From slowdown of iPhone 12 sales
Shipment of flexible OLED panels will be around 57 million units in the second quarter this year, a drop of 35% from the previous quarter, according to market research firm Omdia.
The drop is due to the second quarter being the off-season and declining shipment of Apple’s iPhones.
Flexible OLED shipment will however, increase 54.1% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, rigid OLED panel shipment will be around 53 million units in the second quarter, Omdia said.
The level shipment volume between flexible and rigid OLED panels is due to more flexible OLED panels being used.
Previously, flexible OLED panels were used by Samsung for its flagship Galaxy S and Note smartphones, Apple’s iPhones and Huawei’s smartphones.
But it is seeing increased use in flagship smartphones for other brands. Chinese panel makers BOE and CSOT are also increasing their production of flexible OLED panels.
According to Omdia, Samsung Display is expected to ship 39.1 million units of flexible OLED panels in the second quarter, a drop of 42.8% from the previous quarter and increase of 61.6% from the same time period a year ago. LG Display will move 10.6 million units of flexible OLED panel in the second quarter, a drop of 41.1% from the previous quarter and increase of 55.9% from the same imte period a year ago.
Both Samsung Display and LG Display manufacture flexible OLED panels for Apple’s iPhones.
Samsung Display’s other customer, Samsung Electronics, is seeing its sales of the Galaxy S series decline. The Galaxy S1 series was launched earlier than usual this year, so the flexible OLED panel shipment for those models were already reflected on the first quarter.
Samsung Display will begin production of panels for Samsung’s upcoming foldable smartphones in the second quarter. The volume is expected to millions of units.
Meanwhile, according to Omdia, BOE is expected to ship 7.9 million flexible OLED panels in the second quarter. This is a 5.3% increase from the previous quarter but a drop of 31.9% from a year ago. This year-on-year drop is due to its strategic customer Huawei’s contraction of ifs smartphone business.
Omdia expects CSOT, Visionox and Tianma to ship 3.1 million units, 2.1 million units, and 1.4 million units of flexible OLED panels in the second quarter, retrospectively. CSOT will see a 93.8% increase from the previous quarter as it is supply the foldable panel and flexible OLED panel for Xioami’s Mi Mix Fold and new smartphones.
Meanwhile, last year, according to Omdia, Samsung Display shipped a total of 205.8 million units of flexible OLED panels last year. This is a 45.1% increase from 2019. LG Display moved 57.77 million units of flexible OLED panels in 2020, which includes smartphones and smartwatches. It is a 77% increase from 2019. BOE moved 35.6 million units of flexible OLED panels in 2020.
