BOE OLED shipments have risen by 70% this year - thanks to Apple

After more than 20 years of catching up, Chinese companies are now the number one manufacturers of LCD displays. In fact, the presence of Chinese brands is pushing the likes of Samsung out of the market. BOE is the world's largest LCD panel factory. In the OLED field, BOE is still very much behind South Korean manufacturer, Samsung. However, a recent report claims that this year, BOE's OLED shipments will soar by 70%.

According to reports, BOE plans to increase OLED panel deliveries by nearly 70% this year. Its two production lines in Chengdu and Mianyang will run at full capacity this fiscal year. The third production line in Chongqing is in full production. This will increase BOE's OLED production from 60 million units in 2021 to 100 million units this year.

BOE's Chongqing production line is testing panel quality from top smartphone and tablet makers, the report said. The Sichuan factory is already supplying Apple, and BOE apparently hopes that the Chongqing factory will also supply Apple with panels. Furthermore, the company is also considering building a new OLED factory in Chengdu, saying it is based on "assessing the strategy, market, technology and financial situation", The new plant is scheduled to start production by the end of 2024, but production capacity has not been announced.

The report also points out that although BOE currently occupies the world's largest share in the LCD panel field, surpassing its Korean competitors, in the field of OLED panels, South Korea's Samsung Electronics and LG Display are still in a leading position.

The launch of BOE's Chongqing factory and the construction of its new Chengdu factory will bring BOE closer to its Korean competitors.

Samsung withdraws from the LCD market

Several Chinese panel manufacturers have surpassed Samsung and LG to become the main LCD panel manufacturers in recent years. Korean companies are no longer able to compete. Samsung will stop the production of LCD panels half a year ahead of schedule. Samsung originally planned to stop the production of LCD panels by the end of 2020. However, the LCD panel market started to increase prices in the past year or so. This made Samsung's LCD factory continue to operate for another two years. However, the company originally plans to exit the market at the end of 2022. Nevertheless, the LCD panel market has changed since the end of last year. The price has been falling significantly and it is now on a free fall. By January this year, the average price of a 32 -inch panel was only $ 38, a 64% drop relative to January last year.