Although foldable smartphones remain a relatively rare sight, they don't seem to be just a passing fad. Market researchers cited by The Korea Times now expect demand for foldable OLED displays to increase a hundredfold over the next 5 years compared to 2019.
Meanwhile, demand for foldable OLED panels is likely to soar high enough to the point where the market will ship a total of 3.9 million foldable displays by the end of 2020, up from 700,000 in 2019. But by the end of 2025, shipments for foldable displays should top 73.1 million units, according to the research firm.
A couple of months gack, Samsung Display was reportedly working on quadrupling the production of foldable displays for smartphones by the end of 2020 in anticipation of higher demand. These panels will serve Samsung's mobile division as well as other clients.
Samsung Electronics might benefit the most from this boost in foldable display output
For now, Samsung Electronics remains the most relevant foldable smartphone manufacturer in the world, and if this trend continues, the company will benefit the most from the surge in foldable display manufacturing over the next 5 years. Huawei seemed to be a threat to Samsung's foldable lineup at first, but the OEM appears to have been left behind by the Korean giant. Meanwhile, Royole – another foldable device manufacturer from China – doesn't seem to be going nowhere for the time being.
Samsung, on the other hand, already released two foldable smartphone models – the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip. The company is now gearing up for the release of the Galaxy Fold 2 in August, and it's almost a certainty that more foldable models will be coming out of Samsung's factory gates next year.
