LG Display significantly increased its shipments of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for Apple iPhones in the first half of this year. According to market research firm Sigmaintell, LG Display shipped 31.5 million iPhone OLED panels in the first half, up 21.6% from 25.9 million units a year earlier.

LG Display’s sole smartphone OLED customer is Apple. Apple iPhones use flexible OLED panels. Sigmaintell noted that LG Display’s iPhone OLED shipments in the first half of last year rose 19.9% year-over-year to 25.9 million units, and this year’s first-half growth rate was even higher.

Over the same period, Samsung Display’s smartphone OLED shipments totaled 173 million units, roughly flat compared with 172 million units in the first half of last year. Samsung Display supplies smartphone OLED panels to Apple, Samsung Electronics, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Google.

However, a clear shift emerged within Samsung Display’s product mix. Flexible OLED shipments—used in flagship devices—surged 34.5% to 120 million units from approximately 89.2 million units a year earlier, while rigid OLED shipments—primarily used in mid-range and budget phones—fell 36.0% (approximately 29.8 million units) from 82.8 million to 53 million units. Sigmaintell attributed the flexible OLED growth to strong Apple iPhone sales and advance inventory buildup.

Chinese display maker BOE’s smartphone flexible OLED shipments rose 14.6% to 81.4 million units from approximately 71 million units a year earlier. BOE supplies panels to domestic Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei as well as Apple.

On a global scale, flexible and rigid OLED markets diverged sharply. Global smartphone flexible OLED shipments in the first half reached 346 million units, up 15.6% from approximately 299 million units a year earlier. In contrast, rigid OLED shipments fell 33.3% (approximately 34.4 million units) to 68.6 million units from 103 million units. Samsung Display accounted for 86.6% of the global rigid OLED shipment decline.

Sigmaintell cited strong Apple iPhone sales and repair/replacement market demand as drivers of flexible OLED shipment growth. For the rigid OLED decline, the firm noted that major smartphone makers have increasingly adopted flexible OLED panels even in mid-range products, and the share of flexible OLED in repair/replacement demand has also grown.

In the LCD market, performance diverged by specification. Shipments of amorphous silicon (a-Si) LCD—the lowest specification—rose 6.5% to 679 million units from 637 million units a year earlier. In contrast, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) LCD shipments plunged 47.0% from 48 million to 25 million units.

Combined OLED and LCD smartphone panel shipments worldwide reached 1.119 billion units in the first half, up 2.9% from 1.087 billion units a year earlier. Sigmaintell noted that panel shipments did not decline despite sluggish smartphone end-product demand throughout the first half, citing inventory buildup for low-cost phones, strong Apple iPhone sales, and expanding repair/replacement panel demand as buffers.

Second-Half Wildcard: Apple’s Foldable iPhone

The biggest variable in the second-half smartphone OLED market is the launch of Apple’s first foldable iPhone. According to industry sources, Apple’s next iPhone unveiling event is expected to take place on September 9, with the foldable iPhone Ultra (tentative name) potentially being revealed alongside the high-end iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max lineup.

Samsung Display has reportedly been selected as the OLED supplier for Apple’s first foldable iPhone. The device is expected to feature Samsung Display’s latest OLED organic material set, M16, which offers improved brightness, color performance, lifespan, and power efficiency over previous generations.

Initial volume, however, is expected to be limited. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasts that Apple’s foldable iPhone assembly shipments in the second half will total approximately 7–8 million units, with third-quarter shipments of only 500,000 to 1 million units. That is significantly lower than his iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max shipment forecast of 20–22 million units for the same period.

Kuo expects demand to remain strong through year-end, driven by limited initial supply, differentiated design, and a new user experience. As a result, Samsung Display’s foldable OLED shipments could ramp up meaningfully from the fourth quarter onward.

Indeed, Samsung Display’s foldable OLED shipments already surged in the second quarter on the back of new Galaxy Z models. According to UBI Research, global small-size OLED shipments in the second quarter totaled 232.7 million units, roughly flat quarter-over-quarter, but Samsung Display shipped approximately 90 million units, capturing about 40% market share. Foldable phone OLED shipments in particular more than tripled quarter-over-quarter due to expanded panel production for new Galaxy Z models.

Samsung Electronics MX Division’s Double Bind

Unlike Samsung Display, which supplies the panels, Samsung Electronics’ MX Division—responsible for finished devices—faces a more complex set of variables from the foldable iPhone launch.

If Apple’s entry as a latecomer expands the foldable market itself, Samsung Electronics could have an opportunity to absorb new demand based on the technological expertise it has accumulated over seven years since launching the first Galaxy Fold in 2019. The fact that domestic pre-orders for the Galaxy Z8 series in South Korea reached 1.44 million units, confirming demand for high-priced foldables, is also a positive sign.

But competitive pressure is mounting just as quickly. Market research firm Omdia positively forecasts foldable shipments to reach 45 million units by 2030, yet expects foldables to account for less than 3% of total smartphone shipments. Counterpoint Research expects Samsung Electronics to maintain its lead with a 31% share of foldable smartphone panel procurement in 2026, but forecasts Apple to quickly establish a presence with approximately 29% share from its very first entry. Huawei is also threatening Samsung’s position with roughly 24% share.

Rising costs add further pressure. According to Samsung Electronics’ semi-annual report, mobile AP solutions purchased from external suppliers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek in the first half totaled 7.44 trillion won (approximately $5.4 billion), accounting for 17.9% of the DX Division’s total raw material purchases. Samsung Electronics disclosed that mobile AP solution prices rose approximately 6% compared with last year’s annual average, while mobile memory prices surged approximately 211%.

As the foldable market grows, Samsung Display faces expanding opportunity, while Samsung Electronics’ MX Division confronts both opportunity and burden simultaneously. With Samsung Display securing Apple as a new customer in the foldable segment and broadening its business scope, the key question is how effectively the MX Division can capture the incremental demand created by Apple’s market entry for its own products.