Korean rivals Samsung and LG are looking to change their strategies in the OLED display panel business to compete with each other. Samsung is going to make a substantial investment in OLED TV panel manufacturing while LG is planning to invest in smaller OLED display panels for smartphones.
According to sources in the display industry, Samsung is planning to install large OLED panel manufacturing equipment in Tangjeong, South Chungcheong Province in Q3, 2016 with an initial investment of 2-3 trillion Korean Won. Samsung Display is currently said to be conducting final tests on its eight-generation OLED panel manufacturing technology.
In the meantime, LG is said to planning an additional investment for improving its mobile OLED display panel technology. LG set up a flexible OLED panel production facility last year with an investment of 1.5 trillion Korean Won. The company also decided in Q4, 2015 an additional OLED panel production facility with an investment of 10 trillion Korean Won.
Currently, Samsung is dominating the mobile OLED panel market with a market share of 95 percent, and it has reportedly bagged a contract from Apple for manufacturing OLED displays for future iPhones. The mobile OLED panel market is estimated to reach a size of $25 billion this year. However, Samsung wants to compete with LG in the OLED TV market with its new strategy.
LG is trying to increase its market share in the mobile OLED panel market as Apple has planned to use OLED displays in its future smartphones. Moreover, Chinese smartphone manufacturers are turning towards OLED panels for their upcoming smartphones. Huawei and Xiaomi have reportedly started the development of smartphones that are equipped with OLED displays.
