Foldable OLEDs: introduction and market status

Yesterday Apple launched several new products, all featuring high-end LTPO AMOLED displays. We'll start with the most interesting device, Apple's first foldable smartphone.

Apple's iPhone Duo features a 7.6" 120Hz 3,000 nits (peak) 1878x2670 foldable LTPO AMOLED display, plus an external 5.4" 120Hz 1398x2034 LTPO AMOLED. Both displays are produced by Samsung Display. The iPhone Duo will launch in October 2026, starting at $1999.

According to a report from Korea, Apple is expected to increase its tablet OLED and foldable OLED panel orders from Samsung Display next year, from 10 million units in 2026 to 24 million units in 2027 - that's more than double in shipments. Samsung Display is already getting ready to increase its production capabilities for Apple.

The reports suggest that foldable OLED shipments will reach 8 million units in 2026, and 15 million units in 2027. Apple's iPad OLED shipments will grow from 2 million units in 2026 to 9 million units in 2027, that's over 4X growth in one year, as Apple is expanding the use of OLED displays across its iPad lineup.

As Apple gets ready to announce the first foldable iPhone later this week, Samsung Display has already started to mass produce foldable OLED panels to Apple's first foldable iPhone, at its Asan, Korea hub, while the modules are produced in its Vietnam's module factory. According to the reports, Apple's first order is for a total of 3 million displays that will ship in 2026. Samsung is the exclusive supplier of foldable panels to Apple, and Apple actually signed a 3-year exclusivity deal with SDC.

According to the latest news from Japan, Apple is facing technical issues, mainly with the production of the hinge component of the iPhone Fold (which could be named iPhone Ultra). In fact, this component is so challenging, that Apple's suppliers can only produce a few hundreds of units per day.

Samsung Display has unveiled new foldable OLED displays that offer better viewing angles, branding it as "Wide-View OLED" displays. The new panels are 7.6" in size.

SDC says that one of the challenges with foldable displays has been the uneven brightness around curved and folded areas. In fact, the company says that in current commercial foldable OLEDs, the brightness from the side, on curved sections, can fall to about 40% compared to a direct flat view. The new Wide-View OLEDs offer much improved image consistency. 

A few months ago, we reported that Samsung Display is looking to expand its foldable and flexible OLED production capacity, and build a new fab in Asan, Korea. Later we reported that SDC has finalized the plan, which calls for an expansion of its A4 production line and the addition of 15,000 monthly substrates. The expansion plan, which is part of Korea's strategic plan for a next-generation semiconductors and displays production base in Asan, carried a price tag of $2.5 billion.

According to the latest news form Korea, Samsung Display has indeed approved its latest Asan expansion plan, but it will build a new fab, which will be called the A7 line. The company will soon start the equipment bidding process, and will begin construction in early 2027. Full scale production will begin, if all works well, in early 2028. The new A7 line will produce flexible AMOLED displays, with a focus on foldable smartphone panels.

Google announced its 2026 Google Pixel 11 smartphone family, with four different models, all based on high-end LTPO AMOLED displays.

We'll begin with the Google Pixel 11, that has a 6.3" 1080x2424 1-120Hz 3,000 nits (peak) LTPO AMOLED. The Google Pixel 11 Pro has a similar display, but with higher brightness (3,600 nits).

Last month Samsung Electronics announced its latest foldable OLED smartphone lineup, the Galaxy Z8, with three models, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8. Last week we reported that the new series set a record preorder sales, with over 1.44 million preorders in Korea in the first week.

It turns out that the new wide-format Z Fold 8 is especially popular, and Samsung has decided to produce more units than it anticipated, and has reached out to its component suppliers asking to add 1 million units, bringing the total production to over 3 million units. Samsung expects to sell around 6 million foldable smartphones of the new series in 2026, which means that the wide-format Z Fold 8 will account for over 50% of total sales in the series.

In May 2025, Huawei launched it first foldable OLED laptop, the MateBook Fold, sporting a 18-inch 1,600 nits 3300 x 2200 foldable LTPO tandem-stack AMOLED display. When folded, the display is 13-inch in size. The laptop started shipping in June 2025, with a price tag that started at 23,999 RMB ($3,300 at the time).,

The company today announced an update to the foldable laptop - the MateBook Fold Ultimate Design. The new device, has a price range of 24,999 - 29,999 RMB (or $3,700 - $4,450 USD).

Last month Samsung Electronics announced its latest foldable OLED smartphone lineup, the Galaxy Z8, with three models, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8.

It is now reported in Korea that in the first week of preorders, the new series set a record with over 1.44 million preorders. This surpasses the Galaxy Note 10 in 2019 with 1.38 million orders, the Galaxy S26 this year, with 1.35 million preorders in a week, and the 2025 Galaxy Z7 lineup with 1.04 million. 

Samsung Electronics announced its financial results for Q2 2026, with $120 billion USD in revenues - a company's record - up 28% from the previous quarter, and an operating profit of $62.5 billion, also a record for Samsung. These excellent results were mainly driven by high demand for its foundry, device and memory businesses.

Samsung Display posted revenues of $5.2 billion, and an operating profit of $488 million, an improvement over the last quarter, based on solid demand for high-end mobile AMOLED panels. It's large-area QD-OLED business also reported expanded sales, as shipments to the gaming monitor market grew.