Samsung Display is investing heavily in OLED displays in anticipation for the iPhone 8 in 2017, according to a new report. The South Korean company believes that other smartphone makers will also follow suit, and it’s fighting for a piece of that pie!
Reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is confident Apple will shift to OLED displays for next year’s iPhones. The company has been using LCD displays since the product’s inception, but OLED technology is now considered to be superior — and better on battery life.
With the move now planned, OLED display makers want to be ready for it. DigiTimes, citing a report out of Japan, claims that Samsung Display will invest around $6.82 billion this year alone to expand its OLED production capacity by 50 percent.
“The added OLED panel production capacity will be sufficient for production of 200 million units of smartphones, compared to Samsung’s current capacity of 300 million OLED panels for smartphones, said the paper.”
There is a risk that Samsung will manufacture too many OLED panels, which would have an impact on profitability, the report adds. But that’s the risk the company must take to ensure that it is ready to take on any big orders.
LG Display is also said to be investing big money in the coming years to increase its own OLED panel production for both smartphones and TV, while JDI will spend around $479 million next year to do the same.
