Samsung Display saw its flexible OLED panel sales cross $1 billion for the first time in its history in the third quarter of this year. The conglomerate's display-making affiliate supplied panels not only to Samsung Electronics which accounts for a big chunk of its business but also to top Chinese manufacturers like Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo. Sales to Chinese companies helped Samsung Display cross this major milestone.
Data from market research institute IHS Market shows Samsung Display retains its number one position in the small and mid-sized display market as it accounted for 31.8 percent of the entire market. It maintains a gap double that the market share of its closest rival, Japan Display, which accounts for 15.4 percent of the market while LG Display comes third with 13.1 percent.
Samsung Display maintains its virtual monopoly in the small and medium-sized OLED market with a 96.2 percent market share in the third quarter of this year. Even though LG Display and even Chinese manufacturers have entered this market they still have a long way to go before they can effectively compete with Samsung Display in the mobile OLED arena.
Samsung is actually the only panel maker in the world that's operating the A3 line, a sixth-generation flexible OLED line at its Tangjeong plant in Chungcheong-nam-do. Flexible OLED panels manufactured here are supplied to Samsung Electronics for its mobile devices as well as a handful of Chinese manufacturers.
