BOE, China’s largest display manufacturer, surpassed South Korea’s Samsung Display to claim the top position in the foldable panel market. According to market research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), BOE had a market share of 42 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, securing the leading position. In contrast, Samsung Display saw its market share fall from 76 percent in the third quarter of 2023 to 36 percent in the fourth quarter, its lowest share since the first quarter of 2021. The analysis indicates a 70 percent drop in Samsung Display’s panel shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter.

Samsung Display’s relinquishment of the top spot in the foldable Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) market comes after a five-year reign that began in the third quarter of 2019 when it pioneered the foldable display market., BOE’s foldable OLED market share remained below 5 percent until the latter half of 2023, but the Chinese company aggressively increased its market share within a year.

The surge in BOE’s market share can be attributed to the significant increase in shipments of Huawei’s foldable smartphones. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, Huawei’s foldable panel procurement grew by 122 percent compared to the previous quarter. DSCC points to the underwhelming initial sales of Samsung Electronics’ foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Flip and Fold 5, released in the third quarter of 2023, as a contributing factor to the decline in Samsung Display’s market share.

But DSCC also forecasts that Samsung Display could reclaim the top spot in the first quarter of 2024, adding that Samsung Electronics could introduce lower-priced foldable phones during the year to address the inventory of Galaxy Z Flip panels and potentially boosting Samsung Display’s market share once again.

By Oh Chan-jong and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]