Small and Medium OLED Market Faces Continued Impact from COVID-19 and Huawei Shock

Samsung Display Flexible OLED (Reference Material)

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] This year, the small and medium-sized OLED (organic light-emitting diode) market continues to experience sluggishness due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

According to market research firm UBI Research on the 5th, 113 million smartphone OLED units were shipped in the third quarter. This figure represents a 30.4% increase compared to the previous quarter but a 17.9% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Although the situation has improved in the second half of the year compared to the first half, shipments are still sluggish compared to last year. It is interpreted that OLED shipments have also declined due to reduced smartphone consumption caused by COVID-19 this year.

The sharp decline in OLED shipments by Samsung Display and China's BOE due to U.S. sanctions on Huawei is also cited as a cause of the deteriorating performance.

UBI Research also analyzed that although many expect companies such as Samsung Electronics, Oppo, and Vivo to gain indirect benefits from the Huawei sanctions, Samsung Electronics is currently struggling in the Chinese market, and the brand power of Oppo and Vivo does not match that of Huawei, making it difficult to replace Huawei's share in the high-end smartphone market in China.

As a result, Huawei's smartphones, which mainly use OLED, are disappearing from the market, leading to a decrease in shipments by Samsung Display and BOE below expectations.

A UBI Research official stated, "Due to disruptions in Huawei's smartphone production, which was expected to purchase OLEDs in large quantities by surpassing the 300 million unit market, the smartphone OLED market is expected to slow down in growth for the time being," and "As a result, the OLED market in China will experience an extreme oversupply situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.