According to IHS statistics, although the overall mobile phone market demand in the first quarter of this year was sluggish, the demand for AMOLED mobile phone panels was strong, and shipments climbed to 87 million, once again set a new record, an increase of 63%. Among them, Samsung Display has taken the lead in technology, investment and yield, and almost covered all AMOLED panel orders, becoming the biggest beneficiary.
Samsung began to make strategic adjustments last year and actively expand external customers, especially mobile phone brands in mainland China. Brands such as OPPO, Vivo, and Huawei have introduced AMOLED since 2015. In particular, OPPO and Vivo have switched from LTPS/in cell products to AMOLED panels for high-end products to secure supply guarantees, and also injected strong orders for Samsung. IHS statistics show that among the top 10 mobile phone brands in mainland China, AMOLED mobile phone shipments accounted for 10% of the total. With the increase of Samsung Plus and OPPO and Vivo shipments, it is estimated that the AMOLED ratio in 2016 is expected to increase. 15%.
AMOLED panels are currently dominated by Samsung monitors. Even if the new products that Xiaomi will be launched in the second half of the year will adopt the AMOLED panels of Huiguang and LGD respectively, the effective output of the two panel makers is limited, and the overall market is still dominated by Samsung. . Therefore, once Samsung's supply strategy is adjusted, customers will face supply challenges from a single supplier.
In addition to the two flagship series in Galaxy S and Note, Samsung also introduced AMOLED panels in mid-range products such as Galaxy J series and A series, which drove AMOLED's shipments in HD/FHD resolution products to rebound from the second half of 2015. As Samsung's mid-range products exceeded expectations in global orders, Samsung increased its purchases of AMOLEDs. Samsung's orders for the first quarter of this year accounted for 73.7% of Samsung's AMOLED shipments. Due to the large size of Samsung's AMOLED orders, there are no other brands to replace, so there is a certain priority. When Samsung Electronics' orders grow rapidly, the supply of other external customers will face a tight situation, and the second quarter. Second-tier mainland brands have begun to feel the tight supply of Samsung AMOLED.
In the first quarter of this year, OPPO and Vivo occupied Samsung's AMOLED mobile phone panel shipments increased to 6.9% and 6.7%. Although Huawei Mate S's sales performance was flat, the first quarter accounted for only 2.8%, considering Huawei's overall scale, and the same It is Samsung's strategic customer and will introduce high-end hyperbolic AMOLED products in the second half of the year.