AMOLED Panels Account for Nearly 20 Percent of Smartphone Display Shipments in Q3, IHS Says

Higher adoption of active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) panels by Samsung and other mobile phone makers helped push penetration of full high-definition (FHD) panels to 21 percent of the smartphone display market in Q3, an IHS report said. Increasing demand from Chinese smartphone makers and the iPhone 6s Plus also fueled growth in unit shipments of FHD panels, IHS said. AMOLED displays were 18 percent of all smartphone display unit shipments in Q3, up from 10 percent in the year-ago quarter, as Samsung Display began selling the panels to external customers including Gionee, Huawei, Lenovo, Meizu, Oppo and vivo in the second half 2015, IHS said. Samsung has relied on AMOLED as a key differentiating feature in its Galaxy smartphones for the past six years, promoting the technology’s color performance, on-cell touch technology and slimmer, lighter form factors. In addition, Google Nexus 6P, the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL and the recently announced BlackBerry Priv have AMOLED displays, David Hsieh, IHS analyst, noted. “The simpler structure and better picture performance of AMOLED screens may even encourage Apple to consider adopting the technology in the future,” Hsieh said. Meanwhile, shipments of 5-inch-and-larger displays surpassed those of smaller displays for the first time in Q3, IHS said. Unit shipments of 5-inch-and-larger displays grew 21 percent to reach 247 million units in Q3, as under-5-inch displays slipped to 156 million units, it said. Unit shipments of 5-inch smartphone panels jumped from 93 million in Q2 to 104 million in Q3, the first time 5-inch panel shipments topped 100 million units in a single quarter, IHS said. The iPhone 6s Plus and other larger smartphones made in China drove the 5.5-inch smartphone panel market to 79.8 million units in Q3, IHS said. Consumers may be reaching their smartphone size limit. Screen sizes of 6 inches and larger “have not been as popular with smartphone buyers” and growth in that segment has been “marginal,” IHS said.