Samsung Says More OLED Notebooks
According to sources in Korea, Samsung Display (pvt) has upped its targets for OLED notebook panel production by between 37.5% and 50% for this year as overall notebook demand has been higher than expected due to COVID-19 and the gaming market continues to demand higher quality displays, such as OLED. As we noted last month, Samsung Display is undergoing a number of capacity shifts, particularly at a new OLED line (A4E) that seems to be ahead of schedule, while currently producing larger OLED panels at its A2 fab. Given the potential for additional production and the notebook/gaming demand, SDC seems more comfortable with higher targets.
Samsung Display’s previous target for OLED notebook panels had been 4m units this year but based on its expected shipment schedule, which currently accounts for between 4.2m and 4.6m units, the company believes they will be able to push that to between 5.5m and 6m units. These are aggressive targets although estimates that over 37% (y/y) more OLED notebook panels were shipped in 1Q, has likely given SDC a bit more confidence in the new targets, but OLED notebooks are still relatively new and while the premiums for OLED notebooks over LCDs are less than we would have expected at this relatively early stage in their development (see our 5/20/21 note for details), sell-through in 2H is the key to bringing shipments up to those targets. The good news for notebook brands is that OLED notebooks represent less than 2% of units for most brands, while OLED notebook penetration for Asus (2357.TT) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) are expected higher than average this year, leaving lots of room to grow the category, with most estimates for OLED notebook unit volume below SDC’s new target.
Samsung Display’s previous target for OLED notebook panels had been 4m units this year but based on its expected shipment schedule, which currently accounts for between 4.2m and 4.6m units, the company believes they will be able to push that to between 5.5m and 6m units. These are aggressive targets although estimates that over 37% (y/y) more OLED notebook panels were shipped in 1Q, has likely given SDC a bit more confidence in the new targets, but OLED notebooks are still relatively new and while the premiums for OLED notebooks over LCDs are less than we would have expected at this relatively early stage in their development (see our 5/20/21 note for details), sell-through in 2H is the key to bringing shipments up to those targets. The good news for notebook brands is that OLED notebooks represent less than 2% of units for most brands, while OLED notebook penetration for Asus (2357.TT) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) are expected higher than average this year, leaving lots of room to grow the category, with most estimates for OLED notebook unit volume below SDC’s new target.
RSS Feed