Samsung Display Expects Demand for Foldable Panels to Surge
Samsung Display’s S-Foldable Panel
Market expectations for Samsung Display are growing as Chinese smartphone makers are entering the foldable phone market.
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo will unveil its first foldable phone Oppo Find N at the Inno Day 2021 Conference on Dec. 15. Scheduled to be launched between January and February next year, the product is the first Chinese foldable phone with ultra-thin glass (UTG). Its internal display is supplied by Samsung Display and its external display by BOE.
Huawei is also planning to unveil its new foldable phone Huawei P50 Pocket, on Dec. 23. Its display was supplied by BOE. Some foreign media outlets reported that a POL-Less OLED panel developed by Samsung Display will go into Huawei’s new foldable phone that will be launched in February 2022 following the Mate X2.
Xiaomi launched its first foldable phone, Mi Mix Fold, in April, using internal and external displays made by CSOT. But the Chinese smartphone giant is planning to receive internal displays for the Mi Mix Fold 2 from Samsung Display. The internal displays are 8.01-inch foldable OLED panels loaded with ultra-thin tempered glass (UTG). The Mi Mix Fold 2’s external displays are CSOT’s 6.52-inch products.
Vivo is expected to use Samsung Display’s panels for its first foldable phone, which is expected to hit the shelf in 2022.
Apple is expected to enter the foldable phone market in 2024. The U.S. smartphone giant reportedly received samples of foldable displays for testing from Samsung Display in September 2020 and signed a supply contract for a certain amount of them. However, some speculate that Apple is working with LG Display in the development of a foldable iPhone.
Foldable OLED panel shipments will increase from 10 million units in 2021 to 66.61 million units in 2025, market research firm Omdia forecast. During this period, their average annual growth rate will reach 61 percent.
Accordingly, Samsung Display is reportedly considering expanding its foldable display production line in Bac Ninh Province in northern Vietnam to meet the growing demand for foldable OLED panels. The company plans to dial up production from the current 17 million units a year to 25 million units.
Some Chinese companies are also producing foldable OLED panels, but they have a meager market share. “Apart from BOE and Visionox, CSOT plans to ship foldable OLED panels in earnest beginning in 2022, but the volume is expected to be small compared to Samsung Display’s shipments,” an industry insider said. “It will take more time for Chinese panel companies to ship more than 10 million foldable OLED panels, I think.”