Samsung could build 240M AMOLEDs for future iPhones in the next 3 years

iPhone 6 inside view retina hd display

LG Display, Japan Display, AU Optronics, Samsung Display and Foxconn-owned Sharp are all said to share production of AMOLED panels for future iPhones, with Samsung alone providing an estimated 240 million AMOLED units in the next three years beginning inĀ 2017, DigiTimes Research predictedĀ yesterday.

Samsung is the world’s top producer of AMOLED panels. When deployed to the iPhone, this technology will result in crisper colors, deeper blacks, increased brightness, high visibility under direct sunlight and reduced power consumption.

ā€œApple is expected to initially adopt AMOLED panels for iPhones to be launched in 2017, with Samsung Display’s supply estimated at 40 million units in 2017, 80 million units in 2018 and 120 million units in 2019,ā€ notes the article.

As the world’s top producer of thoseĀ panels, Samsung Display is expected to maintain its leading status as an AMOLED supplier over the next few years. The South Korean company uses theĀ efficient AMOLED panels in its flagship devices such as the Galaxy S smartphone series.

It is estimated that Samsung Electronics, which is Samsung Display’s largest client for smartphone-use AMOLED panels, will need 290 million AMOLEDs in 2019 versus 239 million units shipped to them in 2016.

As rumors beganĀ swirling that Apple’sĀ beenĀ gearing up to make a major technology switch from the LCD IPS display technology to AMOLED for a tenth anniversary iPhone in 2017, several Chinese phone vendors have either deployed or have announced plans to adopt AMOLED panels in the future, including Vivo, Huawei, Oppo, Lenovo and GiONEE.

Samsung Display is estimated to ship 150 million AMOLED units to theseĀ Chinese vendors in 2019, a notable increase over just 99 million AMOLEDs in 2016. Samsung’s global AMOLED shipments should increase to an estimated 560 million units in 2019, a 114 percent boost from 2015.

However, Samsung Display may begin to face competition in 2019 or 2020 as a bunch of Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese vendors are reportedly planning a build-up of new AMOLED production lines, which are capital-intensive.

Source: DigiTimes, DigiTimes Research