What They Say
Quoting data from Omdia, The Elec in Korea reported that Apple will see a boost of 47.6% in iPhone shipments this year, to 169 million from 114.5 million. The suppliers of panels were:
- Samsung Display – 110 million units
- LG Display 50 million units and
- BOE 9 million units
Last year, Samsung Display had supplied 89.6 million units and LG Display 25 million units.
Samsung Display’s market share in iPhone OLED panels was 78.3% in 2020 and this will drop to 65.1% if these estimates are met. LG Display’s will increase from 21.8% to 29.6% in the same time period. BOE will have a share of 5.3% this year.
The top three panel buyers for OLEDs for smartphones will be:
- Apple, with 78% of handsets using OLEDs
- Samsung at 157 million (up only slightly from 152.3 million in 2020)
- Xiami at 67 million.
A total of 584.5 million units of OLED panels are expected to be shipped this year, an increase of 28% from 2020. Flexible OLED panels will account for 335.5 million units, while rigid OLED panels will make up 249 million units. Apple only uses flexible OLED panels for its iPhones.
Last year, a total of 456.6 million units of smartphone OLED were shipped, a 3% decline from 2019’s 471 million units. Chinese panel makers shipped only 80 million OLEDs against a target of 100 million.
What We Think
I ought not to have been, but I was surprised with Apple’s growth compared to Samsung this year, but, of course, it is still increasing its share of OLEDs as older models come towards their end of life, with all new models using OLEDs. (BR)
