AMOLED - introduction and market status
OLED displays use organic materials that emit light when electricity is applied. OLEDs enable emissive, bright, thin, flexible and efficient displays - and so OLEDs are set to replace LCDs in all display applications - from small displays to large TV sets.
An AMOLED display is an OLED display that is driven by an active matrix backplane, it is a type of OLED display that can achieve high performance. Most OLED displays such as the ones used in TVs and smartphones are actually AMOLED displays.
What does AMOLED mean?
The term AMOLED means Active-Matrix OLED. The 'active-matrix' part refers to the driving electronics, or the TFT layer. When you display an image, you actually display it line by line (sequentially) as you can only change one line at a time. An AMOLED uses a TFT which contains a storage capacitor which maintains the line pixel states, and so enables large size (and large resolution) displays.
AMOLEDs today
AMOLED displays today are used in many applications - and are most common in smartphones. Most smartphones today use AMOLED displays (over 50% of smartphones use AMOLEDs rather than LCDs), including the latest Samsung phones, and all of Apple's latest iPhone models.
AMOLED displays are also used in OLED TVs, many wearables (such as the Apple Watch), tablets, laptops, VR headsets, monitors, and more. There are also flexible, foldable (and soon rollable) AMOLED displays available today.
AMOLED vs PMOLED
A PMOLED uses a simpler kind of driver electronics - without a storage capacitor. This means that each line is turned off when you move to the next line. So let's say you have 10 rows in your display - each row will only be on 1/10 of the time. The brightness of each row has to be 10 times the brightness you'd get in an AMOLED. So you use more voltage which shortens the lifetime of the OLED materials and also results in a less efficient display. So while PMOLEDs are cheaper to make than AMOLEDs they are limited in size and resolution (the largest PMOLED is only 5", and most of them are around 1" to 3"). Most PMOLEDs are used for character display, and not to show photos or videos.
Looking to buy AMOLED displays?
Are you looking to buy AMOLED display for your project? AMOLEDs on the market range from small 1-inch ones for smartwatches through large OLEDs used in tablets and laptops - to large TV panels, up to 97" in size. Visit our OLED Marketplace, the world's most comprehensive OLED catalog, where you can browse the available panels, and let us help you find the best AMOLED supplier for your needs!
Further reading
Apple announces its 2024 iPhone 16 series, and the new Apple Watch Series 10, all with AMOLED displays
Yesterday Apple announced its 2024 iPhone 16 series, and its latest smartwatch devices - all based on OLED displays. We'll start with the the iPhone 16 that offers a 6.1" 2,000 nits (HBM) 1179x2556 Super Retina XDR LTPS AMOLED, while the iPhone 16 Plus offers a larger 6.7" 1290x2796 display. Both phones are based on Apple's latest 3nm A18 chipset offering improved performance and AI support.
The iPhone 16 Pro has a more advanced 6.3" 120Hz 2,000 nits (HBM) 1206x2622 LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED. The 16 Pro Max offers a larger 6.9" 1320x2868 AMOLED. These new phones are based on Apple's 3 nm A18 Pro chip, offer a "huge leap in battery life", support Apple Intelligence and feature new a main camera.
Huawei officially launches its Mate XT tri-folding OLED smartphone
Huawei officially announces the world's first tri-folding OLED smartphone, the Mate XT. The phone and its specifications will be unveiled on September 10, and will ship on September 20.
Huawei allows people to reserve their Mate XT phone, and already over 1.25 million people reserved it.
BOE progresses with the construction of its 8.6-Gen flexible AMOLED line in Chengdu
Towards the end of 2023, BOE officially announced its plans for a 8.6-Gen flexible LTPO AMOLED line in Chengdu. The agreement with Chengdu's local government was signed in early 2024, and in April BOE announced it is starting to construct the new fab.
Hongqi launches the 2025 Guoya luxury sedan, with the first sliding automotive OLED display
China's Hongqi launched its latest luxury executive sedan, the Guoya (国雅), as part of the Hongqi Golden Sunflower series. The model was previously known as the HongqiL1.
The Hongqi Guoya adopts a 14.2" rollable (sliding) AMOLED display for the center multimedia display. This is the first time such an automotive sliding AMOLED display is produced commercially (and the only second rollable screen following LG's 2020 rollable 65" OLED TV which is now discontinued). The AMOLED display is produced by Visionox, and we know that it adopts an Ultra-Thin-Glass cover. Visionox says that the display weights less than 250 grams, and it has been tested for over 200,000 cycles.
Audi's 2025 Q5 and SQ5 cars to feature OLED lighting and two AMOLED displays
Audi unveiled its latest Q5 and SQ5 SUVs (2025 model). Both new cars adopt OLED lighting taillights and two AMOLED displays inside the car.
The OLED taillights utilize Audi's second-generation digital OLED solutions, and has six digital OLED lighting 'panels' made from 266 separate lighting segments. Audi says that the new OLED taillights can communicate with the vehicle’s immediate surroundings (Car-to-X) - for example it warns other road users of accidents and breakdowns in the road ahead. The OLED panels and technology are provided by OLEDWorks.
Visionox shares more details on its upcoming 8.6-Gen IT AMOLED line in Hefei, construction will begin towards the end of 2024
In May 2024, Visionox announced its plan to build a new AMOLED production line, targeting the IT display market - laptops, monitors and tablets. The company said that it will best 55 billion Yuan (around $7.6 billion USD) to build a 8.6-Gen production line in Hefei, Anhui province, with a monthly capacity of 32,000 substrates.
Yesterday Visionox shared some more details about its project and plans. The company will build the new fab with support from two local government-owned firms, both of which are partners at Visionox's existing 6-Gen AMOLED line in Hefei. In the first step for this new project, the three partners (Visionox and the new government firms) will invest a total of $282 million USD. Visionox will only hold 20% of the JV.
Google launches three new smartphones, a foldable phone and a new smartwatch all powered by AMOLED displays
Google announced five new devices, all powered by AMOLED displays. We'll start with the Pixel 9 smartphone series, with the plain Pixel 9 offers a 6.3" 120Hz 2,700 nits (peak) 1080x2424 AMOLED display, a Google Tensor G4 chipset, 12GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The Pixel 9 Pro offers a 6.3" 3,000 nits (peak) 120Hz 1280x2856 LTPO AMOLED, and up to 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage. The Pixel 9 Pro XL offers a similar but larger display - 6.8" 1344x2992 LTPO AMOLED.
Google's Pixel 9 Pro Fold smartphone is based on a 8" 120Hz 2,700 nits (peak) 2076x2152 foldable LTPO AMOLED display, and an external 6.3" 120Hz 1080x2424 AMOLED. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is powered by a Google Tensor G4 chipset, and offers up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.
Huawei's Chairman is using a tri-folding smartphone, should we expect a launch soon?
Back in February we posted about rumors that suggest Huawei is planning to release the industry's first smartphone that sports a tri-foldable OLED display. When fully open, the device will sport a 10" display, which means it will double as a full tablet and a smartphone.
Now we have seen a photo of Huawei's Chairman that uses such a smartphone on a flight. This could mean that Huawei is getting ready to officially launch such a phone.
Omdia: in 2028, LTPO will overtake LTPS as the OLED backplane of choice for smartphones, by 2031 520 million LTPO smartphones will ship
Omdia says that in 2028, LTPO will overtake LTPS as the leading smartphone OLED backplane technology. By 2031, smartphone LTPO OLED panel shipments will reach 520 million units, with a 52% market share (of all smartphone OLED displays).
Omdia sees the smartphone OLED market rising in the next 10 years. In 2031, over one billion OLED smartphone panels will ship. In 2024, Omdia sees a sharp increase of 24% in smartphone OLED shipments (compared to 2023), which will surpass 800 million units.
Samsung Display reports increased demand for mobile AMOLEDs and gaming monitors in Q2 2024
Samsung Display posted its financial results for Q2 2024, with $5.5 billion in sales and $730 million in operating profit. The company says that its mobile AMOLED unit have seen sales growth, driven by solid demand for flagship products, along with effectively supporting new smartphone launches from key customers (i.e. mostly Apple).
SDC also saw increased sales of both IT OLEDs (mostly tablets and laptops), and gaming monitor panels. The company reported stable sales of QD-OLED TV panels.
