For the first time, China has surpassed Korea in the production of small-to-medium OLED panels. This week, China's Visionox announced a new 8.6-generation $7.6 billion OLED plant.
After ceding LCD production to Chinese display makers such as TCL CSOT and BOE, South Korea's LG Display and Samsung Display are also starting to see their stronghold in OLED production weaken.
In Q1 2024, Chinese companies accounted for 53.4% of the global small-to-medium OLED market in units, up from 44.9% in Q4 2023. During the same period, South Korean companies' share dropped from 55.1% to 46.6%, according to Sino Research.
This marks the first time China has surpassed Korea in small-to-medium OLED production, although Samsung Display still leads the segment with a 41% market share (down from 53.5% last year).
South Korea's LG Display and Samsung Display continue to dominate OLED TV panel production.
Another one
This week, Chinese display maker Visionox announced an investment of 55 billion Yuan ($7.6 billion USD) to build an 8.6-generation, or 8.6G, OLED plant in Hefei, China.
Once completed, the plant will be capable of producing 32,000 pieces of 8.6G substrates per month. These substrates can be cut into smaller displays for smartphones, tablets, laptops, watches, car dashboards and other small-to-medium sized devices.
Visionox did not provide a timeline or additional details, other than saying that the Hefei city government will invest in the project, similar to its current 6G OLED plant.
A foldable Visionox OLED panel. Photo via Yicai Global
A new wave of OLED plants
Samsung Display is also currently building an 8.6G OLED plant intended for IT devices, with plans to commence mass production in 2026.
China's BOE has announced a $9 billion investment in 8.6G OLED IT production, set to start production in late 2026. LG Display has yet to publicly commit to 8.6G IT OLED production but is reportedly moving forward with an investment.
Japan Display is hoping to establish a 8.7G OLED plant in China, while TCL CSOT is exploring OLED panel production but has yet to commit to a major investment.
The new wave of investments in OLED production capacity is fueled in large part by Apple's switch from LCD to OLED in its first iPad and later MacBook and iMac models. Apple's transition is expected to significantly accelerate OLED adoption in IT devices in general, according to market analysts.
Also read: Future of displays: Insights from our LG Display & Samsung Display visits
Last year, Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) forecast that OLED will replace LCD and make up 75% of the high-end IT market by 2026, including monitors, tablets, and laptops.
- Source: Visionox, Yicai Global
