A couple of weeks ago, Samsung Display climbed up the ranks to become the industry's largest display supplier once again, and now the company expects its business to ramp up even more in 2020, as demand for OLED panels is likely to surge in the 5G era.
5G will become available in more markets next year, and numerous OEMs will try to capitalize on this by releasing a larger number of 5G-enabled phones. This is a big opportunity for Samsung Display, as OLED panels are the perfect fit for 5G smartphones thanks to their thinner profile. Compared to LCD panels, OLEDs allow OEMs to equip their devices with more generous batteries, larger screens, and additional sensors.
5G to fuel the OLED market, and Samsung Display will reap the benefits
In Samsung Display's own words cited by The Korea Times, ‘an increasing number of phone makers are expected to adopt more OLED displays for their 5G smartphones' next year.
Likewise, according to the Korean publication citing industry research firm IDC, the 5G smartphone market is expected to increase by a whopping 17 times next year. 11 million 5G smartphones are said to have been shipped in 2019, but IDC expects the figure to increase to about 190 million next year.
On top of that, IDC forecasts an annual growth rate of 164% for the 5G market, with 540 million 5G handsets likely to be commercialized in 2023. Samsung Display is, by far, the biggest OLED manufacturer in the world with an 86% market share as of Q1 2019, which means that its OLED business could grow at a similarly fast pace over the next few years.
