in mid-range models such as the iPad mini and iPad Air.

Meanwhile, BOE is developing OLED panels for the iPad Pro at its B12 line, aiming for Apple’s approval. However, the company is reportedly facing technical difficulties in meeting Apple’s strict quality standards.

Junho Kim, Analyst at UBI Research (alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶Quarterly Medium & Large OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Tracker Sample

Foldable OLED Devices Expand into Medium-to-Large Markets, Led by Tablets and Laptops

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Huawei’s ‘MateBook Fold’

Huawei’s MateBook Fold

The foldable device market is rapidly expanding beyond smartphones into medium-to-large display segments such as tablets and laptops. Recently, Amazon and Huawei have begun developing and releasing foldable tablet and laptop products, marking a significant step in market expansion. Apple is also reportedly preparing to launch a foldable tablet PC after 2027.

Amazon is currently developing an 11.3-inch foldable tablet PC, with the display panel being supplied from BOE’s B12 production line. The first samples are scheduled for delivery in Q1 2026, with mass production set to begin in April of the same year. The planned production volume is approximately 1 million units, and the cover window will use Ultra Thin Glass (UTG).

Meanwhile, on May 19, Huawei officially launched its first foldable laptop, the MateBook Fold. The device features an 18-inch display when unfolded and functions as a 13-inch device when folded. It offers a 3.3K resolution and a 4:3 aspect ratio. The weight is 1.16 kg, and the thickness when unfolded is only 7.3 mm. The display is supplied by Chinese OLED panel maker TCL CSOT and adopts LTPO and tandem structures, achieving about 30% power consumption reduction compared to previous models. The folding radius is 1.5 mm based on Token UTG, significantly enhancing durability. In fact, its shock resistance is reported to be improved by approximately 200%.

Apple is also developing a foldable tablet and is expected to launch the product as early as 2027 or as late as 2028. Samsung Display is anticipated to be the initial supplier of panels for Apple’s foldable tablet PC. Industry watchers believe Apple’s entry will serve as a catalyst for growth in the medium-to-large foldable display market.

While foldable devices have traditionally been limited to smartphones, they are now expanding into tablets and laptops, creating new demand. This shift is accelerating the evolution of related display technologies and component ecosystems.

Junho Kim, Analyst at UBI Research (alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶2025 Small OLED Display Annual Report Sample

▶2025 Mid-to-Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample

1Q25 Small OLED Panel Shipments Decline by 14% QoQ, but Hit All-Time High for First Quarter

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2Q25 Small OLED Display Market Track

2Q25 Small OLED Display Market Track

According to UBI Research’s “2Q25 Small OLED Display Market Track,” which includes performance and forecasts for applications such as smartphones, foldable phones, and smartwatches, small OLED panel shipments in the first quarter of 2025 reached 243 million units. This represents a decrease of 40 million units compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, which recorded 284 million units.

While this marks a 14.3% decrease quarter-on-quarter, it reflects a 10.7% increase year-on-year, making 1Q25 the highest first-quarter shipment volume on record for small OLED panels.

Breaking down the 1Q25 results, shipments from Samsung Display and LG Display both declined compared to the previous quarter. Among Chinese panel makers, Visionox recorded the steepest decline in shipments from 4Q24.

Despite a decrease in shipment volume, Samsung Display’s shipment share rose by 2.9 percentage points compared to 4Q24. Similarly, LG Display’s market share dropped from 13.1% to 9.3%, largely due to the seasonal concentration of Apple-bound panel production in the second half of the year. However, this still marks a 3.3 percentage point increase from the 6% share in 1Q24. LG Display’s shipments of panels for Apple continue to grow annually, and 2025 shipments are expected to exceed those of 2024 by over 10%.

Chinese panel makers showed a downward trend in shipments compared to 4Q24. However, their year-on-year growth remains strong when comparing 1Q23 and 1Q24 data. Notably, BOE is undergoing evaluation to gain approval for supplying panels for Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro. If BOE passes the certification, it is projected to ship approximately 50 million iPhone panels in 2025.

Han Chang Wook, Vice President at UBI Research, stated, “All iPhone 17 models are expected to adopt LTPO panels, which will drive up the average panel price. Although Korean panel makers saw a decline in shipments compared to the previous quarter, performance is expected to improve in the second half of the year with the full-scale production of Apple panels, potentially resulting in higher revenue than in 2024.”

Chang Wook HAN, Executive Vice President/Analyst at UBI Research (cwhan@ubiresearch.com)

▶ Quarterly Small OLED Display Market Track Sample

Progress of BOE’s 8.6-Generation OLED Line (B16) for IT Applications

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In March 2024, China’s BOE began construction of B16, an 8.6-generation (2290×2620 mm) OLED production line for IT, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, with a total investment of RMB 63 billion (approximately KRW 12.4 trillion).

In April 2024, BOE ordered a horizontal evaporator from Sunik Systems, and in May 2025, the B16 line will receive key equipment, including Abaco’s evaporator logistics system and Sunik Systems’ horizontal evaporator.

Unlike Samsung Display’s glass substrate-based hybrid OLED process at its 8.6 generation line, BOE has invested approximately three times the amount of Samsung Display’s investment of approximately KRW 4.1 trillion to introduce a process design that can support both flexible and glass substrates. As a result, it was expected that the B16 line would be able to produce flexible OLED panels for smartphones as well as panels for IT.

However, BOE reviewed the economics of smartphone production on the B16 line and concluded that the 8.6th generation line is less efficient than the existing 6th generation line because it is difficult to secure yields in the high-resolution FMM (Fine Metal Mask) process of 450ppi or higher, and the cost of FMM has also skyrocketed. 

The first mass-produced product of the B16 line is expected to be a panel for a laptop for a brand in China, and development of a 14.8-inch MacBook panel for Apple is also underway. Meanwhile, the 11-inch panel for the iPad is being developed on the B12 (6G) line.

BOE is looking for alternative applications, such as automotive displays, as the B16 line is not efficient enough to produce OLED panels for smartphones.

Chang Ho NOH, UBI Research Analyst(chnoh@ubiresearch.com)

▶ China Trend Report Inquiry

Apple iPhone 18 series, release schedule adjusted by specifications

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Apple iPhone 16 (Source: Apple)

Apple iPhone 16 (Source: Apple)

It is anticipated that Apple will delay the launch of the standard model in the iPhone 18 series, which is expected to be released in 2026.

Until now, Apple has released four models for each iPhone series: the standard model, Max, Pro, and Pro Max. In the 2025 iPhone 17 series, the Max model is expected to be replaced by a new Air model, and the Air model is projected to be the most expensive among the four.

While four smartphone models are expected to be released through 2025, it is now anticipated that the standard model will not be launched in 2026 and will be postponed to 2027.

In 2026, when Apple is expected to release the iPhone 18 series, the company is also likely to introduce its first foldable phone. Since the launch of the foldable phone could disperse sales volume, this strategic move seems to be under consideration.

If the release of the iPhone 18 standard model is delayed to the first half of 2027, it is expected to launch alongside the successor to the iPhone 16e, which is also anticipated to debut around that time. In this scenario, Apple would release higher-end models—such as the Pro, Air, and foldable phone—in the second half of the year, and lower-priced models in the first half of the following year, thereby securing different sales routes throughout the year.

Should Apple adopt this biannual product release strategy, it may affect the performance of panel suppliers such as Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE. Historically, the release of the iPhone series in Q3 boosted the earnings of Korean panel makers starting in the third quarter, peaking in Q4. However, if new iPhone models are also released in the first half going forward, the earnings gap between the first and second halves of the year may narrow. On the other hand, if BOE continues to fall short in technology and only supplies panels for the standard model, its strong performance in the second half may shift to the first half instead.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶2025 Small OLED Display Annual Report Sample

OLED shipments for smartphones and foldable phones to increase 27% year-on-year in 2024, exceeding 1 billion units in 2026

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According to the ‘2025 Small OLED Display Annual Report’ recently published by UBI Research, in 2024, OLED shipments for smartphones and foldable phones totaled 8.34 billion and 24 million units, respectively. In 2023, OLED shipments for smartphones and foldable phones were 65.5 billion and 22 million units, respectively.

In 2024, the total OLED shipments for smartphones and foldable phones increased by 27% year-on-year due to the expansion of rigid OLED usage by Samsung Electronics and the increase in flexible OLED shipments by Chinese panel makers.

In 2025, OLED shipments for smartphones and foldable phones are expected to reach 910 million and 38 million units, respectively, representing a 9% increase for smartphones and a 27% increase for foldable phones compared to 2024.

In 2025, OLED shipments for smartphones and foldable phones in China are expected to reach 4.9 billion units, compared to 4.51 billion units in South Korea.

With Apple expected to launch a foldable OLED phone in 2026, the foldable phone market is expected to grow rapidly.

OLED shipments for smartphones and foldable phones are expected to exceed 1 billion units in 2026 and 1.3 billion units in 2029.

Although small OLED shipments are expected to increase, sales are expected to decline from 2025 onwards. China’s flexible OLED shipments will continue to grow, but overall revenue will decline due to lower selling prices.

As panel shipments increase, the revenue share of Chinese panel makers will slowly increase, but Korean panel makers are expected to account for more than 50% of the revenue share by 2029.

Chang Ho NOH, UBI Research Analyst(chnoh@ubiresearch.com)

 ▶2025 Small OLED Display Annual Report Sample

Samsung Display’s OLED panels for notebooks are expected to increase by 55% in 2024, with more than 10 million units shipped in 2025.

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UBI Research ‘1Q25 mid-to-large OLED display market track’

UBI Research ‘1Q25 mid-to-large OLED display market track’

According to UBI Research’s ‘1Q25 mid- to large-sized OLED display market track’, Samsung Display’s shipments of OLED panels for notebooks in 2024 are approximately 8.4 million units, a 55% increase compared to 2023. The market is expanding as the volume of OLED panels for notebooks from Samsung Display, which supplies not only Samsung Electronics but also overseas notebook set makers such as Dell, HP, and Lenovo, increases.

Samsung Display shipped 8.4 million notebook OLED panels in 2024, and is expected to ship 10.7 million notebook OLED panels in 2025 and 18.3 million notebook OLED panels in 2026.

Just as it benefited from the application of OLED to Apple’s iPad Pro in 2024, the notebook OLED market is expected to grow rapidly by more than 40% in 2026, when OLED is applied to Apple’s MacBook Pro.

In addition to Apple, the number of OLED notebook products released by overseas notebook set companies is also increasing. The OLED notebook market, which was only 12 types released in 2020, is expanding with 33 types released in 2023 and 80 types in 2024.

In addition to regular notebooks, foldable notebooks released by Lenovo and Asus, and slideable notebooks scheduled to be released are also expected to contribute to market expansion.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶Medium & Large OLED Display Quarterly Market Track Sample

Samsung Display advances mass production of 8.6G OLED line, Chinese panel companies are catching up

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Hefei Visionox V5 groundbreaking ceremony held last September

Hefei Visionox V5 groundbreaking ceremony held last September

Recently, there is news that Samsung Display is moving up the mass production of the A6 8.6G OLED line to the end of 2025. Following Samsung Display, Chinese panel companies are also rapidly investing.

The biggest reason why OLED panel companies are rushing to invest in the 8.6G OLED line is the chamfer rate. Initially, OLED began to be applied to small and medium-sized products first, and when producing small and medium-sized products of 10 inches or less, a sufficient chamfering rate could be achieved even with the size of a 6G substrate. However, as OLED began to be applied to IT products with large panel areas, unlike small and medium-sized products, the unusable and discarded area in the 6G line increased, and to solve this, a line using a larger substrate was needed.

Samsung Display, the leader in the 8.6G OLED line, began building a production line early this year and plans to begin mass production at the end of 2025. Samsung Display invested in the 8.6G line to mass-produce 2-stack tandem OLED for Apple’s MacBook Pro, but mass-produced it earlier than originally planned, gaining time before mass-producing panels for MacBook Pro. Before mass producing panels to be supplied to Apple, Samsung Display is expected to first mass produce tandem OLEDs to be supplied to laptop set makers such as Samsung Electronics, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

BOE, a latecomer, also began investing in the 8.6G line. BOE is expected to bring in two deposition machines from Sunic Systems in 2025 and begin mass production in the third quarter of 2026. BOE’s 8.6G line mass production period is from the third quarter of 2026, but like the iPhone, it is expected to be difficult to supply IT OLED panels to Apple in the early stages. Like other 6G lines, it is expected to initially mass produce panels for the Chinese domestic market and improve product quality to supply products to Apple. BOE is currently investing in module lines sequentially, and a total of 18 module lines are scheduled to be invested in Phase 1. Unlike Samsung Display, BOE is simultaneously investing in modules for smartphones and small and medium-sized OLEDs as well as IT OLEDs in the 8.6G line.

Following BOE’s lead, Visionox also invested in 8.6G. Last September, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Visionox’s 8.6G OLED line, V5, in Hefei, and when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hefei’s V5 line in October, it received positive reviews. Additionally, it is understood that Visionox officials visited Korean equipment companies and held meetings this month. Visionox plans to attract government investment based on ViP (Visionox intelligent Pixelization), but due to technical difficulties in vertical deposition, it is likely to be used only as a pilot line.

It was discovered that TCL CSOT is also preparing to invest in an 8.6G line based on inkjet technology. There is a high possibility that an investment announcement will be made at the end of the year. The location is Guangzhou City, and the line capacity is 16K for the inkjet method and 16K for the FMM method, with a total investment of 32K likely to be made.

In addition to the companies mentioned above, Tianma also has the possibility of investing in the 8.6G line, and HKC is considering new investments in 6G OLED. Now that Chinese panel companies are following in the footsteps of Samsung Display, which made its first investment, attention is being paid to how Samsung Display will widen the technology gap.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶2024 OLED Technology and Industry Trend Analysis Report for IT Sample

Korean OLED Panel Makers’ Emitting Material Purchases Reach 51.2% in H1, with a Modest Recovery Expected in H2

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According to UBI Research’s recently published “3Q24 OLED Emitting Materials Market Track,” the purchase of emitting materials by Korean OLED panel manufacturers in the first half of 2024 totaled $495 million, representing 51.2% of the market share—a 7.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. This is a notable shift. Meanwhile, Chinese companies held 48.8% of the market share, up 7.8% year-on-year, with purchases amounting to $471 million.

As Chinese panel manufacturers ramp up shipments, the gap in the purchase of emitting materials between Korean and Chinese companies is steadily narrowing. In the first quarter of 2024, for the first time, Korean OLED panel companies’ share of emitting material purchases fell to 47.4%, lower than that of Chinese companies.

However, from the second quarter onward, with the increase in OLED panel shipments for IT devices and the production of panels for the iPhone 16 by Korean manufacturers, their share rebounded to 54.7%. While BOE passed the sample certification for the iPhone 16, the delay in mass production is expected to result in smaller shipments this year. Additionally, certification for the iPhone 16 Max, which was expected to be produced at BOE’s B12 factory, was not approved.

With the reduction in BOE’s iPhone shipments, Korean panel makers are likely to see an increase in panel shipments. Thanks to growing OLED panel orders from Apple for products like the iPhone and iPad Pro, Korean purchases of emitting materials are expected to rise to a 55.6% market share by the end of 2024, a notable increase compared to the first half of the year.

▶AMOLED Emitting Material Market Track Sample

Due to the OLED iPad Pro for Tablet PC, shipments are rapidly increasing, and shipments are expected to increase by more than 6 times in 2024 compared to the previous year.

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According to the “3Q24 Medium-Large OLED Display Market Track” published by UBI Research, more than 12 million OLEDs for tablet PCs are expected to be shipped in 2024 thanks to Apple’s entry into the OLED market for tablet PCs.

As mass production of iPad Pro OLEDs began in the first quarter of 2024, shipments of OLEDs for tablet PCs surged to 1.2 million units in the first quarter and 3.4 million units in the second quarter.

As not only Samsung Display and LG Display, but also Chinese panel manufacturers have begun mass production of OLEDs for tablet PCs, the OLED market for tablet PCs is expected to expand further. Among Chinese panel manufacturers, BOE is expected to ship about 1.5 million OLED panels for tablet PCs in 2024, and Visionox is expected to ship about 800,000 OLED panels for tablet PCs.

Due to the increase in panel shipments by Apple and Chinese companies, OLED shipments for tablet PCs are expected to exceed 30 million units in 2028.

▶Medium & Large OLED Display Market Track Sample

OLED market for Tablet PCs to grow 6-7 times by 2024 due to Apple’s entry

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OLED panel shipment forecast for tablet PC

OLED panel shipment forecast for tablet PC

According to the ‘2024 Mid-Large OLED Display Annual Report’ recently published by UBI Research, shipments of OLED panels for tablet PCs are expected to grow from 12 million units in 2024 to 28.4 million units in 2028, with an average annual growth rate of 24.1%.

OLED panel shipments for tablet PCs were 1.3 million units in 2022 and 1.8 million units in 2023, forming a small market. However, with the decision to install OLED in the Apple’s iPad scheduled to be released in 2024, Samsung Display and LG Display are producing OLED panels for iPad-oriented table PCs.

Samsung Display produces panels for the 11-inch model and LG Display produces panels for the 12.9-inch model. Due to Apple’s entry, the OLED market for tablet PCs is expected to grow 6 to 7 times in 2024 compared to 2023.

In addition, panel companies are actively investing to apply OLED not only to tablet PCs but also to various IT products. Following Samsung Display’s recent investment in the 8.6G IT line, BOE also invested in the 8.6G IT line, and LG Display is also conducting a paid-in capital increase to secure funds for IT line investment and is planning to sell the Guangzhou LCD line. The OLED market for IT is expected to expand further due to the aggressive investment of panel companies.

▶ 2024 Mid-Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

OLED shipments for IT are expected to reach 31 million units in 2027, with an average annual growth rate of 41%

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According to the ‘IT OLED Technology and Industry Trend Analysis Report’ recently published by UBI Research, OLED shipments for tablet PCs, notebooks, and monitors are expected to reach 31 million units in 2027 with an average annual growth rate of 41%.

This forecast is based on Samsung Display’s 5.5G OLED line, 6G OLED line, 8.5G QD-OLED line, 8.6G (2290 x 2620 mm2) IT line, and LG Display, BOE, and Visionox’s 6G OLED line.

Shipment forecast for IT OLED

Shipment forecast for IT OLED

For IT products, OLED had been a market that received less attention than smartphones or TVs, but has began to receive significant attention due to the increase in demand for IT products in COVID-19 and the prospect of Apple using OLED for IT products.

Previously, Samsung Display was mass producing a small amount of OLED for IT from some of A2 as the 5.5G rigid OLED line and the 8.5G QD-OLED line, and some Chinese companies such as EDO were producing IT OLEDs in small quantities, but in 2024, Samsung Display and LG Display plan to mass produce OLED for Apple’s iPad in earnest from the 6G line, and BOE also plans to mass produce OLED for IT from the B12 line.

In addition, Samsung Display decided to invest in the 8.6G OLED line for IT early this year, and is expected to mass produce various IT products, including notebooks, from the first half of 2026.

Moreover, LG Display and BOE are planning to invest in the 8.6G line as soon as they secure investment funds and customers, and Visionox is also reportedly holding meetings with major equipment companies to invest in the 8.6G line.

If demand for OLED from set companies for IT increases in the future and panel companies invest in 8.6G lines, the IT market is expected to become a new high value-added market for OLED, following the smartphone market.

▶ IT OLED Technology and Industry Trend Analysis Report Sample

OLED panel makers’ 8.6G IT line investment trends, LG Display and BOE’s investment delays

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Apple iPad Pro

Apple iPad Pro

Samsung Display and LG Display are investing in the 8.6th generation IT line with high added value to compensate for the decrease in sales due to the Chinese panel makers’ flexible OLED low-cost offensive and LCD withdrawal.

At the LG Display 2Q earnings announcement conference call held on the 26th, an official from LG Display said, “The announced 6th generation IT-related investments are proceeding as scheduled, and the investments will be made until the first half of next year.”

However, regarding the possibility of investing in the 8.6th generation IT OLED, it stated that “nothing has been confirmed yet”. LG Display emphasized, “We will carefully look at the possibility and progress of technology development and whether market demand is developing to a level that can contribute to the company’s profits before making an investment decision.”

LG Display’s 8.6th generation IT line investment is expected to be delayed compared to Samsung Display due to difficulties in securing new line investment funds due to operating losses, but it is expected to be able to supply panels to Apple from 2026.

Not only LG Display, but also Chinese panel maker BOE’s investment is being delayed. Samsung Display can secure Samsung Electronics and Apple, and LG Display can secure LG Electronics and Apple as customers, but BOE is expected to take at least two years to invest in the 8.6G line for IT because of uncertainty in securing customers.

Another Chinese panel maker, Visionox, is also preparing to invest in the 8.6G line for IT. Visionox plans to announce its investment in the 8.6th generation line with a total capacity of 30K in September.

On the other hand, Samsung Display’s investment in the 8.6th generation IT line has already been decided. Samsung Display plans to apply Oxide to the TFT of the 8.6th generation IT line and build it with 2 stack RGB OLED. Samsung Display had previously developed 8.6th generation vertical deposition 2 stack RGB OLED as an IT line, but the investment was decided for 8.6th generation horizontal deposition. Canon’s exposure machine is planned to be brought into Samsung Display’s IT line in April 2024, and negotiations on the price of the deposition machine with Canon Tokki have already been completed.

▶ 2023 Medium and Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research “Samsung Display will strengthen profitability by producing OLED for high value-added IT”

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It is expected that Samsung Display will focus on producing panels for tablet PCs and notebooks to compensate for the reduced utilization rate of the A2 line due to the low-cost flexible OLED offensive of Chinese panel makers.

At the ‘2023 OLED & Micro Display Analyst Seminar’ held at the Federation of Korean Industries in Yeouido on the 5th, Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research, gave a presentation on ‘IT OLED industry trends and market prospects’.

Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research

Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research

CEO YI said, “Samsung Display is expected to focus on rigid OLED production for tablet PCs and notebooks to compensate for the reduced utilization rate of the A2 line due to the low-priced offensive of Chinese companies. As much as it focuses on IT OLED production, the shipment of rigid OLED for smartphones will drop sharply, but it is possible to maintain sales by producing rigid OLED for IT with high added value.” And he also said, “LG Display will start mass production one year later than Samsung Display, and BOE will start mass production at least two years later than Samsung Display.”

According to CEO Choong Hoon YI, LG Display’s decision is being delayed because it is difficult to secure funds for investment in new lines due to the deficit caused by the delay in switching from LCD lines to OLED lines. Nevertheless, LG Display is expected to be able to supply IT panels to Apple from 2026. However, there are still problems to be solved, such as stabilizing the process and securing yield of Sunic system equipment whose production capacity has not yet been verified.

BOE has invested in three OLED line factories for smartphones, but the operation rate is at a level of only one factory, and the Beijing city government is very dissatisfied with over-investment due to insufficient securing of Apple supplies. For the reasons mentioned above and because securing customers for IT OLED has not been decided, BOE’s IT OLED line investment is expected to take at least two years.

CEO YI said, “Chinese panel makers are trying to increase their market share with low-priced attacks, but domestic companies that have secured large customers such as Samsung Electronics and Apple have a significant advantage in competition. In the future, the OLED industry for TV and IT will be developed mainly by Korean companies.”

▶ 2023 Medium and Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

BOE is reviewing investment in a module line for certification evaluation for Apple iPhone

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It was found that BOE is considering investing in the golden line of modules for Apple’s iPhone at the B11 Mianyang plant. The module golden line invested this time is a line for iPhone certification evaluation, and the investment is expected to be confirmed in early 2023. Since evaluation and verification take a lot of time, it is analyzed that the verification line is invested first before the full-scale module line investment. The line is expected to be used for verification when investing in new iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 models.

After investing in module lines for verification and evaluation in 2023, it was found that BOE is preparing additional investment plans for between 14 and 20 Apple-oriented module lines at the B11 Mianyang plant. If BOE’s 20 module lines are completed, the annual volume of iPhone modules that BOE can produce is about 120 million units. However, since Apple’s demand is less than this and there are variables in negotiations with Apple, the investment is likely to proceed gradually.

BOE’s total supply of iPhones to Apple in 2022 is expected to be around 30 million units. BOE is supplying Apple with panels for the iPhone 12, 13, and 14 basic models, and is expected to supply panels for the iPhone 15 basic models to be released in 2023. It is not yet decided whether BOE will supply panels for the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 max model.

▶ China Trend Report Inquiry

LG Display Expected to Supply only LTPO Panels for iPhone 15 to be Released in 2023

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iPhone 15 expected lineup

iPhone 15 expected lineup

It is forecasted that LG Display will supply only two panels of the LTPO model among the iPhone 15 series to be released in 2023. It is unlikely that panels will be supplied to 6.1 inch LTPS models that have previously supplied panels. LG Display first started supplying OLED panels for the iPhone11 Pro max released in 2019 and supplied LTPO TFT-applied panels for the first time for the iPhone14 Pro max released this year.

According to the prospect that LG Display will supply LTPO panels for iPhone 15 to be released next year, Samsung Display and LG Display will jointly supply LTPO models. Samsung Display is expected to supply panels for all 4 types of iPhone15, LG Display for 2 pro models, and BOE for 6.1-inch LTPS models. It is still unknown whether BOE will supply panels for the 6.7-inch LTPS model.

It was in 2017 that Apple began to apply OLED to iPhone. LTPO TFT was applied from the iPhone13 pro series released last year and LTPO TFT applied panel was supplied to Apple for the first time by Samsung Display.

▶ 2022 Small OLED Display Semi-Annual Report Sample Download

(SUB) Apple’s OLED product roadmap (What is the expected structure of a foldable laptop?!)

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In this video, Apple’s OLED product roadmap, a company that accompanies innovation, was covered. OLEDs for Apple products are supplied by Samsung Display and LG Display. Apple’s presence in the display industry is great. The image of Apple’s foldable laptop that UBI Research predicts is shown in the video. What other innovative products is Apple preparing?

※ This video was produced based on UBI Research’s special report ‘2022 Micro-Display Technology Report’.

▶Download the 2022 Micro-Display Technology Report Sample  

▶ UBI Research official website https://ubiresearch.com/en/

▶Business, display report inquiry marketing@ubiresearch.com +82-2-577-4391

▶If you are curious about the latest news related to OLED? https://en.olednet.com/

#apple #OLED #Foldablelaptop

Will BOE Resume iPhone 13 Production?

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iPhone13/Apple

It seems that BOE has started line operations for iPhone 13.
Back in March, most of the iPhone 13 shipments were canceled due to an issue with Apple. BOE will now resume production. With this new development, BOE’s forecast for iPhone 13 production this year is expected to increase after being adjusted down in March.
BOE has a total of 20 iPhone module lines at its B11 (Mianyang) plant. BOE’s production of the iPhone 13 is believed to have begun in early June and production of the iPhone 14 is expected to begin as well. The B11 factory has iPhone 13 line to produce iPhone 12 and 13 and iPhone 14 module line exclusively for iPhone 14, as the process is quite different from iPhone 13 line.
Details of BOE’s iPhone 13 and 14 production volume, panel unit price, and module line by product can be found in UBI Research’s ‘China Trend Report’. UBI Research’s ‘China Trend Report’ can be inquired on the UBI Research website.

Chinese Panel Makers in Crisis! Will the Display Business’s Deficit Increase This Year?

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<Honor 70 With Panels Supplied by Visionox>

Chinese panel makers such as Visionox and BOE are expected to face losses due to cost pressures.
The operation rate of Visionox was analyzed to be high. This is because Visionox is exclusively producing 70-80% of Honor, a large Chinese smartphone manufacturer.
However, despite the high operation rate, Visionox’s business status is precarious at best. Through cooperative efforts, Visionox was allocated most of Honor’s panel production quantity, but it is known that Honor has requested additional panel price reduction. According to some sources, Visionox is currently facing a loss of about 200 million yuan per month due to the reduced panel price.
BOE, the largest panel maker in China is also facing trouble. BOE along with Visionox had previously been in charge of panel production for Honor but received almost no allocation of production volume from Honor. Earlier this year, BOE faced tremendous difficulty due to the cancellation of existing iPhone 13 shipments to Apple. In April, BOE’s CEO Gao Wenbao felt a sense of crisis due to pressure on OLED and LCD volume and price and gave direct orders on cost reduction. Currently, BOE’s OLED line operation rate is less than 40% and it is estimated that the OLED business unit may incur a loss of about 10 billion yuan this year.
LCD, which is one of the main businesses of Chinese panel makers, is continuously falling in prices and the supply and demand of panels from smartphone set makers are sluggish. If an appropriate countermeasure is not found, Chinese panel makers will continue to experience a growing deficit in the display business.

Introducing iPhone 14 Display Specifications and Panel Vendors

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<Apple iPhone 14 Series Specifications>

 

Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE are expected to supply panels to Apple’s new iPhone 14 series in 2022. It is expected that Samsung Display will supply panels to all models in addition to iPhone 13 series. LG Display will supply 6.12-inch LTPS models and 6.69-inch LTPO models. BOE will supply panels only to 6.12-inch LTPS models.

The existing 5.4-inch mini model has been removed from the iPhone 14 series and a 6.69-inch Max model has been added. The size and resolution of iPhone 14 Max are the same as iPhone 14 Pro Max and LTPS TFT is applied instead of LTPO TFT.

In terms of design, the iPhone14 Pro and 14 Pro Max will have a punch hole design instead of the conventional notch. Apple’s punch hole design is expected to be applied as a double punch hole design due to various sensors and cameras.

Meanwhile, the total OLED panel supply to Apple in 2022 is expected to be about 215 million units, with Samsung Display expected to supply 135 million units, LG Display 55 million units, and BOE 25 million units. However, shipments are expected to be organically controlled due to market conditions and Apple’s policies.

 

[2022 OLED KOREA CONFERENCE] Expected iPhone Shipments to Remain Strong at 249 Million Units in 2022

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At UBI Research’s ‘2022 OLED Korea Conference’ held from April 6th to 8th, Yasuo Nakane, senior analyst at Mizuho Securities, presented ‘Consumer Electronics/Flat Panel Display Industry What is the Outlook for Turbulent 2022?’ .

Regarding Apple’s iPhone industry, Senior Vice President Nakane said, “The strength of iPhone continued in 2021. iPhone production in 2021 was 234 million units, which was 3 million less than shipments of 237 million units. Sales were 240 million units which made it so that no inventory was accumulated.” He also announced that “In the first quarter of 2022, 62 million iPhones were produced, a 13% increase compared to the same period last year, and 53 million units are expected to be produced in the second quarter”. He analyzed the outlook of 2022, “Considering the strong first half of 2022 and the impact of new product price hikes in the second half of 2022, annual iPhone production in 2022 is estimated to be 249 million units, a 6% increase from the previous year, of which iPhone 14 is estimated to be 83 million.”

Next, regarding the older iPhone models, he analyzed that “iPhone13 series is expected to continue sales for the time being except for iPhone13 Mini. Among iPhone12 series, only iPhone12 will continue to be sold”. He also announced, “Samsung Display supplies panels for all models of the iPhone series, LG Display supplied LTPO models for the first time, and BOE’s panels will continue to be used in iPhone12.” In addition, he predicted, “Suggestions to apply not only LCD but also OLED to iPhone SE3 would continue and iPhone 11’s camera is expected to be used. Face ID would not be applied.”

Regarding the timing of OLED application for iPad and MacBook, Nakane said, “It is expected that two models of iPad air with OLED will come out in the second half of 2024 at the earliest and OLED will be applied to MacBook Air in the second half of 2025 at the earliest.” Finally, “the business plan for the foldable model has not been decided, but it seems that they are interested in a PC-size foldable model rather than a smartphone-sized foldable model. The plan is to release them after 2026.” he predicted.

BOE will start mass production of iPhone 13 panels from October.

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BOE will supply OLED panels for Apple’s iPhone 13 in the US. Samsung Display and LG Display were supplying two 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch 60Hz panels with LTPS(Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) TFT for the existing iPhone 13 panels. And Samsung Display was exclusively supplying 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch 120Hz products to which LTPO(Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxid) TFT was applied. The panel that BOE is supplying with approval to Apple this time is a 6.1-inch LTPS TFT panel. BOE’s panel is expected to start mass production at the end of October if Apple approves it soon.

As for the panels that BOE supplied to the iPhone 12, EVEN process was carried out on the B7 (Chengdu) line, and the module process was carried out on the B11 (Myeonyang) line. The process was carried out separately due to the yield issue of the B7 module line, but from the iPhone 13, the deposition yield of the B11 line has improved and both the EVEN process and the module process are carried out on the B11 line. The total amount of panels that BOE will supply for iPhone 13 is estimated to be 15 million units, and although BOE has a target of producing more than 5 million units within this year, it is expected to be in the range of 2 to 3 million units in reality.

Meanwhile, it is known that BOE is also rapidly developing the LTPO line. The LTPO development speed of BOE’s B11 line is faster than that of the B7 line, and it is known that it already has mass production. At BOE, LTPO development is at a significant level, and attention is being paid to whether it will be able to supply LTPO panels to Apple’s next iPhone 14 (working title).

BOE has recently expanded its supply of flexible OLEDs to Samsung Electronics as well as Apple, and its influence in the flexible OLED market is growing. As BOE supplies new panels to Apple for the first time, attention is focused on how domestic panel makers will respond.

Who is the supplier of OLED panels for iPhone 12?

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<Image of iPhone 12 Pro Max, Source: EveryApplePro>

Apple’s new iPhone 12 will be consisted of 4 models, and all 4 models are expected to adopt OLED. The general lineup of the iPhone 12 is the 5.4 inch iPhone 12 and the 6.1 inch iPhone 12 Max, and the pro lineup is the 6.1 inch iPhone Pro and the 6.7 inch iPhone Pro Max.

Recently, rumors are floating that BOE will supply OLED of 5.4 inch and 6.1 inch general models, and Samsung Display will supply OLED of 6.1 inch and 6.7 inch pro models. Due to the news that Chinese OLED panel manufacturer BOE is supplying OLEDs to Apple, the interest of OLED-related companies such as light-emitting material companies and component companies is growing day by day.

According to UBI Research, BOE is developing 5.4 inch and 6.1 inch OLEDs, but has not received any calls from Apple. In the current situation, Samsung Display plans to supply 5.4 inch, 6.1 inch, and 6.7 inch OLEDs, and LG Display and BOE are developing 6.1 inch OLEDs.

The BOE hasn’t gotten a clear call yet, but there’s plenty of time left for the mass production of the iPhone 12, so there’s plenty of room for the BOE to get a call from Apple. While the production of the iPhone 12 is likely to be delayed by about a month due to the corona incident, it usually takes 4 ~ 5 months from the OLED panel test to the mass production of the set, so there is enough time.

Related information can also be found in the recent report of ‘change in OLED market by coronavirus’, published by UBI Research.

Apple’s last LCD phone, iPhone SE

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The iPhone SE, the last product of the LCD smartphone that Apple has opened to the smartphone market, has been released.

Apple’s 2019 model iPhone 11 had three models, the base model iPhone 11 used a 6.06inch LCD, and the advanced specifications iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max used 5.85 inch and 6.46inch flexible OLED, respectively.

Samsung Display supplies both 5.85inch and 6.46inch flexible OLEDs, and LG Display has supplied only 6.46inch flexible OLEDs from the fourth quarter of 2019.

This year, Apple releases a four-model iPhone. There are three types of iPhone, SE2 which started selling this month, and 3 iPhone 12 which starts selling in September. Strictly speaking, since there are 2 models of the iPhone 12 Pro, 4 types of iPhones using OLED will be released in the second half of this year.

Apple’s current LCD phones are the iPhone 11 and the newly released SE2. Of the iPhone models released by Apple this year, only the LCD will use the SE2, and the SE2 is expected to be Apple’s last LCD smartphone.

Apple already mentioned that in 2019, all future iPhone displays will be replaced by OLEDs. Therefore, in fact, this is the reason that the SE2 released this time is expected to be the last　LCD phone.

Most of the latest smartphones are more than 6 inches, but the iPhone SE2 released this time is a small 4.7-inch model using IPS LCD.

The reason Apple used a small display is believed to be a strategic product to target the mid-priced market of around $ 500. It’s currently $ 549.99 on eBay, but it’s on Amazon for $ 399.

Apple’s expected iPhone strategy is two tracks. First of all, in order to maintain the second largest market share in shipments, it is necessary to match shipments with products with a wide market of $ 500. And the operating profit creation is to fit the expensive iPhone 12 series using flexible OLED.

However, shipments of LCD phones are expected to gradually disappear after 2021, depending on the sales of 5.42 inches, the basic model of iPhone 12, which will be released in the second half of this year.

IPhone shipments may drop sharply in 1Q

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The impact of China’s corona virus is expected to reduce iPhone production by 50% year-on-year.

Foxconn’s iPhone plants are located in Zhangzhou and Shenzhen, China, where 90% of the iPhone is manufactured.

Foxconn’s Zhangzhou’s workforce is about 160,000, but only about 10% have returned since the spring holiday, and the Shenzhen plant has not resumed production.

Foxonn plans to increase overall utilization by 80% in March. For the time being, iPhone production is expected to decline.

Foxconn pays 3000 yuan (about $ 400) per person if it returns before March 7th to increase plant utilization.

Apple adopts LTPO TFT to extend battery life time to Apple Watch Series 4

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Reporter & Analyst : Daejeong Yoon

Apple released its Apple Watch Series 4 with enhanced healthcare features on a larger screen than before, in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in California, USA on September 12.

<Apple Watch Series 4, Source: Apple.com>

In this announcement, Apple brought Apple watch series 4 with a new technology called LTPO to improve power efficiency.

LTPO stands for low temperature polycrystalline oxide. It is a kind of TFT using only the advantages of poly-Si with good charge mobility and IGZO with low power driving. LTPO TFTs have low leakage current and good on / off characteristics, which lowers power consumption and increases battery life.

<Apple’s LTPO TFT patent>

In addition, Apple increased the size of its Apple Watch 4 to 40mm and 44mm. The edge-to-edge screen is 35% and 32% larger than previous models by narrowing the bezel compared to previous models. The screen resolution was 368×448 pixels for the 44mm model and 324×394 pixels for the 40mm model. The display of Apple Watch4 is a plastic OLED made by LG Display with a maximum brightness of 1,000 nit. The Apple Watch Series 4 starts at US$399 for GPS model, while the cellular model starts at US$499. The Apple Watch Series 4 is available for pre-order from Septmber14 in the U.S. with the availability beginning September 21.

Foldable smart phone, can it absorb tablet PC market?

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“If foldable Smartphone is launched and commercialized in earnest, the high-priced tablet PC market is likely to disappear.”

Choong-hoon Yi, president of UBI Research, said in ‘the Latest OLED Technology Trends Seminar’ held at COEX in Seoul on the 26th April, 2018.

He also mentioned “The foldable smart phone is expected to be implemented as a 5.2 inch display with a 7.2 inch display folded in half. In addition, a bar-type display is to be added to the outside to check time and other information.”

Yi analyzed, “Foldable Smartphone can provide a momentum to revitalize the stagnant Smartphone market, and a positive aspect that can induce new investments to secure a sufficient number of panels due to the increase in the display screen size.”.

“If foldable smartphones are launched and commercialized, there is a possibility that the expensive tablet PC market will be disappeared. Foldable Smartphone can bring the tablet PC market which is being led by Apple.”He added.

Yi then predicted that foldable smart phones would implement 4K since their screen size is larger than normal smart phones. “OLED smart phones, which currently remain in QHD resolution, are expected to be difficult to implement it in five years due to the problems in masks, wiring widths and exposure systems; however, foldable smart phones are more free from these problems.” He said.

Finally, Yi pointed out the market success factors of the foldable smart phone as pioneering the Smartphone market for over $ 1,000, development of dedicated applications/contents and early establishment of 5G communication technology for data transmission such as video streaming.

Meanwhile, he estimated that OLED panels for foldable smartphones would be shipped to 100 thousand units in 2018, and 2.83 million units would be shipped in 2022.

Flexible OLED Leading the OLED Panel Market from 2019

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■ Flexible OLED is expected to ship 480 million units in 2019, surpassing Rigid OLED shipments.

■ Full-screen OLED among Flexible OLED is expected to have an average market share of 78.3% by 2022, dominating the market.

■ Foldable OLED is expected to ship in earnest from 2019.

Flexible OLED shipments are expected to exceed rigid OLED shipments in 2019. According to the ‘2017 Flexible OLED Annual Report’ published by Ubi Research, flexible OLEDs are expected to ship 480 million units in 2019, surpassing 409 million units of rigid OLED shipments. In addition, flexible OLED shipments will grow at a CAGR of 41% starting in 2018, reaching 1,285 million units in 2022 with forecasted revenue of US$ 59.4 billion.

<OLED Market Share Forecast by Substrate in 2018 ~ 2022>

Recently, as the hardware technology of mobile devices has been leveled up, set makers targeting the premium market are trying to differentiate their products by adopting OLED. Especially, set makers are beginning to introduce flexible OLED capable of full screen, as the needs of consumers who want a wider screen in mobile devices (even in the same sizes) on the increase.

 

Accordingly, panel makers are continuing to invest in flexible OLED mass production. Since Chinese panel makers such as BOE, CSOT and Visionox are expected to start mass production of Gen6 flexible OLED starting in 2018, flexible OLED shipments will likely grow at an average growth rate of 59% per annum, reaching 354 million units by 2022.

 

This report compares the structure and process of rigid OLED and flexible OLED, and analyzes the trends of technology development for foldable OLED implementation by layer. It also compares the flexible OLED application technology of Samsung Electronics, Apple, and LG Electronics which released mobile devices with full screen OLED. The report also forecasts the flexible OLED market from 2018 to 2022 by categorizing into various perspectives including flexible type, country and generation.

 

According to the report, full screen OLEDs of flexible OLEDs will ship 265 million units in 2018 with a market share of 82.1%, and 1,022 million shipments will be made in 2022, accounting for 79.5% of the market, leading the flexible OLED market. In addition, the foldable OLED, which has been receiving a great deal of attention recently, is expected to ship 5 million units from 2019 and 53 million units by 2022.

<Foldable OLED Shipment Forecast in 2018~ 2022>

 

Capture the Rapidly Emerging OLED Parts & Materials Market

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With the joining of Apple in the growing OLED market this year which is manufactured by Samsung Display and applied in Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy, the OLED parts & materials market is increasingly developing.

 

An OLED specialized research company, UBI Research CEO Choong Hoon Yi(senior analysis) said the various parts & materials market needed for manufacturing smartphone OLED is expected to reach US$ 8.7billion this year and more than quadruple to US$ 38billion in 2021.

<M2017 Mobile Phone OLED Parts & Materials Report, UBI Research>

The biggest reason for the rapid growth in the smartphone OLED parts & materials market is attributed to the stable success of Samsung’s Galaxy, the Apple’s effect, the Chinese set companies’ demand boom. Just like reflecting this trend, leading display companies such as LG Display, BOE, CSOT, and Visionox following Samsung Display are struggling to introduce the 6th generation flexible OLED manufacturing line. This trend will lead LCD to disappear almost in the smartphone market by 2021.

<2017 Mobile Phone OLED Parts & Materials Report, UBI Research>

As the OLED parts & materials market for smartphone is classified by country, the Korean market predominates. The Korean OLED parts & materials market accounts for 95% of the total market and is likely to keep 72% in 2021.

 

As the OLED industry is led by Samsung Display, the Korean parts & materials market is also expected to rapidly grow. UBI Research CEO Choong Hoon Yi forecasted the ecosystem made by Samsung Display is held by the majority of Korean SMEs or the foreign companies with a factory in Korea, OLED growth will be directly related to the development of Korean SMEs.

The OLED Component and Material Market for Mobile Phones Is Expanding Rapidly

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The component and material necessary for manufacturing OLED include not only board but also TFT, OLED, encapsulation, touch screen, cover window, and drive IC.

With the joining of Apple and Chinese companies into the OLED mobile phones market which has been led by Samsung’s Smartphone Galaxy, Samsung Display and Chinese Display companies are increasing their investment in Gen 6.

Accordingly, component and material market needed for manufacturing OLED is also rapidly expanding.

 

According to the UBI Research report, the OLED component and material market for mobile phones is expected to grow to US$ 38.2 billion in 2021 as against US$ 8.72 billion in 2017.

In terms of nation, the Korean OLED component and material market holds 94.9% market share(US$ 8.27 billion) in 2017, but the Chinese one is forecast to increase up to 22.3% in 2021, whereas the Korean one will decrease to 72.2%.

What is the future of OLED?

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Choong Hoon Yi, president of UBI Research made a keynote speech with a theme “The Future of OLED” at ‘The 3rd OLED Korea Conference’ hosted by UBI Research for two days from March 8 to 9.

Choong Hoon Yi, president of UBI Research stated “100-inch rollable wall TV is the future of OLED”. “human eyes have a wide viewing angle so even if display covers the whole wall, there is no discomfort. Glass substrate OLED may be difficult to carry, and accordingly rollable display can be rolled up and delivered like a carpet.” he added.

He also predicted “plastic substrates and printing process for price cut will be suitable for rollable display. TFT and pixel production techniques made by Solution process will be a key to future technology”. If a speaker is built in rollable display, and a correspondence between the person and sound on the screen will represent a perfect display.

Choong Hoon Yi said the reasons for the success of OLED can be found out in the mobile market.
Firstly, 4K contents to be used for future TVs will be used in smartphones, and smartphones will also use 4K resolution.

Second, Apple will release the OLED iPhone this year, and there will be an Apple effect because Samsung Display is building the A3 line for Apple to produce 200 million 5.5-inch OLED displays.

Third, Chinese market accounts for 40% of the global smartphone market, and Chinese set companies have been rapidly increasing the release of smartphones.

Lastly, a flexible OLED to cover the full screen smartphone will have no home button and feature wide screen to satisfy visual functions, and its strengthened security system that reads fingerprint and pattern can be applied.

For the four reasons above, he expected OLED will be key in the future mobile market.

Meanwhile, he expected the shipments of OLED panel will be 1.7 billion in 2021, and the sales will amount to US$ 75 billion. Korean display companies will represent more than 80% of the total market in 2021, and China will take up 10~15%. In addition, he forecast that display panel companies will make a new investment in flexible OLED which will account for 70% of the total OLED market.

Samsung Display maintains 70%, share of market of AMOLED panel for smartphones by 2020

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According to the “2017 OLED Display Annual Report” published by Ubi Research, it looks ahead to build about US$ 57,000 million market in 2020 of AMOLED panel for smartphones, and among this, it is expected to take about 72% by Samsung Display.

The market of AMOLED panel for smartphones in 2017 would be highly increased on the strength of the growth of shipments on smartphones by Chinese set manufacturers and Apple’s iPhone launch which applied flexible AMOLED panel.

Samsung Display, thus, has invested the mass production line in large-scale for flexible AMOLED panel starting in 2016, and its investment will be extended for catching up with its growing demands in this year rather than last year. Just the same, the panel manufacturers in China and Japan, including LG Display, are also investing and aggressively reviewing the mass production line, therefore, this market will be heavily developed.

“2017 OLED Display Annual Report” says that based on this investment, the market of AMOLED panel for smartphones which was just 374.4M in 2016, is anticipated to increase by 38.8% to 519.7M in 2017 and, it will be make the number of market by 1,442 with growing by 39.8% at an annual average by 2020.

In Samsung Display, particularly, would take the market share over 70% even after 2018 when the following company behind begins to roughly start the mass productions, since Samsung Display will endeavor to steadily keep its gaps based on the technology’s ability of high-quality images and flexible AMOLED panel, and the aggressive investments.

In “2017 OLED Display Annual Report”, meanwhile, depicts to help catching the greater flow of OLED industry on the supply chains, the latest trends by major panel company and investment state, the application trends applying AMOLED and the capability analysis of OLED mass production lines which are expected to invest in this year. It would be also expected to help field companies understand the market by analyzing the market prospect by 2021 in diverse perspective and AMOLED panel market performance from 2011.

<The Market Share Perspective of AMOLED Panel for Smartphones>

Samsung Display is Expected to Ship More than 100 Million Smart Phone AMOLED Panels Quarterly

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Samsung Display’s Smart phone AMOLED panels are expected to surpass 100 million units.

According to UBI Research, the shipment of Samsung Display’s OLED panel for smartphone in Q4 2016 was 98 million units, an increase of 6% from the previous quarter and 15% from the same time last year.

UBI Research announced “A3line invested in 2016 will operate starting from the 1st quarter, and accordingly the shipment of Samsung Display’s smartphone AMOLED panel is expected to surpass 100 million.”

In addition, Chinese TV set companies and many smartphone set companies such as Apple have an increasing demand for AMOLED panels, and especially the demand for flexible AMOLED panels to be applied to high-end smartphone is expected to increase significantly.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics announced at the Q4 conference call that the sales of OLED panels increased slightly compared to the previous quarter, and it plans to promote sales by actively responding to the rise in OLED panel adoption of major smartphone clients.

2017 will be an important year to be able to emphasize the innovation of OLED to consumers

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<Lee Woo-keun, a senior researcher at LG Economic Research Institute>

Lee Woo-keun, a senior researcher at LG Economic Research Institute, predicted that the year 2017 will be an important year to be able to emphasize the innovation of OLED to consumers, in the seminar for the 2016 OLED evaluation held at the Yeouido Small & Medium Business Center in Seoul, hosted by UbI Research on last December 2.

He added “LG is leading the OLED TV market in the premium TV market ahead of next year’s CES, but we will have to keep an eye on the impact of Sony’s joining” as one of the notable issues in large-sized OLED panels, and he continued “as there is still a fundamental expectation for Sony’s image quality among existing consumers, we will have to pay attention to what innovative appearance Sony’ OLED TVs will show and how they can appeal to consumers.

Referring to the adoption of OLED panels in Apple’s iPhone8 (tentative name) in the mobile phone market, as a small and medium issue, he said “it is important how to realize OLED display on Apple iphone 8, and how much impact it will have on consumers through this”. He said “if we could not show the innovation distinguishing it from existing LCDs despite adopting OLEDs, consumers’ expectations for OLEDs may be diminished,” emphasizing that it should draw meaningful responses to OLEDs from consumers’ perspective .

It is expected that Apple will launch iPhone applying flexible AMOLED panels in 2017, and Sony is also being confirmed to continuously review its entry into the OLED TV business. In 2017, it is expected that the number of set-makers launching OLED-applied products will increase more. In the situation that consumers are expecting a ‘completely new thing owned only by OLED products’, which is entirely different from existing LCD products, through various media reports and rumors, the year 2017 seems to be an important year to emphasize the innovation of OLED and to promote its merchantability.

Who Will Get The First Full-Screen Display Smartphone Title, Samsung Or Apple?

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Full-screen display smartphone is expected to be launched soon. According to the recent report ‘Key Issue and The Market Analysis for Foldable OLED – Flexible OLED Annual Report’ by UBI RESEARCH, a market survey company, left-right bezel-less flexible OLED dominate the smartphone market, and later full-screen display with minimized or without both left-right and up-down bezel will appear in 2017, thereby leading the future market.

<Smartphone Display Development Trend Outlook>(Source: UBI RESEARCH)

The more specific circumstances were caught. Apple Insider announced that Apple recently applied for a design patent(US20150303244A1) of electronic devices with display-integrated light sensors, quoting the USPTO’s announcement on October 11(Local Time).

<Design Drawing 1 of Apple’s Patent-Pending Electronic Devices with Display-Integrated Light Sensors>

Apple used the examples of the placement of Ambient Light Sensor or Proximity Sensor around the side of display, and of the protection of display and sensor circuit by glass or plastic transparent encapsulation layer. Apple Insider expects that this design will be able to reduce unnecessary space and make full-screen display possible.

<Design Drawing 2 of Apple’s Patent-Pending Electronic Devices with Display-Integrated Light Sensors>

At the 2016 IMID Business Forum at COEX in Samseong-dong on October 26, Samsung Display chief expert, Park Won-sang announced display trend about screen size, which boosted confidence. Chief expert, Park Won-sang said that “Display size compared to set size is very important due to the characteristic of mobile phones with a size limit. The display area(hereinafter “D.A”) of edge display was 80%, full-screen mobile phone D.A was larger than 90%, and this is one of the major trends that will lead the market”. The techniques including an all-in-one glass fingerprint recognition module and an ultrasonic fingerprint recognition module have not been mentioned yet, but an entirely innovative full-screen smartphone will be introduced by removing left-right bezel as well going beyond the left-right bezel-less type of Note 7.

<Samsung Display’s Presentation, 2016 IMID Business Forum>

LG also applied a patent of full-screen display. According to Patently Mobile’s report on June 2015, not physical but virtual button and App icon were applied. But, design itself cannot exactly show materials and interior parts except appearance, and it is now uncertain whether it will be developed or not as there is no further news after the patent application.

<LG Electronics Granted Home-Buttonless Smartphone using Flexible Display>>(Source : Patently Apple)

Likewise, many smartphone companies are actively reviewing the introduction of full-screen display because it might allow customers to experience the biggest change in addition to the product’s immersive nature. Besides, there are recently some opinions that with the expanding VR market, OLED display without a latency issue and wider display area are necessary to be applied to HMD(Head Mounted Display) attached with a mobile phone.
Meanwhile, ‘Key issue and Market Analysis for Foldable OLED’ Report by UBI RESEARCH forecasted that full screen AMOLED panel will be firstly launched in 2017, accounting for 60% of the total flexible AMOLED panel market and going beyond the bezel-less type of flexible AMOLED panel market.

Meanwhile, ‘Key issue and Market Analysis for Foldable OLED’ Report by UBI RESEARCH forecasted that full screen AMOLED panel will be firstly launched in 2017, accounting for 60% of the total flexible AMOLED panel market and going beyond the bezel-less type of flexible AMOLED panel market.

<Definition by Flexible OLED Type and Market Share Outlook >(Source: UBI RESEARCH)

Full-Scale War Between Samsung Gear S3 And Apple Watch Series 2

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The Apple Watch Series 2 has been officially unveil with iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 so it is expected that the battle between Samsung Gear S3 and the Apple Watch Series 2 can not be avoided even if the official release day of Samsung Gear S3 is undecided.

Apple Watch Series 2 has an improved water resistance rating of 50 meters and includes GPS unit for utilizing location information and tracking movements. Especially, the watch works with Pocketmon Go from Niantic INC which has been very sensational game all over the world. It was announced that the product has four models including Stainless steel, Hermès which Apple produced teaming up with Hermès, and Nike+ which Apple produced teaming up with Nike.

Samsung Gear S3 also includes GPS so it can make various useful functions altitude available for leisure activities and exercising with the sensors for altitude, atmospheric pressure and speed. Samsung Pay function also increases a variety of useful functions. In addition, with saving battery power ability improved, ADO (Always On Display) which is packed so that major alarms are always shown can make the watch is faithful to the original watch function. And the rotating bezel of Samsung Gear S3 attracts public gaze with its sophisticated design presenting the sensitivity traditional watch gave and its intuitive UI built up much better than before.

Both of the smart watches are packing an OLED display which can boast 1,000 Nits peak brightness so it is expected that a great deal of information can be shown on the clear display in bright sunlight. In particular, Apple enhanced the brightness of the display more than doubled than that of the prior product of 450 Nits and Samsung also enhanced the brightness 400 Nits more than that of the prior product.

It has been known that the AMOLED panel for Samsung smart watch is provided by SAMSUNG DISPLAY while Flexible AMOLED panel for Apple Watch Series 2 is supplied by SAMSUNG DISPLAY and LG DISPLAY.

According to UBI research, the market of Smart Watch AMOLED panel is expected to be worth close to one hundred million in 2020 with average annual growth rate of 14%.

Samsung Display Principal Engineer, “VR∙AR will become comparable to 3D TV?”

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samsung display

Samsung Display’s R&D Center principal engineer JongSeo Lee

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

Samsung Display’s R&D Center principal engineer JongSeo Lee suggested that VR∙AR market is an optimistic one unlike the 3D TV market of the past.

 

During the Industrial Forum held in ICC Jeju of South Korea, Lee gave a presentation titled ‘Introduction of Display Technology for VR/AR’, and mentioned concern from some sectors that the VR∙AR market will walk the same path as the 3D TV market.

 

Lee explained that the 3D TV market did not become vitalized due to the limits on contents production and 3D conversion technology, low quality of 3D display, lack of standards, etc. However, for VR∙AR market, contents and hardware such as Pokemon Go and HoloLens have arried, and many companies are active in this sector. Lee’s explanation is that leading companies including Apple, Microsoft, Intel, and Facebook are actively investing for VR∙AR sector and ecosystem is forming.

 

Using the Goldman Sachs materials, Lee emphasized that VR∙AR market will record USD 85,000 million by 2025. Furthermore, he explained technical characteristics of OLED, suitable for VR and AR, pointing out that transparent OLED is the key solution for AR technology actualization. He explained AR as the digital experience added to the actual physical environment or live screen, and transparent display actualizes this.

 

Compared to LCD, OLED has higher transmittance, and is considered the optimized solution for transparent display. For transparent OLED actualization, Lee told the audience that cathode with high transmittance and low resistance is needed and substrate should be able to withstand heat and be flexible. Metal types can be applied to the transparent area of the transparent display to produce mirror display. With this, AR can be experienced even using the form similar to mirrors. For this Lee added that high reflectance level and high color gamut are required.

AMOLED Manufacturing Equipment Market for Apple, USD 13,000mn for 5 Years…Half of Total 6G Flexible Equipment

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Source = UBI Research

Source = UBI Research [2016 OLED Manufacturing Equipment Annual Report]

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

AMOLED manufacturing equipment market for Apple’s use for 5 years, 2016-2020, is expected to reach USD 13,000 million.

According to 2016 OLED Manufacturing Equipment Annual Report, published on 7 July by UBI Research, the global Gen6 flexible AMOLED manufacturing equipment market is expected to record USD 28,411 million in 2016-2020. 47% of this is for Apple’s use with USD 13,000 million. The figure is if Apple applies flexible panel to some new models of iPhone to be released in 2017, and all new models to be released in 2018.

Apple occupies approximately 15% of the total smartphone sales with over 200 million units per year. As such, it is expected to have great impact on future exible panel market expansion.

In 2021, global flexible AMOLED panel shipment is estimated to exceed 1,000 million units. UBI Research forecasts Apple iPhone’s flexible panel will occupy 20% of the total flexible AMOLED shipment in 2017, and exceed 50% in 2021. UBI Research explains that in order to meet Apple’s flexible AMOLED panel demand, the required panel production capa. is analyzed to be 30K per month in 2017, and total 300K per month in 2021.

Furthermore, panel companies’ mass production line is expanding accordingly, and Samsung Display in particular is expected to invest 30K per year directed to Apple.

UBI Research’s latest report forecasts that the total OLED manufacturing equipment market to record approximately USD 43,927 million in 2016-2020.

Apple Opens Development Office in Hyderabad

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Source = Apple

Source = Apple

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

Apple announced the opening of a new office in Hyderabad that will focus on development of Maps for Apple products. This investment will accelerate Maps development and create up to 4,000 jobs.

“Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development,” said Tim Cook. “The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations.”

This company has been continually updating and adding new features to Maps, including 3D views, the Flyover feature and tools to help customers find convenient places to shop, eat and explore nearby areas. With iOS 9 Apple added Transit, offering a combination of trains, subways, buses and walking, which is already available for more than 300 cities around the world.

The new facility, located on the Waverock campus, will provide a world-class, LEED-certified home for the expanding Maps team.

“We are honored Apple chose Hyderabad as a home for its Maps development office,” said Telangana Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao. “This will create thousands of jobs here and is a testament to our proactive approach, quality infrastructure and the excellent talent base we have in the region.”

“Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world and we are very proud they chose us to partner with for this important project,” said Anup Jindal, RMSI’s CEO. “We are experts in geospatial data and we will be hiring thousands of people from the local area to support this effort.”

Across India, Apple supports over 640,000 iOS app developer jobs and other positions related to the iOS ecosystem.

“Apple, to Use OLED More than Samsung Elec. from 2021” – UBI

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Apple, to Use OLED More than Samsung Elec. from 2021 – UBI

UBI Research’s Yi is Analyzing Market related to Apple’s OLED Selection

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

A forecast that Apple will apply more OLED than Samsung Electronics from 2021 has been suggested.

On 13 May, UBI Research hosted OLED Investment Analysis Seminar titled The Effects that Apple will have on Display Industry in Seoul, Korea. At this event, UBI Research’s Choong Hoon Yi estimated future flexible OLED smartphone market share.

According to Yi, Apple is to begin releasing flexible OLED iPhone from 2017, and occupy 8% of the global flexible OLED smartphone market in that year. Following this, Yi analyzed that Apple will continue to increase market share each year to record 32% in 2020, same as Samsung Elec., and exceed Samsung Elec.’s 27% with 37% in 2021.

For 2015 and 2016, with the market share of over 70% of the global flexible OLED smartphone market, Samsung Elec. is dominating the market. However, Apple is expected to release OLED iPhone from next year, and iPhone market share is increasing within the smartphone market. Yi believes that Apple’s OLED usage will exceed that of Samsung Elec.’s.

UBI Research estimates that the smartphone market will grow at CAGR of 6% in 2016-2021, and overall shipment will increase. Of these, Samsung Elec. has been outdistancing Apple and greatly increasing the market share until 2013. However, since 2014, Samsung Elec.’s market share has been gradually decreasing while Apple’s is increasing.

At the seminar, Yi told the attendees that Apple is selling approximately 220 million units of iPhone per year, but the number is expected to increase to 300-million-unit mark and of 30% of that, 1,00-million-unit mark, are estimated to be OLED equipped products. He added that this will grow to 4,00-million-unit mark in 2020, and 80% of that is estimated to be OLED.

With Apple’s section of OLED, the competition for the product supply between global display companies is expected to be fierce. Yi forecast that Samsung Display will supply 60% of the demand, the second supplier 30%, and the rest 10%.

LG Display and Japan Display were likely to be the second and third suppliers. However, Apple’s steadfast partner, Foxconn took over Sharp and became a strong candidate for this position. Hence, 4 companies could end up supplying to Apple. Yi added that one company of JDI and Foxconn could be pushed out.

Panel companies’ mass production establishment investment for product supply for Apple is also being carried out. Samsung Display is expected to execute 45-60K investment in flexible AMOLED line this year. LG Display is carrying out Gen6 7.5K investment in Gumi, with prospect of additional 7.5K order this year.

JDI also announced smartphone AMOLED panel mass production in January 2016 aiming for mass production in 2018. There is a possibility of investment for AMOLED supply for iPhone. Yi also estimated that Apple will conclude OLED emitting materials company selection by this August or September.

Furthermore, Yi explained that a human eye is more sensitive to contrast compared to brightness. He emphasized that OLED, with its contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 is a more human friendly display than LCD and its 3,000:1.

At the seminar, LG Economic Research Institute’s Senior Consultant Wookeun Lee also analyzed the market with the theme of The Effects that Apple’s OLED Selection will have on Korea and China’s Display Industry.

2016 Apple Watch Shipment to Fall by More than 25%…Watch Market, Below Expectations

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Apple Watch(Source=Apple)

Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

With the trend of smartwatch market’s below expectation growth, some believe that this year’s Apple Watch shipment volume will decrease by 25% or more compared to last year.

On 19 April, international media such as OLED-a reported this citing KGI investment. KGI’s research estimates that 10,600,000 units of Apple Watch were sold in 2015, and forecast that much reduced 7,500,000 units or less will be sold this year. What is worse, last year’s sales volume is the total of 8 months sales, and this year’s forecast volume is for 12 months.

KGI suggested 2 reasons for this decrease.

First, this is because the wearable device market is still an immature one, formed not too long ago.

Second, the product itself still has many flaws. Also, of the wearable applications, there is a lack of killer application that pulls in consumers. Hardware also needs further improvements. Short battery lifetime and iPhone dependent functions are analyzed to be factors preventing the demand increase.

KGI forecasts the mass production of the next Apple Watch will begin in Q3 2016. Some estimates that the next product will be released before that in June this year. However, this product is more of an S model upgrade with few changes to the existing product. KGI estimated that the demand improvement will take place when 2017 product, the new product after this one is released.

Much like the not so optimistic forecast of Apple Watch, the smartwatch market growth is also not meeting the expectations. In 2016 Wearable Smart Device International Forum and Exhibition held in Seoul hosted by Korean Display Industry Association, IDTechEX’s analyst James Hayward explained that smartwatch market is growing at below expectations, and it is estimated that eye wear market, such as AR and VR, will have greater growth rather than watch.

Apple’s WWDC Kicks Off June 13 in San Francisco

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WWDC will be held on June 13(Source : Apple)

WWDC will be held on June 13(Source : Apple)

 

Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com
Apple announced that it will hold its 27th annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), hosting the creative talent behind the world’s most innovative apps, from June 13 through 17 in San Francisco. At WWDC, Apple’s developer community comes together from all corners of the globe to learn about the future of Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS.

Monday’s kickoff events, including the keynote address, will be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The rest of the week’s conference sessions will take place at Moscone West.

“With four innovative operating systems and a new, intuitive programming language powering over 1 billion devices worldwide, there has never been a more exciting time to bring our developer community together,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “WWDC 2016 is going to be a landmark event for developers who are coding in Swift, and building apps and products for iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS. We can’t wait for everyone to join us — in San Francisco or through the live stream.”

Developers can apply for tickets via the WWDC website (developer.apple.com/wwdc/register/) now through Friday, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. Tickets will be issued to attendees through a random selection process, and developers will be notified on the status of their application by Monday, April 25 at 5:00 p.m. PDT. For the second consecutive year, there will be up to 350 WWDC Scholarships available, giving students and STEM organization members from around the world an opportunity to earn a ticket to meet and collaborate with some of the most talented developers of Apple’s ever-growing app ecosystem (developer.apple.com/wwdc/scholarships/). Additionally, this year, we will provide travel assistance to up to 125 scholarship recipients to ensure aspiring developers with financial limitations have an opportunity to participate.

WWDC sessions will be streamed live throughout the week via the website (developer.apple.com/wwdc/live/) and through the WWDC app, giving developers around the world access to the week’s news and events.

Visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2016 website (developer.apple.com/wwdc/register/) to apply for a ticket, as well as for updates and more information.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Samsung Display OLED Equipped iPhone 7S in 2017? Is it Possible?

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Samsung Display is Expected to Supply OLED for iPhone(Source: Apple)

Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

On 14 April, one Korean media reported that Samsung Display agreed to supply OLED for Apple’s iPhone, and the forecast that Samsung Display OLED will be used for iPhone 7S (TBA) to be released in 2017 is gaining traction.

According to the Maeil Kyoungjae article published on 14, Samsung Display and Apple signed agreement of OLED supply of 3 trillion KRW worth of 5.5 inch panel a year, with 3 years of supplier right. Subsequently, it is known that Samsung will carry out new investment of total 10 trillion KRW for Gen6 flexible OLED exclusive line A3 factory, and supply 100 million units of OLED panel a year for 3 years from Q2 2017. The majority of the industry estimates that Apple will begin application of this panel from the model to be released in H2 2017.

No official confirmation is Samsung Display’s position. However, it has been widely known within the industry that Samsung Display has agreed to supply OLED for Apple from next year. OLEDNET analyzed whether Samsung Display’s OLED application to the new 2017 iPhone is possible.

UBI Research’s analysis of key Korean OLED manufacturing companies’ Financial Supervisory Service public announcements shows that the volume Samsung Display ordered for A3 line expansion is judged to be 30K. Samsung Display’s current A3 line is 15K volume. When the newly ordered 30K volume is established, the total volume becomes 45K.

1K equals 1,000 units of glass substrate per month. If 1 substrate can produce approximately 300 units of panel, 45K A3 line can mass produce 162 million units of OLED panel per year. Global iPhone sales volume is about 200 million units per year. For Samsung Display to supply about half of this volume, approximately 100 million units a year, the 45K line is enough.

The problem is that Samsung Display does not supply OLED to Apple only. UBI Research analyzes that when OLED panels of Galaxy series for Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display’s biggest client, is considered, 45K volume is not enough; at a minimum 60K is required to satisfy the demand of both Samsung Electronics and Apple.

UBI Research’s Choong Hoon Yi forecast that if Samsung Display carries out additional orders regarding A3 line expansion within this year and is equipped with over 60K volume, the company will be able to handle half of iPhone’s annual OLED supply at a minimum. He explained that the 45K could be insufficient to supply OLED for both Galaxy and iPhone series. Yi added that Samsung Display can at least supply a small volume of OLED to Apple, and have them be applied to the early batch of iPhone 7S (TBA) in H2 2017.

Foxconn’s Large Size Panel Yield, Equal to Samsung·LG within 2016

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Foxconn is expected to occupy approximately 22% of 2016 Q4 global large size panel yield(Source : Foxconn)

Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

Foxconn is expected to occupy approximately 22% of 2016 Q4 global large size panel yield, similar to the levels of Samsung Display and LG Display.

Foxconn, recently confirmed to buy 66% of Sharp’s stake for $ 3.5 billion, is estimated to actively invest in improving Sharp’s panel competitiveness against Samsung Display and LG Display.

DigiTimes recently reported their research indicates Sharp’s large size panel yield will occupy 5.3% of global market in Q4 2016. This places the company on the 7th place after Samsung Display, LG Display, Innolux, AUO, BOE, and CSOT.

However, Sharp and Innolux are under Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn Technology). If the Q4 2016 large size panel yield of Sharp and Innolux are combined, the global occupancy is added to 21.9%. This is approximately the same level as Samsung Display (23.7%) and LG Display (22.7%).

Foxconn is analyzed to be investing in Sharp mainly with focus on OLED. According to a recent DigiTimes article, Foxconn is planning to invest approximately US$ 1.8 billion in OLED development.

DigiTimes estimates that Foxconn will actively begin mass production of OLED for smartphone from 2018, and expand the production to large and medium-sized OLED panel for TV, notebook, etc. Foxconn is forecast to begin shipment of OLED for TV from 2021, and annually ship 7,200,000 units of OLED panel for TV in 2025.

2016, Korea Seizes AMOLED Market…95% of Global Market

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2016-2020 Global AMOLED Panel Market Shipment [1 Million] (source : UBI Research)

This year, Korea is expected to secure overwhelming leadership position within the global AMOLED panel market with 95% market share.

According to 2016 OLED Display Annual Report, recently published by UBI Research, approximately 270 million units of AMOLED panel are to be produced from Korea in 2016, approximately 95% of the global shipment.

For AMOLED panel market revenue, Korea is estimated to occupy 96% of the total market in 2016 with US$ 14,218 million. Korea is expected to maintain approximately over 70% of the market share until 2020, and lead the global market for several more years.

This is analyzed to be due to active response by Korean display companies against AMOLED application expansion by influential global smartphone companies.

Samsung Electronics is forecast to sell over 47 million units of AMOLED panel equipped Galaxy series in 2016. The projection that Apple will also apply AMOLED panel to future iPhone series for product differentiation is gaining traction.

Several companies, including LG Display and Samsung Display, are carrying out active investment for AMOLED panel mass production line from H1 2016.

Other than Korea, China is showing rapid movement within the global AMOLED market. China is estimated to produce approximately 11 million units of AMOLED panel in 2016, and occupy approximately 4% of the global shipment, marking the second place after Korea’s 95%. China is estimated to increase the market share each year and reduce the gap with Korea; in 2020, China is expected to hold 24% of global AMOLED panel shipment in 2020.

China’s AMOLED panel market revenue is also forecast to show significant growth with approximately US$ 500 million in 2016 to US$ 13,700 million in 2020, a 20% of the total market.

2016 OLED Display Annual Report forecasts that the global AMOLED market is to record approximately US$ 15,000 million in 2016, and grow to approximately US$ 70,000 million in 2020.

 

Reviewing 2015 OLED Industry through Keywords

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  1. OLED TV

OLED TV, first released in Q4 2013, recorded approximately 50,000 units of shipment each in Q1 and 2 this year. The shipment increased to 100,000 units in Q3, more than twice the amount of each quarter in H1 2015. As it is estimated that close to 200,000 units were released in Q4, over 90% of LG Display’s 2015 target is expected to be achieved. This is considered to be showing price competitiveness against other TV as the price of OLED TV fell to 1/2 of the initial price and effectiveness of aggressive marketing emphasizing the advantages of OLED TV compared to newly released LCD TV. In Q3 earnings results announcement, LG Display revealed their plan of 1,000,000 units of OLED TV panel shipment in 2016 and forecast OLED TV’s growth. For the industry, 2015 has been the year that secured foothold for OLED TV’s market expansion.

 

  1. Galaxy S6 Edge

At the time of Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge’s release, Samsung Electronics estimated the initial supply to be 50:50. However, Galaxy S6 Edge showed 70% in actual demand and this led to shortage in supply. Samsung Display met the demand by starting flexible AMOLED line operation earlier than scheduled. 2015 proved future market growth potential by opening consumers’ wallets through designs possible only with flexible AMOLED panel.

 

  1. Samsung Display Supply Diversification

During the Q3 earnings announcement, Samsung Display revealed their plan to expand non-Samsung clients by 30%. Accordingly, in Q3, when smartphone market’s growth was expected to slow down, the sales performance improved by 13% compared to its previous quarter through key client’s new product release and expansion of client base. Particularly, the market occupation of AMOLED panel shipped toward China is analyzed to have increased within the global mobile market as Chinese set companies released AMOLED panel equipped smartphones.

 

  1. Apple’s OLED Application

Apple, which has been using LCD panel for all products, first applied flexible AMOLED panel, produced by LG Display, to 2015 smartwatch Apple Watch and drew much attention. In H2, Apple diversified suppliers by using Samsung Display’s flexible AMOLED panel. This move is analyzed to be groundwork for flexible OLED application to smartphone following smartwatch. 2015 has been a year with much interest in when flexible AMOLED panel equipped iPhone will be released.

 

  1. OLED Lighting

Global OLED lighting industry went through a great transformation in 2015. OLEDWorks announced they will acquire key parts of Philips’ OLED lighting business, relevant production facilities, and intellectual property. With this take over, OLEDWorks greatly expanded business through widened product portfolio and simultaneous lighting panel mass production in the US and Germany. LG Chem. transferred OLED lighting business to LG Display. The value of transfer is 1.6 billion KRW, and it is seen to be a strategy to increase competiveness by transferring the business to LG Display with their OLED panel mass production knowledge and to focus on existing materials business. The take over and business transfer of the main players in OLED lighting industry, OLEDWorks and LG Chem., are following their own business strategy. However, following these moves, related investment is expected to be delayed for some time and eyes are on how these will affect the OLED lighting business overall.

 

[Analyst Column] LCD Industry Administration to Worsen after 3 Years

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Choong Hoon Yi, Chief Analyst, UBI Research

 

 

BOE is intending to carry out a large amount of investment in order to operate Gen10.5 LCD line from 2018. Meanwhile, key set makers including Apple, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Panasonic are devising strategy to move from LCD to OLED for smartphone and premium TV displays. As such, it is becoming more likely for the LCD industry to be in slump from 2018.

 

At present, the area where LCD industry can create profit is LTPS-LCD for smartphone. The forecast smartphone market for this year is approximately 15 billion units. Of this, Samsung Electronics and Apple are occupying 20% and 15% of the market respectively. OLED equipped units are less than 2 billion.

 

However, from 2018 the conditions change greatly. Firstly, Apple, which has been using LCD panel only, is estimated to change approximately 40% of the display to OLED from 2017 earliest and 2018 latest. Apple is testing flexible OLED panels of JDI, LG Display, and Samsung Display, and recommending them to invest so flexible OLED can be applied to iPhone from 2017. The total capa. Is 60K at Gen6. As new investments for Gen6 line of Samsung Display and LG Display are expected to be carried out from 2016, supply is theoretically possible from 2017.

 

Source: UBI Research Database

Source: UBI Research Database

 

If 5inch flexible OLED is produced from Gen6 line, under the assumption of 50% yield at 60K capa. 65 million units can be produced annually, and approximately 1 billion units if the yield is 80%. If Apple’s iPhone shipment in 2017 is estimated to be around 2.7 billion units, within the 50-60% yield range approximately 25% of the display is changed to OLED from LCD, and if yield reaches 80% around 40% will change. The companies that are supplying Apple with LCD for smartphone, LG Display, JDI, and Sharp, are expected to show considerable fall in sales and business. These 3 companies could be reduced to deficit financial structure just from Apple’s display change

 

Furthermore, as Apple is not producing low-priced phones, under the assumption that future iPhone could all have OLED display, Apple could cause the mobile device LCD industry to stumble after 3 years.

 

Samsung Electronics also is gradually changing Galaxy series display to OLED from LCD. Of the forecast 2015 shipment of 3 billion units, 50%, 1.5 billion units, has OLED display, but Samsung Electronics is expected to increase flexible OLED and rigid OLED equipped products in future. Particularly, as Apple is pushing for flexible OLED application from 2017, Samsung Electronics, whose utilizing OLED as the main force, is estimated to increase flexible OLED usage more than Apple. It is estimated that all Galaxy series product displays will be changed to OLED from 2019.

 

 

Under these assumptions, of the estimated smartphone market in 2020 of approximately 20 billion units, Samsung Electronics and Apple’s forecast markets’ 7 billion could be considered to use OLED.

 

Samsung Display is strengthening supply chain of set companies using their OLED panels. Samsung Display is supplying OLED panels to diverse companies such as Motorola and Huawei as well as Samsung Electronics, and also expected to supply rapidly rising Xiaomi from 2016. If smartphone display is swiftly changed to OLED from LCD from 2017, Chinese display companies that are currently expanding TFT-LCD lines are to be adversely affected.

 

Additionally, in the premium TV market, LG Electronics mentioned that they will focus on OLED TV industry at this year’s IFA2015. As a part of this, LG Display is planning to expand the current Gen8 34K to 60K by the end of next year. Furthermore, in order to respond to the 65inch market, Gen9.5 line investment is in consideration. In the early 2015, Panasonic commented that they were to withdraw from TV business but changed strategy with new plans of placing OLED TV on the market in Japan and Europe from next year.

 

As Samsung can no longer be disconnected from the OLED TV business, there are reports of investment for Gen8 OLED for TV line in 2016. Although OLED TV market is estimated to be approximately 350 thousand units this year, in 2016, when Panasonic joins in, it is expected to expand to 1.2 million units. The OLED TV’s market share in ≥55inch TV market is estimated to be only 4% but in premium TV market it is estimated to be significant value of ≥10%.

 

 

 

 

If Samsung Display invests in Gen8 OLED for TV line in 2016, from H2 2017 supply to Samsung Electronics is possible. As OLED Gen8 line’s minimum investment has to be over 60K to break even, it can be estimated that Samsung Display will invest at least 60K continuously in future.

 

Under these conditions, LCD industry can only be in crisis. Firstly, it becomes difficult for Sharp to last. Sharp, which is supplying TFT-LCD for Apple’s iPhones and LCD for Samsung Electronics’ TV, will lose key customers. Secondly, BOE, AUO, and JDI, the companies selling LCD panels to these companies, are not ready to produce OLED and therefore damage is inevitable.

 

BOE is carrying out aggressive investment with plans to lead the display industry in future with operation of Gen10.5 LCD line. Therefore, from 2018, as the main cash cow items disappear, administration pressure could increase.

[2015 OLED Evaluation Seminar] Can LG Display and Samsung Display Become OLED Market’s Rule Maker?

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By Hyun Jun Jang

 

At 2015 OLED Evaluation Seminar (December 4) hosted by UBI Research, UBI Research’s president Choong Hoon Yi gave a talk titled AMOLED Panel Industry Trend and Market Forecast discussing OLED industry until 2015 and forecasting 2016 OLED market.

 

Yi presented 2 issues related to flexible OLED. The first issues he discussed was regarding foldable types in foldable display. Yi explained that in-folding is where display is placed inside and out-folding has display on the outside, and revealed that in-folding type is mainly being developed. He also added that these technologies will be useful in FinTech (financial technology: new form of financial technology using mobile, social network, big data, etc.).

 

According to Yi, another issue for flexible display is film application. In order to increase the yield of flexible display, film has to replace cover glass. However, this could lead to unpleasant touch sensation and Yi emphasized technology such as polishing has to be applied to improve this to convince the consumers.

 

Regarding the market, Yi estimated that the total global smartphone market will grow to record approximately 2,000 million units until 2020, with Samsung Electronics’ 400 million units. He also estimated that the OLED display proportion of Samsung’s Galaxy series will continue to increase and that most of Galaxy products will have AMOLED panel in 2019. Of this, Yi announced that flexible OLED and rigid OLED are to record approximately 280 million units and 120 million units respectively. He also forecast that the OLED TV market will grow into approximately 11 million units and that materials and equipment companies will rapidly grow.

 

At present, the display market is entering low growth state, and companies are focusing on strengthening the market competitiveness through new technology development and production potential increase. Samsung Display is actively striving to increase OLED panel’s supply for external companies. LG Display announced 1.84 billion KRW investment for world’s largest OLED focused P10 factory and other areas.

 

Yi reported that as flexible OLED evolves, the mobile display resolution competition of the present will disappear, and he estimated that as LTPS-LCD market decreases, the sales of related panel companies, such as BOE, Sharp, JDI, and LGD, will diminish.

 

Yi also told the audience that he is expecting Samsung Electronics to put OLED TV on the market from 2018 and the sales of the companies, Sharp, AUO, and CSOT, that were supplying them with LCD panels will fall. Essentially, he explained that as the OLED market grows, LCD dealing companies’ position will weaken which will lead to the strengthening of OLED panel production and related companies’ position.

 

When asked about the future of Korean display panel companies, Yi replied that when LCD and OLED are competing, set companies decides the market. However, if OLED can unite the market, Yi emphasized that the display panel will be rebranded as Rule Maker and LG Display and Samsung Display will be in its center.

 

 

[IFA 2015] The Return of the OLED King

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Samsung Electronics, the current global leader of smartphone market share, challenged Apple to dominate smartwatch market with Galaxy Gear 2 armed with latest functions.

 

The exterior of Gear 2 changed to round type. Previous Gear copied rectangular fashion watch, but Gear 2 returned to the classic design.

 

Galaxy Gear2, IFA 2015

Galaxy Gear 2, IFA 2015

 

Gear 2 has the most basic circular shape, but the rotating bezel within the simple design boasts the perfect blend of digital and analog. The rotating bezel design used in stop watch in quality sports watch was applied to add a touch of analog. At the same time, the smartwatch has the digital side from the jog dial used in quality vehicles, merging the analog with digital.

 

Smartwatches until now had to be touched to change screen. However, Gear 2’s rotating bezel allows the screens to be changed easily through dial rotation.

 

Galaxy Gear 2, IFA 2015

Galaxy Gear 2, IFA 2015

 

Gear 2 applied flexible OLED produced by Samsung Display same as Gear with its 1.2inch size and 360×360 resolution. Compared to competitors’ 1.3inch, it might feel smaller but has the highest resolution; Samsung Electronics used a smaller display with better expressiveness. Particularly, absolute black, one of the advantages of OLED, is actualized with this product. The quality of black in previous Gear fell short and the screen wallpaper showed hints of blue. The new display shows that it is of OLED leader, Samsung family, with its brilliant colors using latest OLED materials.

 

Gear 2 also uses Tizen OS and firmly differentiated itself from other products. In fact, other products employed Google OS and had a problem of basically being the same under the different exterior leading to no particular differentiation factors for the consumers.

 

However, deserving the title of the leader of the smart device, Samsung Electronics utilized independently developed Tizen and boasted totally different interior.

 

Galaxy Gear 2, IFA 2015

Galaxy Gear 2, IFA 2015

 

Samsung Electronics is investing much effort in Gear 2 promotion; with the exclusive booth, visitors can examine diverse forms of Gear 2.

 

Galaxy Gear2 Booth, IFA 2015

Galaxy Gear2 Booth, IFA 2015