Samsung Display is running low on OLED supply, due to soaring OLED display demands from Chinese smartphone makers, reported The Korea Herald.
Citing a Taiwan-based media DIGITIMES report, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo might have to revise and lower its goal of shipping 90 to 100 million smartphones because of Samsung’s insufficient OLED panel supply.
Oppo has asked Samsung to increase panel supplies, but the display vendor is struggling to meet this demand.
Samsung intended to ship 100 million OLED panels for smartphone applications to Chinese-based smartphone manufacturers, including Oppo and others, while adding another 240 million units for its own phones.
Chinese budget phone makers Oppo and Vivo rose adaption of OLED screens in their flagship smartphones with the aim to differentiate from rivals such as Huawei and Xiaomi. Oppo’s OLED adoption is 37%, Vivo 25% and Huawei a mere 8%.
Samsung is investing about KRW 10 trillion won (US $8.95 billion) to KRW 15 trillion to upgrade its OLED production in Korea, and its production capacity in A3 plant in Asa, Sough Chongcheong Province will be raised from 15,000 panels per month to 150,000 by 2017. Most of these panels will be supplied to Apple’s iPhones.