UBI Research to Release '2023 OLED Component Materials Report' on 28th
Foldable OLED Shipments to Reach 61 Million Units by 2027
UTG Also to Grow Threefold
Shipments of foldable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 29% until 2027.
Market research firm UBI Research announced this on the 28th in its '2023 OLED Components and Materials Report.' Foldable OLED shipments are expected to reach 22 million units this year. Thereafter, with an average annual growth rate of 29%, it is anticipated to increase to 61 million units by 2027. The market is expected to expand to 61 million units by 2027, recording an average annual growth rate of 29%.
UBI Research also forecasted that the foldable cover window market will expand alongside the growth of the foldable market. The foldable cover window market is expected to grow from $410 million in 2023 to $840 million by 2027.
However, Samsung Display plans to mass-produce foldable OLEDs using only ultra-thin glass (UTG) in the future, and Chinese companies BOE, TCL CSOT, and Visionox are also developing foldable OLEDs with UTG applied, so the market share of transparent PI (colorless PI) is expected to continuously decline. Accordingly, the UTG market is projected to grow from $240 million in 2023 to $740 million by 2027. On the other hand, the transparent PI market is estimated to shrink from $170 million in 2023 to $95 million by 2027.
The report stated that Samsung Electronics, the leader in foldable phones, has applied UTG for cover windows on all foldable phones released since the 'Galaxy Z Fold2.' Samsung Electronics processes Corning glass in-house, while Samsung Display receives glass from Schott.
Recently, Chinese companies, which had previously adopted transparent PI as cover windows due to lack of technology, are increasing their use of UTG. Motorola released the clamshell-type 'Razr 40' and 'Razr 40 Ultra' this month, both using UTG-processed cover windows. Both products have panels supplied by TCL CSOT, and the cover windows are processed by SEED using Schott's UTG.
Oppo is also preparing to launch foldables with a 6.8-inch clamshell type and an 8.1-inch book type processed with UTG. All new foldable OLED panels from Oppo will be supplied by BOE, and TOKEN will process and supply Schott's UTG.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
