Korean media reported on April 7 that the TV market is still struggling this year, and memory supply shortages are making IT device demand even weaker. Because of that, Samsung Display and LG Display are putting more energy into monitor OLED and car OLED panels.
According to Ubi Research, the mid-to-large OLED market (not including TVs) is worth about $11.5 billion this year. It's expected to grow steadily at 14.8% per year, reaching around $20 billion by 2030. By then, monitor OLEDs should make up 26% of that whole market.
Last year, OLED monitor shipments reached about 3.2 million units, up 64% from the year before. This year, they're looking at another 50%+ growth.
Both companies did well in monitors last year. Samsung brought out new 27-inch UHD and 500Hz QHD QD-OLED panels for gaming and started mass production. LG released a 45-inch 165Hz gaming OLED and a 27-inch 540Hz QHD model, and also shipped more of its WOLED panels.
This year, both Samsung and LG plan to sell even more monitor OLED panels to improve their profits.
Omdia expects Samsung's monitor OLED shipments in the third quarter to jump about 62% from last year to roughly 2.98 million units. LG's are forecast to grow even faster - up 84% to around 1.03 million units.
Samsung is also introducing a new low-reflection coating called Quantum Black for its QD-OLED monitors. It reduces reflections by 20%, and brands like ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI are getting ready to use it in their new models this year.
LG plans to use its upgraded RGB Tandem 2.0 technology in this year's gaming monitors. It stacks the red, green, and blue layers to get better color and much higher brightness - up to 4,500 nits.
The car OLED market looks promising too. Ubi Research says shipments will grow from about 3.8 million units last year at an average of 24% per year through 2030. OLED is easier to adopt in cars because premium models can handle the higher cost better.
Samsung is expected to lead with more than 70% market share. It recently started supplying three different OLED panels for Geely's high-end electric SUV, the ZEEKR 9X.
LG is pushing its own Tandem-based P-OLED and ATO products for cars, while also expanding its high-end LCD lines and working with major global automakers.
With TV demand still slow, both Korean panel makers are clearly counting on monitors and automotive displays to drive their growth going forward.
