BOE Display - Page 8

UBI Research estimates hat shipments of OLED panels for IT applications (tablets, monitors and laptops) will reach 48.8 million units by 2027, growing from around 9.5 million units in 2022 (a CAGR of 39%).

In 2022-2024, the main application for OLED panels is in laptops, but this will change from 2025 and onwards as tablets will also become a dominant applications (as Apple will start adoping OLEDs in its high-end iPads).

OLED makers are gearing up to increase production of IT OLED panels, used in laptops, monitors and tablets. Towards that, analysts expects over 10 8.5-Gen OLED lines under consideration now in the industry. This drive is led by Samsung Display that confirmed is is building a 8-Gen (2200x2500 mm) OLED production line, that will begin production in 2024.

A 8-Gen (or actually 8.5-Gen) fab uses 2200x2500mm glass substrates. According to a new report in Korea, Samsung actually decided to adopt a larger glass - a 8.7-Gen 2290x2620 mm. The ~10cm increase will increase production efficiency by around 9%, but this means that current 8.5-Gen LCD equipment that Samsung hoped to use will not be usable any more.

As Sichuan province in China suffers from a record heat wave, and the local authorities announces power rationing, limiting power supply to factories in the area.

BOE has two 6-Gen OLED production lines in Sichuan (the B7 line in Chengdu which started operation in 2017, and the line in Mianyang). The company says that it will have to "make adjustments" to its operations in both lines, but it does not expect any major impact on its operations.

DSCC says that in Q2 2022, OLED panel revenues increased 12% compared to Q2 2021, while shipment units declined 3%. Fewer OLEDs were shipped, but revenues increased as we've seen an increased growth in high value panels (gaming, monitors, laptops, automotive, etc) and also an improved form factor adoption in smartphones.

In Q2 2022, smartphones remained the largest OLED application with a 76% unit and revenue share. OLED smartwatches had a 16% unit share (and a 6% revenue share), and OLED TVs had a 11% revenue share (up from 8% in Q1 2022).

There's a new report that suggests that Samsung Electronics is looking into adopting OLED displays made by BOE for its Galaxy Watch 6 smartwatch (which will be released in 2023).

The same report also suggests that Samsung Electronics is looking into adopting BOE OLEDs in premium smartphones.

DSCC estimates that the OLED market will increase 2% in 2022, to reach $42 billion. Revenues for smartphones, the leading OLED application, will actually decline by 4%, but this will be offset by increases in other applications.

In fact, some applications will experience very fast growth: OLED monitors (641% unit growth, 279% revenue growth), OLED laptops (64% units, 39% revenue) and automotive displays (73% units, 68% revenue).

Omdia says that the market share of Korea's OLED producers, SDC and LGD is eroding, as Chinese OLED makers increase their OLED shipments. A main driver is Apple's increased iPhone AMOLED orders from BOE.

Omdia says that BOE's market share has increased from 5.6% in 2019 to almost 12% in 2022 (first quarter). The market share of all AMOLED makers in China is now above 20%, from from less than 10% in 2019.

According to reports, Apple finalized its supply plans for the iPhone 14 series, and the US phone maker decided to add BOE to its new iPhone supplier list.

This is the first time that BOE manages to become a new iPhone supplier (the company already produces AMOLED displays for refurbished iPhones). According to the latest report, Apple ordered a total of 90 million OLED displays: 60 million from Samsung, 25 million from LGD and 5 million from BOE (which will so supply 5.5% of the total orders).

Reports from Korea suggest that BOE has decided to adopt LG Chem's blue host material in its AMOLED displays, replacing its current supplier, Idemitsu Kosan.

LG Chem has been focused on soluble OLED materials, and it acquired Dupont's soluble OLED IP in 2019. But in recent years it has started to develop evaporation OLED materials, and it has now secured the design win at BOE. It is understood that BOE chose LG Chem over Idemitsu as its materials offer longer lifetime and lower costs.

According to reports from Korea, Apple has started to sign agreements regarding the supply of OLED displays for the next iPhone model (iPhone 14). As always, the main supplier will be Samsung Display, which will supply 80 million units of its latest LTPO AMOLED display (M12 stack) to Apple.

Apple is set to release four iPhone models. The iPhone 14 (6.1-inch), 14 Plus (6.7-inch), 14 Pro (6.1-inch) and 14 Pro Max (6.7-inch).