"Q3 Small OLED Shipments: Korea 51% · China 49%"

UBI Research Analyzes Panel Market for iPhone and Smartwatches
Samsung and LG Hold 51%... Chinese BOE, Tianma, Visionox, and Others in Pursuit
"Global Shipments Up 7.8% QoQ"

Global shipments of small organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products used in smartphones, smartwatches, and other devices increased by 7.8% in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. Samsung Display maintained its top position, followed by China's BOE and LG Display in second and third place, respectively. Samsung and LG's combined market share was 51%, narrowly surpassing Chinese companies.

Reuters Yonhap News

According to UBI Research's recently published "4th Quarter Small OLED Display Market Track," small OLED shipments in the third quarter reached 247 million units, up 7.8% from the previous quarter and 32.6% year-on-year, the company announced on the 9th.

Samsung Display ranked first with a 39% market share (95.9 million units). It was followed by China's BOE with 13% (31.6 million units), LG Display with 12% (29.8 million units), China's Visionox with 11% (27.6 million units), China's Tianma with 11% (25.5 million units), China's CSOT with 8% (20.5 million units), and China's EverDisplay with 5% (13 million units).

Overall, UBI Research explained that Samsung and BOE's shipments were similar to or slightly less than in the second quarter, while LG Display and EverDisplay saw a sharp increase in shipments.

LG Display's third-quarter panel shipments for Apple iPhones reached 17.6 million units, a 64% increase from the previous quarter. This reflected the performance of panels for the iPhone 16 series. Shipments of panels for smartwatches increased by 147% from the previous quarter to 12.2 million units. LG Display's small OLED sales rose 74% quarter-on-quarter and 115% year-on-year.

UBI Research forecasts that LG Display's shipments will continue to increase not only in the fourth quarter but also next year. This is because the iPhone 17 series, scheduled for release next year, will apply LTPO TFT (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide Thin-Film Transistor) technology instead of the existing LTPS TFT (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-Film Transistor) technology. Since BOE does not have this technology capability, it is expected that BOE's supply of iPhone 17 panels will be difficult, and the corresponding volume may be transferred to LG Display.

However, there are opinions that expansion is necessary to fully secure the volume. UBI Research stated, "LG Display is currently producing panels close to full capacity, so it needs to expand its production lines," adding, "Since it is realistically difficult to quickly start investing in 8.6-generation IT OLED, expanding the 6-generation IT OLED line is more practical."

Among Chinese panel makers, UBI Research noted that shipments from EverDisplay and Tianma increased. In particular, EverDisplay's shipments doubled from the previous quarter to 13 million units. Samsung Display's shipments slightly decreased, and BOE's shipments were similar to those in the second quarter.

UBI Research said, "In the fourth quarter, shipments from not only LG Display but also Samsung Display and BOE are expected to increase," adding, "Considering the OLED market characteristic of the highest shipments in the fourth quarter, global smartphone OLED shipments are expected to exceed 800 million units this year."

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