AMOLED - introduction and market status - Page 3

According to reports from Korea, Apple approved BOE's OLED displays for use in the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro. This is the first time that BOE's panels will be used in one of Apple's premium iPhone models. These will be 120Hz LTPO AMOLED panels.

Interestingly, Apple will only use BOE OLEDs in models that will be sold in China, not anywhere else. This is likely because Apple is worried about trade restriction following Samsung's ITC case against BOE. According to the reports, BOE will ship around 2-3 million such displays to Apple in total.

UBI published some interesting data on Apple's smartphone OLED panels. The main supplier to Apple is Samsung Display, that shipped 124 million panels in 2024 to Apple, out of which 64 million were used in the iPhone 16 series. In 2025, Samsung will ship 125 million OLEDs to Apple (so only a slight increase), out of which 78 million will be used in the iPhone 17 series.

LG Display, Apple's second supplier, shipped 67.5 million panels to Apple in 2024, with 42 million being used in the iPhone 16 series. Next year LG Display will increase its shipments to 75.1 million units, with 45.6 million used in the iPhone 17 series. Apple's third supplier, BOE, shipped 43 million panels in 2024 to Apple (with only 6.6 million units for the iPhone 16), and this will grow to 45 to 50 million units in 2025.

We hear that the world's leading EV makers, Tesla and BYD, are both in talks with Samsung regarding the supply of automotive OLED displays. This could be a turning point for the automotive OLED market, if even one of these companies decides to adopt OLEDs in one of its main models.

It was reported already that BYD has met with Samsung Electronics regarding a potential components agreement, but now it is said that the Chinese EV maker is also interested in next-gen AMOLED displays from SDC. In a similar fashion, last week we reported that Tesla is in talks with SDC regarding an AMOLED supply for its next-gen humanoid robot product - but now we hear that it is also interested in automotive AMOLED displays.

In 2024, Li Auto introduced the Li Auto Mega electric MPV, that stirred a lot of attention - it was designed by ex-Porsche designer Ben Baum, it has distinctive looks, it has extremely high aerodynamics - and it adopts many new technologies and design ideas.

The Li Auto Mega has three different AMOLED displays. It is now reported that the supplier of these AMOLEDs is Samsung Display. For the driver and passengers, as you can see above, there are two 15.7" 3K AMOLED displays, placed side by side.

Visionox announced that it has progressing with the construction of its $7.6 billion 8.6-Gen V5 AMOLED production fab in Hefei's Xinzhan High-tech Zone, and that the structure of the main building has been completed.

Visionox says that it is progressing fast and is ahead of its original schedule. It has begun construction on February 2025. The production line, when in full capacity, will produce 32,000 monthly 8.6-Gen substrates. 

China-based LCD maker HKC aims to become an AMOLED producer, and we now have more details on its strategic plans. In 2023, HKC started a collaboration with JDI to build an eLEAP AMOLED production line in China. These plans were canceled towards the end of 2023, but the company continued to develop its AMOLED technologies, and in early 2025 it acquired Royole's AMOLED production line equipment.

Earlier this month HKC produced its first AMOLED display sample - a smartphone type panel, produced on an advanced Oxide-TFT (IGZO) backplane. 

According to reports, Samsung Display signed a deal with Mercedes-Benz for the supply of automotive AMOLED displays for Mercedes' flagship Maybach S-Class car, for its 2028 model. The contract is exclusive, which means that SDC will the be only supplier for the Maybach S-Class cars. 

According to ETNews, SDC will supply a pillar-to-pillar OLED display solution, which will cover the enter front of the car, from side to side. 

Samsung Display and BOE are fighting a legal battle in the US for quite some time. Samsung wishes to halt the import of BOE AMOLED displays into the US, mainly in the smartphone displays aftermarket. Samsung claims the BOE, and also some phone parts retailers, infringe upon Samsung's AMOLED patents.

In March 2025, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) found that BOE, Injured Gadgets Wholesale Gadget Parts indeed infringe on several of SDC's AMOLED patents. Back then the ITC decided not to impose a ban on the import of BOE's displays in the US. On July 11, however, the ITC issued a preliminary ruling in another Samsung complaint and recommended two sanctions against BOE. This is not a final ruling, but according to experts it is very seldom that the actual recommendations will be different than the preliminary ruling. The ITC's final ruling is expected in November 2025.

Samsung announced its 2025 range of foldable phones, and also two new smartwatches. So first up we have the Galaxy Z Fold7, that offers a 8" 2,600 nits (peak) 120Hz 1968x2184 foldable LTPO AMOLED and a 6.5" 1080x2520 LTPO AMOLED cover display. 

The Galaxy 7 Flip7 is the company's flagship clamshell device, with a 6.9" 2,600 nits (peak) 120Hz 1080x2520 foldable LTPO AMOLED and a 4.1" 948x1048 Super AMOLED cover display. Samsung also announced a lower-end Flip7 FE clamshell phone that has a 6.7" 2,600 nits 1080x2640 LTPO AMOLED and an external 3.4" 720x748 Super AMOLED display.