AMOLED Shipments Driving OLED Shipments, Says NPD DisplaySearch

NPD DisplaySearch today released its latest Quarterly Small/Medium Shipment and Forecast Report, which suggests a shakeup in the small and medium display market. Specifically, active matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays have begun to encroach on the dominant LCD technology in displays sized nine inches or smaller.

Led by increased adoption among mobile phone manufacturers, AMOLED managed to capture six percent of the small/medium display market this year and is forecasted to more than double that by 2015 to hit 13 percent. Meanwhile, total OLED display shipments are expected to hit 191 million in 2012, making up 8.4 percent of the market.

“Prior to the start of mass production of AMOLED displays for mobile phones, only passive matrix OLED (PMOLED) displays were available, mostly used in applications such as mobile phone sub-displays, automobile displays, and some industrial and niche applications,” explained Yoonsung Chung, director of Large-Area Displays & FPD Materials for NPD DisplaySearch, in a statement. “AMOLED displays have driven total OLED penetration into the small/medium display market since 2010 when Samsung launched the Galaxy S, the first AMOLED smartphone in 2010.”

Chung went on to note, however, that though Samsung's display business produces almost entirely AMOLED displays, more companies will need to adopt the technology in order to drive its market growth. NPD DisplaySearch says that new panel makers, mostly from Taiwan and China, will enter the market next year. However, newcomers to the AMOLED market face numerous challenges, particularly the fact that the technology is more expensive to produce.

Meanwhile, mobile phones continue to drive OLED market growth, with mobile phones expected to account for 69 percent of the total small/medium OLED market in 2012. This number is expected to hit 83 percent by 2015.

In July, NPD DisplaySearch forecasted that by 2016, tablet shipments will overtake notebook shipments, with notebook PC shipments growing from 208 million to 393 million units by 2017 and tablet shipments growing from 121 million to 416 million units in that period.

In August, the company stated that increased demand for higher-performing smartphones has driven production of combined flat panel display and touch panel technology.