What is an OLED display?
OLED is short for Organic Light Emitting Diode, a device composed of thin carbon-based films placed between two electrodes that creates light with the application of electricity. Unlike other screen technologies, (like LCDs), which require backlighting, OLED displays are emissive devices - they emit light rather than manipulate transmitted external light.
OLEDs provide brighter, crisper colors and contrast on electronic devices and use less power than conventional light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used today. This revolutionary technology is fit for various types of screens, like computer screens, mobile phones, tablets, TVs and more. OLED screens are light, thin, high-resolution and contain individually-lit pixels that make for true blacks and superior color contrast.
The current OLED tablet market
OLED displays are already very common on mobile phones (in fact it is the dominant technology, with a market share of over 50%), as Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi and others adopt OLED displays in their smartphones.
OLEDs are also used in tablets, and this is a growing market. Samsung, Microsoft, Huawei and others are already shipping OLED-powered tablets. In 2024 Apple launched its first OLED tablets, the 2024 iPad Pro devices. It is likely that Apple's move will cause an increased adoption of OLEDs in tablets from other companies.
Click here for a full list of the latest OLED tablets on the market.
LG Display reported its Q2 2024 financial results, boosted by tablet AMOLED shipments to Apple
LG Display reported its financial results for Q2 2024 - with revenues reaching $4.85 billion (an increase of 42% compared to last year) and a net loss of $67 million (down from around $637 million in 2023).
LG Display benefited greatly from Apple's introduction of its 2024 iPad pro tablets, for which LGD is the main AMOLED supplier. The company is also expecting to sell a record number of iPhone AMOLED panels later this year. LGD says that the proportion of OLED products rose 10% of its total sales, reaching 52% - which means that OLED is now the company's main product line in terms of revenues.
Omdia: shipments of OLEDs over 9-inch in size will soar 124% in 2024
According to Omdia, sales of OLED panels in sizes over 9-inch (the company refers to these as Large Area Displays) will increase 124.6% in 2024. In 2023, the market contracted 25.7%, with the only exception being OLED monitor panels that grew in shipments.
In 2024, Omdia says that all application areas will see an increase in shipments - TVs, monitors, tablets and laptops. Only the company's "other" category will see a decrease in sales. In particular, tablet OLED shipments are projected to increase by 294% compared to 2023, largely due to Apple's adoption of OLEDs in the 2024 iPad Pro tablets. Laptop OLED sales will increase 152.6%, and monitors OLEDs will increase 139.9%. Finally, OLED TV panel shipments will increase 34.8%.
DSCC: demand for AMOLEDs to increase, but the market will remain in oversupply
DSCC says that the AMOLED industry (mainly smartphones and IT applications) is still in oversupply, and this will remain so until 2028 - but demand is expected to increase faster than capacity and so the oversupply will gradually decline to 2028.
Regarding OLED TVs, demand will increase and fab utilization will improve - but in this market DSCC also sees an oversupply situation to 2028 at least (a surplus of 22% in 2028).
DSCC sees OLED market revenues growing 12% in 2024 helped by Apple's first OLED tablets
DSCC says OLED revenues are expected to grow 12% in 2024 and reach $44 billion. OLED panel shipments will grow 18% in 2024. The fastest growing OLED market segments are tablets and monitors.
OLED tablet panel shipments will increase 202% in 2024, and this will result in a 632% increase in revenues, driven mostly by Appe's first adoption of OLED panels in its 13" and 11.1" iPad Pro tablets. OLED monitors will grow slower, but still impressively - 80% in shipments, and 45% in revenues.
DSCC: OLED tablet shipments to increase 130% in Q1 2024, as Apple starts to adopt OLEDs in iPads
DSCC says that shipments of OLED for tablets in Q1 2024 rose 131% from last year, to reach 1.72 million units, as Apple started to adopt OLEDs in its iPad tablets. In fact, shipments to Apple represented 47% of all OLED shipments in the quarter (following by Huawei at 25% and Samsung at 17%).
DSCC sees the growth continuing to accelerate - and in Q2 2024 shipments will rise to 3.9 million units, or up 333% from Q2 2023, as Apple, Microsoft, Huawei and Samsung will all enjoy an increase in OLED tablet sales.
DNP starts producing 8-Gen FMM masks at its new $140 million Kuosaki plant
Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) announced that it has started mass producing fine metal masks (FMM) at its new production line at Kurosaki Plant, in Fukuoka, Japan. DNP invested $140 million to expand the production line.
8-Gen and 6-Gen FMM samples (DNP)
The new production line is producing masks suitable for 8-Gen substrates. As the OLED industry is moving to expand its IT AMOLED display production for laptops, monitors and tablets, companies are building larger (8.7-Gen mostly) production lines that require these larger masks. While the company is already producing at the new fab, it will also announced that it may gradually expand production further at the new line, depending on market demand.
Visionox announces plans to build a $7.6 billion 8.6-Gen AMOLED line in Hefei
Visionox is the latest company to announce 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.
Visionox's production line will have a monthly capacity of 32,000 substrates. The company did not share any details regarding the timeline of this project, or its financing.
Rumors suggest Lenovo is developing a tablet with Samsung's slidable 17-inch AMOLED display
There are some reports that Lenovo is developing a new tablet device that will use Samsung's 17" slidable AMOLED display. The display will be 13" in size when closed, and will be able to roll (slide) up to 17". Lenovo hopes to launch the tablet by 2025.
Back in 2022, Intel demonstrated a laptop device with a 17" rollable AMOLED display, produced by Samsung Display. Since then SDC demonstrated several similar concepts, including a panel that is both foldable and rollable.
Some Apple iPad Pro customers complain of noticeable grain in the new OLED tablets
Earlier this month Apple announced its 2024 iPad Pro devices, Apple's first tablets with AMOLED displays, using tandem panels produced by LG Display and Samsung Displays. Some customers have complained about an annoying grain pattern in the new display:
This is especially noticeable in dark environments. It seems as if the 11" model is more affected by the 13" one. The 11" panel is produced exclusively by Samsung Display, while the 13" is made by both Samsung and LG Display. It could be that this is a problem only at Samsung's panels.
Omdia: sales OLED tablet and laptop to reach 99 million units in 2031
Omdia estimates that OLED display shipments for laptops and tablets will grow from around 8 million units in 2023 to around 99 million units in 2031, a CAGR of 37%. We have already seen major laptop and tablet brands starting to adopt OLEDs in their latest devices, including Apple and Microsoft just recently.
Omdia says that in 2022 and 2023, the demand for laptops and tablets actually slowed, but new laptops with AI capabilities are now being introduced, and Omdia expects a recovery in demand for mobile PCs following the discontinuation of Windows 10 support in the second half of 2025.
