Apple and AI drive growth in notebook OLEDs... Samsung Display and LG Display target the high-value market

[Financial News] Expectations are growing that South Korea’s display industry will benefit as Apple is expected to expand its adoption of OLED in IT devices such as laptops. Samsung Display and LG Display, which have focused on high-value-added OLEDs, are responding to rising demand by expanding production and developing new technologies.
According to industry sources on the 14th, IT devices such as MacBook Pro are expected to account for 4.1% of Apple’s annual OLED panel demand this year, rising to 12.5% by 2030.
Analysts say that as Apple’s OLED demand, previously centered on iPhones, expands to MacBooks, growth in the laptop OLED market will also accelerate. Apple is preparing to unveil a next-generation MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen at the end of this month, and is also working to bring OLED to the iMac around 2029–2030.
Apple’s expanded adoption of OLED is expected to benefit South Korea’s display industry, which has been shifting its business toward high-value-added products. As price competition with Chinese companies intensifies in the conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) market, South Korean companies are focusing on strengthening their OLED technology and broadening its applications. OLED also has an advantage over LCD in that it requires fewer components, such as color filters and polarizers, making lightweight, low-power designs possible—a benefit that is helping drive wider adoption of OLED in IT devices.
OLED adoption is expected to continue expanding, particularly in premium products, despite weakness in the overall laptop market. Counterpoint Research forecast that global laptop panel shipments will fall 3% this year from the previous year, while shipments of OLED panels for laptops will rise 50%. OLED panel shipments are also expected to increase 24% next year.
Demand for premium artificial intelligence (AI) PCs is also expected to support growth in the laptop OLED market. Because these devices need to handle AI processing on-device while maintaining battery life, tandem OLEDs—which improve both brightness and power efficiency—could become a new option. Tandem OLEDs can use less power than conventional single-layer OLEDs, and are considered suitable for high-performance IT devices such as AI laptops.
South Korean companies plan to respond actively to demand. Samsung Display began mass production at its new 8.6-generation OLED line for IT devices last July. Its strategy is to raise production yields and strengthen cost competitiveness in order to expand OLED supply to the IT market, including laptops. It is supplying Lenovo with laptop tandem OLEDs featuring improved brightness and lifespan. Products equipped with these panels are also expected to launch in stages from ASUS, Dell, MSI and other manufacturers.
LG Display is highlighting its next-generation OLED manufacturing technology. Its strategy is to target the IT OLED market first with FLiPP, a technology that creates pixels without a fine metal mask (FMM). The technology can make maximum use of existing OLED production facilities and improve production efficiency by processing large glass substrates whole, without cutting them, thereby reducing material waste. LG Display plans to begin applying it to IT products such as laptops, with the specific start of mass production to be decided in consultation with customers.
“Rising memory prices are acting as a wild card, but Apple is maintaining its course of expanding the range of products that use OLED,” an industry official said. “We expect opportunities for domestic panel makers to broaden as the shift to OLED for IT devices accelerates.”
[email protected] Park Ji-yeon Reporter