LG Innotek and LX Semicon have newly entered Apple’s iPad organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display driver IC (DDI) supply chain. This development bifurcates a market that Samsung Electronics System LSI had exclusively supplied since Apple launched its first OLED iPad in 2024.<\/p>\n
According to industry sources on the 6th, LG Innotek and LX Semicon recently received final approval from Apple for their chip-on-film (CoF) and DDI components for iPad OLED, respectively. The structure involves LX Semicon’s designed and manufactured DDI being connected to the panel via LG Innotek’s CoF. A DDI is a critical semiconductor that controls display pixel operation through thin-film transistors (TFTs), while CoF is a component that attaches the DDI to film using a thermocompression process to transmit signals to the panel.<\/p>\n
The two companies plan to begin mass production of these components as early as the fourth quarter of this year, supplying them to LG Display. “LX Semicon will mass-produce DDI for iPad OLED starting in the fourth quarter and supply it to LG Display, where it will be connected to panels using LG Innotek’s CoF,” an industry official said. “OLED iPads incorporating these components are expected to launch next year.”<\/p>\n
For the OLED iPad Pro first introduced by Apple in 2024, LG Display and Samsung Display have been producing the panels, but Samsung Electronics System LSI had been the sole DDI supplier. With the approval of LG Innotek and LX Semicon, the supply chain has been restructured: LG affiliates will serve LG Display’s needs, while Samsung Electronics System LSI will handle Samsung Display’s requirements.<\/p>\n
Both LG Innotek and LX Semicon have secured new revenue streams through this approval. While LG Innotek has previously supplied CoF for other Apple products, this marks its first foray into iPad OLED. For LX Semicon, entering the iPad OLED DDI supply chain is considered a meaningful achievement, especially given that LG Display’s iPhone OLED DDI supply chain has been split between LX Semicon and Taiwan’s Novatek since 2024.<\/p>\n
However, the OLED iPad\u2014launched by Apple in 2024 with a two-stack tandem structure featuring dual emission layers\u2014has seen sales fall below expectations due to its high price point. Industry expectations for this year also remain subdued.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Apple’s display strategy is expanding beyond the iPad into the foldable market. Market research firm Counterpoint Research projected in a report on the 6th that global foldable smartphone panel shipments will reach approximately 27.5 million units this year, up roughly 24% year-over-year. By revenue, the market is expected to grow 48% to approximately $4.4 billion (about 6.736 trillion won).<\/p>\n
Counterpoint Research attributed the higher revenue growth rate relative to shipment growth to rising average selling prices driven by Apple’s market entry and the expansion of premium in-fold products. Apple is expected to begin full-scale panel procurement for its first foldable iPhone in the second half of this year, which analysts say will further strengthen Samsung Display’s market dominance.<\/p>\n
In terms of foldable panel procurement share this year, Samsung Electronics is expected to account for approximately 31%, Apple approximately 29%, and Huawei approximately 24%. Counterpoint Research anticipates that rather than displacing existing leaders in its first year, Apple will play a role in expanding the overall market.<\/p>\n
The foldable panel market underwent a transitional adjustment in the first quarter. Shipments totaled approximately 3.9 million units, down 7% year-over-year. BOE maintained its lead with roughly 45% share based on Huawei demand, though its share declined from 52% a year earlier and shipments fell 19%. Samsung Display raised its share from 15% to 22% over the same period, with shipments increasing 37%.<\/p>\n
Looking at the broader display industry, South Korean companies are moving to secure next-generation growth engines, buoyed by the government’s large-scale investment policies. The government recently announced “three mega-projects” centered on semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers, recasting displays as a national strategic industry. Samsung Display plans to invest a total of 67 trillion won (approximately $43.7 billion) centered on Asan in South Chungcheong Province to strengthen competitiveness in future areas including OLED, extended reality (XR), and automotive displays.<\/p>\n
Industry observers note that displays are emerging as a core interface in the AI era. As markets for AI PCs, AI smartphones, XR devices, and automotive displays grow rapidly, OLED demand is expanding in tandem. Market research firm Omdia forecasts that large-area OLED panel shipments will reach 38.8 million units this year, up 18.7% from the previous year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LG Innotek and LX Semicon have newly entered Apple’s iPad organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display driver IC (DDI)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[3628,41621,41620,41619,315,2482,314,9450,41618,359,11559,41622],"class_list":["post-76571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lg","tag-apple","tag-chip-on-film","tag-display-driver-ic","tag-ipad","tag-lg","tag-lg-display","tag-lg-group","tag-lg-innotek","tag-lx-semicon","tag-oled","tag-samsung-display","tag-samsung-electronics-system-lsi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}