Samsung Display's influence within Apple's smartphone display supply chain is rapidly expanding. As panel supply volumes to Apple increased by 48% over the past two years, Samsung Display's market share has approached 60%. The display industry anticipates that Samsung Display will further broaden its position in Apple's supply chain by supplying panels for Apple's first foldable phone.
According to market research firm Omdia on the 30th, Apple's procurement of smartphone displays in the first half of this year was estimated at approximately 118.9 million units. Of this, Samsung Display supplied 69.9 million units, accounting for 58.8% of the total. This means that roughly 6 out of every 10 smartphone panels procured by Apple are products from Samsung Display.
Samsung Display's share within Apple's supply chain has been steadily expanding. Its market share rose from 48.9% in the first half of 2024 to over 53% in the first half of last year, and further increased to 58.8% in the first half of this year. This represents a rise of 9.9 percentage points in two years.
In particular, Samsung Display boosted its market share by increasing supply volumes during Apple's expansion of panel procurement. Apple's total panel procurement grew from 96.45 million units in the first half of 2024 to 118.9 million units in the first half of this year, an increase of 22.45 million units. Over the same period, Samsung Display's supply volume increased by 22.7 million units, from 47.2 million to 69.9 million units. While the absolute increase was similar, Samsung Display's existing supply volume was at about half of Apple's total procurement. Consequently, Samsung Display's supply growth rate reached 48.1%, more than double the growth rate of Apple's total panel procurement (23.3%).
The expansion of Samsung Display's position is even more pronounced when compared with competitors. Over the same period, LG Display's supply to Apple increased from 23.5 million units to 29.1 million units, but its market share remained nearly unchanged at 24.5%, up slightly from 24.4%. Chinese firm BOE saw its supply volume stagnate, rising only from 19.71 million to 19.9 million units, causing its market share to drop from 20.4% to 16.7%. Supply figures for Sharp and Japan Display (JDI), which supplied 3.99 million and 2.05 million units respectively in the first half of 2024, were not tallied for the first half of this year.
Samsung Display's position within Apple is extending to the foldable product line as well. Samsung Display effectively holds a monopoly on supplying the foldable OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels installed in the 'iPhone Duo' unveiled by Apple. This marks an expansion of its supply scope from existing bar-shaped iPhones to high-value-added foldable products.
Samsung Display's foldable OLED business is also expected to expand. Omdia projected that the share of foldable products in Samsung Display's smartphone OLED revenue will rise from 3% in the first quarter of this year to 13.0% in the second quarter, reaching 29.7% in the third quarter.
A display industry official stated, "Apple is expected to expand its foldable product lineup starting with the foldable iPhone," adding, "As Samsung Display leads panel supply for Apple's foldable products, its position within Apple's supply chain is projected to be further strengthened."
in INDUSTRY
