Global smartphone shipments are expected to fall 13% in this year as the covid-19 outbreak affects consumer demand and supply chain, but the global market for AMOLED smartphone displays can overcome the crisis and is expected to grow 9% in this year, would up to 513 million units from 471 million of 2019.
Global smartphone brand companies are increasingly upgraded their product lines to AMOLED display technology, even affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Apple is expected to increase its AMOLED iPhones from two in 2019 to three in 2020. Meanwhile, Chinese smartphone OEMs are expected to increase the quantity of high-end smartphones with AMOLED panels this year.
The growth comes entirely from demand for flexible AMOLED units, which are expected to increase shipments by 50% by 2020. Demand for smartphones with flexible oled module and oled touch screen is helping to the sales growth of AMOLED. And the reason of oled screen sizes were increased from 3.2 inch oled to 5.5 inch oled or 6.5 oled screen sizes, In meanwhile, the rigid AMOLED market is expected to decline by 12% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 and intense competition with alternative display technology – low temperature polysilicon (LTPS)TFT LCD.
Smartphone shipments of AMOLED panels increased to 471 million units in 2019, increased 16% from 2018. As a result, AM OLED display module rose 4 % and up to 30% on the smartphone display market in year 2019 .Among them, shipments of rigid color OLED panels increased to 313 million units, up 26% from 2018. Growth from Chinese smartphone OEMs was the main reason for the increase of rigid AMOLED panels.
However, shipments of flexible AMOLED panels declined slightly to 158 million units on last year, decreased 1% from 2018. Demand for Apple and Samsung smartphones with flexible AMOLED display panels in 2019 is lower than expected. In addition, Chinese smartphone OEMs did not expand their AMOLED smartphone in 2019.
As for panel suppliers, Samsung’s display shipped 407 million AMOLED panels for smartphones in 2019, up 8 percent from 2018, helping the company dominate the market with an 86% of unit shipments for the year.
But Samsung display’s share of total AMOLED panel continues to decline. Meanwhile, other oled manufacturers, such as Boe, Tianma, Visionox, increased OLED module shipments. Excluding samsung displays, total AMOLED panel shipments increased 113% to 64 million units in 2019.
In terms of AMOLED panel purchases by smartphone OEMs, Samsung’s purchases increased 3% in 2019 to 194 million units due to an increase in rigid AMOLED shipments. But apple’s panel purchases fell 24% to 56 million units.
Meanwhile, Chinese OEMs had a sharp increase in panel purchases, with Huawei and Xiaomi increasing their purchases by 287% and 120% to 73 million and 20 million units,.Both companies have increased the adoption rate of AM OLED display to replace tft lcd in their mid-to-high-end smartphone product lines in 2019.
