LG Display Forecasted to Continue to Enjoy No. 1 Spot in OLED Market for Smart Watches

A forecast was made that China's EverDisplay would overtake Samsung Display placed second in shipments of OLED panels for smart watches. The forecast says that LG Display is expected to secure the top spot in the display market, widen the gap with its competitors.

In 2018, LG Display shipped 17.1 million OLED panels for smart watches, recently said Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), a display-specialized market research company. During the same period, Samsung Display shipped 13.7 million units.

LG Display is expected to dial up smart-watch OLED panel shipment this year, while Samsung Display to prune them compared to last year. This year, LG Display's shipments are project to hit 24.5 million units, up 40 percent from 2018. Samsung Display’s shipments are expected to sit at 11.5 million units, down 16 percent from last year.

Samsung Display is forecast to lose its second place to China's EverDisplay this year. EverDisplay is expected to ship 15 million OLED panels for smart watches in 2019. China's BOE is projected to maintain its fourth place with shipments of five million units.

Apple greatly helped LG Display to solidify its number one position in the smart watch OLED panel market. This is because Apple receives a significant amount of OLED panels for the Apple Watch from LG Display. The Apple Watch is the leader in the global smart watch market with a market share of nearly 40%.

The entire smart watch market is expected to grow steadily in 2019. Sales of OLED panels for smart watches are expected to swell by 25% year on year to US$1.5 billion in 2019. Total shipments of them are forecast to grow by 23% to 5.6 million units. This will hold 10% of total OLED panel shipments.