OLED Gaining on LCD as Smartphone Display of Choice, Says IHS

OLED will overtake LCD as the leading display technology for mobile devices by 2020 said an IHS Markit report Monday. AMOLED displays with a low-temperature polysilicon backplane will be 36 percent of all smartphone display shipments in 2020, said IHS. “While OLED is currently more difficult to manufacture, uses more complicated materials and chemical processes, and requires a keen focus on yield-rate management, it is an increasingly attractive technology for smartphone brands,” said David Hsieh, IHS analyst. OLED displays are thinner and lighter than LCD displays and they deliver better color performance, including the potential for flexible design form factors that can lead to "more innovative design,” Hsieh said. Samsung is using OLED displays in its smartphones and demand is increasing from Chinese smartphone brands Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Meizu, among others, said Hsieh. Apple is expected to use OLED displays in upcoming iPhone models because flexible displays from thinner and lighter plastic “have drawn Apple’s attention,” Hsieh said. Apple’s adoption of OLED displays will be a “milestone” for the industry, he said. Samsung Display, LG Display, Sharp, JDI, Boe, Tianma Microelectronics, Gvo, Truly Semiconductors and China Star Optoelectronics also are starting to ramp AMOLED manufacturing capacities and devote more resources to technology development, he said. Many of the fabs under construction, especially in China, have had to add OLED evaporation and encapsulation tools because OLED penetration has been “more rapid than previously expected,” he said. Global AMOLED manufacturing capacity will grow from 5 million square meters in 2014 to 30 million square meters in 2020, IHS forecast.