Korean Media: Samsung Display Leads in OLED Technology, but the Gap is Less Than a Year!

On January 12, the Korean media outlet "Herald Economic" published an article stating that South Korea's display market, once dominant globally, is now struggling under the relentless pursuit of China. With its vast domestic market, Chinese companies that dominated the LCD market are now adopting the same strategy to catch up with South Korea in the OLED market. After losing in the LCD market, Samsung Display made a bold strategic decision: to exit the LCD business in 2022 and concentrate all resources on OLED R&D. This decision has now begun to show results.

According to data from market research company Counterpoint Research, in the second quarter of last year, the three major Chinese OLED manufacturers - BOE, Visionox, and CSOT - accounted for 38% of the global OLED market shipments, an increase of about three percentage points from the previous quarter. BOE ranked second globally with 15%, Visionox third with 12%, and CSOT fifth with 9%. However, Samsung Display maintained its leading position with a 37% market share, consolidating its position as a technology leader. LG Display's market share was similar to that of CSOT, at 9% each.

The rise of China in the smartphone OLED market is particularly notable. A report recently released by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology titled "Comparative Analysis of High-Tech Industry Competitiveness between China and South Korea and Its Implications" pointed out that Chinese display companies are rapidly entering and expanding their presence in the mid-to-low-end smartphone, wearable devices, and automotive markets for small and medium-sized OLEDs. In 2022, South Korea held a 75.3% market share, far ahead of China. However, just two years later, by 2024, the gap between the two countries had narrowed by 8.9 percentage points. This is mainly attributed to Chinese smartphone companies such as Huawei and Xiaomi prioritizing the use of domestically produced small and medium-sized OLEDs.

Analysis from UBI Research also confirmed a similar trend. In the first half of last year, Korean panel manufacturers exceeded China in the total procurement volume of OLED light-emitting materials, approximately 36.7 tons, accounting for 59.9% of the total. However, in the smartphone light-emitting material market, China surpassed South Korea, with a quarterly market share exceeding 50%.

UBI Research stated, "Although South Korea has been overtaken by China in the smartphone OLED light-emitting material market, it still leads China in the overall OLED market. However, as Chinese panel manufacturers continue to increase shipments of smartphones and foldable phones, as well as expand shipments of IT application OLED panels, the gap between South Korea and China in the light-emitting material market is rapidly narrowing."

China's proactive facility investment is also accelerating market restructuring. According to Counterpoint Research, by 2027, China's OLED facility investment share is expected to reach 83%, six times that of South Korea.

In the LTPO OLED field, South Korean companies such as Samsung Display and LG Display firmly hold the market leadership. Apple's next generation of flagship iPhone models will all use LTPO OLED panels from South Korean companies, which is the best proof. These panels reduce power consumption by 10%-15% compared to existing panels, and their application scope is expanding, especially in the high-end smartphone segment.

According to an industry insider in South Korea, "Although China still faces challenges in the LTPO OLED field, in the high-end OLED field, whether small, medium or large size, China is rapidly catching up. On the other hand, Samsung Display is expanding its technological gap by gaining recognition in the global high-end market."

The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade pointed out, "Some assessments suggest that the gap between BOE and South Korea in OLED technology is less than one year. If we cannot widen the gap in OLED technology, we may repeat the fate of LCD, completely handing over the OLED market to China."

Original: toutiao.com/article/1854101237490697/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author."