A robotic arm hurled a basketball against a foldable OLED backboard, yet the screen continued playing video without interruption. A few steps away, a plastic OLED (P-OLED) display mounted on a humanoid robot’s face tracked visitors’ eyes and conveyed emotions. This was the future of technology on display at K-Display 2026, which opened on July 22 at COEX in Seoul’s Gangnam district.

South Korea’s two display industry leaders used the exhibition to position robotics, mobility, and IT as the next major demand drivers for OLED, signaling fierce technological competition ahead. Samsung Display placed its bets on scalability through new form factors and AI interfaces, while LG Display spotlighted a full lineup spanning TVs, vehicles, and humanoids, emphasizing practical applicability in real-world living and industrial environments.

Hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by the Korea Display Industry Association, K-Display 2026 marked its 25th edition this year. With 142 companies and institutions across 446 booths showcasing next-generation panels, materials, components, and equipment, the booths of the two giants were packed from opening until late afternoon with crowds waiting for hands-on experiences and explanations.

Robot Displays: Interaction vs. Field Reliability

Both companies made clear they view robotics as a key future growth market, but their approaches diverged sharply.

Samsung Display focused on human-robot interaction. It applied a 6.9-inch OLED to a robot’s face to display expressions and status, implementing eye-tracking technology that follows a viewer’s gaze. The company also unveiled a host of concept products for the first time at the event, including an “OLED Companion AI Toy” with a 1.3-inch circular OLED, a small AI pet robot, and a necklace-style AI pendant.

LG Display, by contrast, emphasized the durability and stability required in industrial settings with its P-OLED for humanoids, shown for the first time in South Korea. The company extended the thin, lightweight properties of P-OLED—already proven in automotive applications with reliability spanning temperatures from minus 30 to 85 degrees Celsius—into the robotics domain.

Future Car Battle: Design Freedom vs. Mobile Living Space

The two companies’ solutions for automotive displays were equally divergent.

Samsung Display unveiled the world’s first “big hole” center fascia prototype, featuring an 80mm-diameter hole in the display area. It scaled up the Hole In Active Area (HIAA) technology used for smartphone camera cutouts to integrate the gear shift dial and air vents directly into the screen. A vertically oriented slidable OLED that remains hidden normally but extends upward to a maximum of 15.5 inches when needed was also showcased, highlighting improved design freedom through the fusion of physical components and displays.

LG Display redefined the vehicle interior as a unified living space. It placed a 48-inch pillar-to-pillar (P2P) display stretching from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat front and center, while an 18-inch slidable OLED descended from the rear-seat ceiling at the push of a button. Visitors sat inside the digital cockpit to watch the large screen unfold, experiencing a future car capable of video streaming, video conferencing, and gaming while on the move.

IT & Gaming: Tech Experience vs. Lifestyle-Focused Full Lineup

In IT and gaming, the two companies captivated visitors in distinctly different ways.

Samsung Display focused on letting visitors feel the performance difference firsthand. Experiences included testing durability by throwing basketballs at a foldable backboard, comparing real flowers against on-screen colors in an image quality exhibit, and demonstrating the “Flex Magic Pixel” privacy protection technology. The company also exhibited high-spec products such as a 16-inch tandem OLED, a 14-inch ultra-slim tandem OLED with peak brightness of 2,000 nits, and a 31.5-inch QD-OLED delivering 4K resolution at 360Hz.

LG Display opted for a visitor flow that arranged OLEDs according to life scenarios—vision, home, work, and mobility. A gaming zone featuring a 24.5-inch 540Hz OLED, a 27-inch dual-mode (DFR) 720Hz OLED, and a 39-inch 5K2K OLED drew long queues. In the home zone, a tandem white OLED (WOLED) achieving peak brightness of 4,500 nits and reflectance below 0.3% allowed visitors to compare visibility differences between daytime and nighttime living room environments. The company also debuted a 27-inch 5K OLED with 220ppi and an RGB stripe structure, targeting the professional market.

Leaders’ Diagnosis: “New Markets Are Opening”

The heads of both companies, met on the exhibition floor, spoke in unison about OLED’s expanding territory.

Lee Cheong, president of Samsung Display and chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association, said, “New markets are rapidly opening in areas we haven’t focused on before, such as smart glasses, AI devices, and humanoid robots. Competitiveness lies in proactively preparing technology and pricing that satisfy customers.”

Jeong Cheol-dong, president of LG Display, similarly responded that “differentiating with the technology customers want is the core growth engine.” The two presidents were also spotted visiting each other’s booths and carefully examining the rival’s technology. Lee remarked, “It made me think we need to work even harder.”

Glimpses of next-generation technology roadmaps also emerged. Lee said, “Samsung Electronics has introduced a new form of display, and U.S. clients are also preparing foldable products. A mobile foldable market on a different dimension will open up.” LG Display plans to extend tandem OLED technology, already applied to TVs and IT devices, to smartphones. Jeong also disclosed that the company is preparing its next growth driver—glass interposers for semiconductor packaging—from multiple angles.

However, both leaders candidly acknowledged near-term industry headwinds. “Chipflation”—rising memory prices driven by surging demand for AI-focused high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM—is weighing on the display industry. Lee confessed, “The second half will be difficult. I wish semiconductor prices would come down a bit. OLED volumes for smartphones and IT are declining, and we’re also under pressure to lower panel prices.” Jeong noted that while rising memory chip prices are a burden, “it’s at a level we can absorb through cost improvements.” Separately, LG Display announced its first return to an operating profit in the first half of the year after five years, raising expectations for improved second-half earnings.

Talent War Intensifies in the AI Era

The K-Display 2026 Job and Career Fair, held alongside the exhibition, vividly illustrated how the display industry’s ideal talent profile has shifted in the AI era. Even before the event began, university students and young job seekers lined up at the recruitment consultation booths of 23 companies, including Samsung Display and LG Display.

As the display industry expands beyond its traditional smartphone and TV focus into automotive displays, extended reality (XR), and AI devices, the qualifications companies seek are also changing. Questions about interdisciplinary capabilities poured in, such as “How much AI knowledge is required for R&D roles?” and “Can I apply even if I didn’t major in semiconductors?”

A display industry insider explained, “With the accelerating pace of industrial change, demand is growing for talent with interdisciplinary capabilities spanning not just traditional display knowledge but also semiconductors, AI, and software.” Lee Seung-woo, vice chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association, said, “In the AI era, securing and developing core talent to lead advanced technologies will determine future competitiveness. We hope this fair serves as a platform that provides outstanding talent to companies and career opportunities to students.”

A newly established graduate school pavilion featured 23 research labs from nine universities, offering research field and career counseling to students considering postgraduate studies. A career talk concert featuring current employees from Samsung Display and LG Display also drew a strong response.