비지니스코리아 Jasmine Choi (pr@businesskorea.co.kr)
Chinese panel manufacturer BOE is poised to overtake Samsung Display as the world leader in foldable panels by the end of the year, propelled by the aggressive market expansion of Chinese smartphone makers.
Market research firm DSCC reported on Dec. 7 that Samsung Electronics, which leads the foldable phone market in the third and fourth quarters of this year, saw its market share drop to 72%, a 14 percentage point decrease from the same period last year, which was 86%. Huawei and Honor followed, securing second and third places with 9% and 8% market share, respectively.
DSCC predicts that Samsung Electronics’ market share in the foldable phone sector will drop from 83% in the fourth quarter of last year to around 42% in the same quarter this year. This decline is attributed to the diminished impact of the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Flip5 launch, coupled with Chinese companies introducing new foldable phone models.
In contrast, Huawei and Honor are expected to rapidly increase their market influence, with projected market shares of 21% and 19%, respectively, in the fourth quarter.
This is bad news for Samsung Display, which counts Samsung Electronics as a key client. Samsung Display exclusively supplies OLED panels for Samsung Electronics’ foldable phones.
Despite these challenges, Samsung Display still maintained its lead in the foldable panel market in the third and fourth quarters of this year with a 74% market share. This is an increase from 63% in the second quarter but a 17 percentage point drop from 91% in the same period last year.
On the other hand, BOE, which had only 4% market share in the third and fourth quarters of last year, surged to 18% this year. DSCC anticipates that BOE will surpass Samsung Display’s market share by expanding its supply to Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei, Honor, and Oppo in the fourth quarter. While Samsung Display’s share is expected to fall to the mid-30s percent range, BOE is projected to rise to the mid-40s percent range. Another panel manufacturer, Visionox, is also predicted to reach an 18% market share during this period.
BOE has been a looming threat to the domestic panel industry, shifting its focus from low-profit LCDs to investing in small and medium-sized OLED panels. Recently, BOE embarked on constructing a factory for 8.6-generation IT-use OLED panels in the Chengdu region, backed by support from the Chinese government, with a total investment of US$8.8 billion. This investment is nearly triple that of Samsung Display’s investment in 8.6-generation OLED production.