Data from Sigmaintell indicates that total smartphone panel shipments reached approximately 1.12 billion units in the first half of 2026, marking a 2.9% year-on-year increase. The market maintained steady performance as multiple growth drivers offset headwinds in the downstream terminal market.
Although overall smartphone terminal demand weakened during the period, panel shipments did not correspondingly decline. This stability was underpinned by three key factors: early channel stocking for low-end models, strong market sales across Apple's full product lineup, and a significant expansion in demand from the smartphone repair and replacement market. These combined drivers created a buffer that kept panel shipments running smoothly through the first half of 2026.
Industry concentration continues to rise, with the "top five plus smaller players" structure now firmly established.
Looking at the overall landscape, the top five panel makers collectively increased their market share to approximately 77%, maintaining a stable competitive structure of "top five leaders plus smaller manufacturers" for several consecutive quarters. Smaller panel suppliers continue to see their share eroded by the industry leaders, with the Matthew effect intensifying across the sector.
BOE Technology held onto the global top spot with a 25.2% market share, shipping roughly 280 million panels in the first half, up 7.1% year-on-year. The company saw simultaneous growth in both a-Si LCD and flexible OLED businesses, with flexible OLED shipments reaching 81.4 million units, up 14.6% year-on-year. Currently, its Gen 8.6 OLED production line has achieved mass-production lighting for medium-sized panels, with smartphone projects in the trial production phase. As process refinement and customer validation continue, this line is expected to become a new growth pillar for the company's flexible OLED business.
Samsung Display shipped approximately 170 million panels in the first half, up slightly by 0.9% year-on-year. Flexible OLED shipments reached about 120 million units, representing a robust 34.5% increase, largely driven by strong iPhone sales which supported overall shipment growth.
CSOT ranked third globally with a 13.4% market share, shipping approximately 150 million panels in the first half, up 8.9% year-on-year. The growth was primarily supported by continued capacity expansion in a-Si LCD panels driving higher output, although the marginal effect of capacity release is diminishing, resulting in a moderation of the growth rate.
Weak industry cycle intensifies technology divergence; a-Si LCD and flexible OLED grow against the trend while rigid OLED and LTPS LCD accelerate their decline.
Despite weaker overall smartphone terminal demand in the first half of 2026, panel shipments maintained positive growth thanks to two buffer factors: early channel stocking and the surge in repair market demand. Meanwhile, divergence across different technology tracks has intensified, with flexible OLED posting strong growth against the trend, a-Si LCD growing modestly, and rigid OLED and LTPS LCD continuing to contract.
For a-Si LCD, total smartphone panel shipments reached approximately 680 million units in the first half of 2026, up 6.5% year-on-year, with an overall market share of 60.7%, remaining the foundation of the smartphone panel market. Growth was primarily driven by expanded demand from the repair and replacement market, while brand orders were affected by the weakening market environment. Beyond CSOT's strong performance, Tianma achieved a doubling of shipments year-on-year during the period. Smaller panel manufacturers continued to see shipment contraction due to operational pressures.
Flexible OLED totaled 350 million units shipped in the first half of 2026, up 15.6% year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing display technology across all tracks. The dual growth engines were sustained strong sales of Apple smartphones and rising flexible OLED demand from the repair market. This combined demand resonance supports the continued prosperity of flexible OLED, making it the only panel segment capable of offsetting the weak terminal cycle.
Rigid OLED shipments totaled 68.6 million units in the first half of 2026, down 33.3% year-on-year. As mid-range models across major phone brands continue to upgrade to flexible OLED, demand for rigid screens has shrunk in new devices, and replacement demand in the repair market is also shifting toward flexible OLED, causing the rigid OLED market to contract steadily.
LTPS LCD shipments reached 25.5 million units in the first half of 2026, plunging 47.0% year-on-year, still nearly halved. Multiple panel makers have fully exited the smartphone LTPS LCD space.
Downward pressure from terminal demand gradually transmits; short-term repair demand provides support while long-term low-end flexible adoption drives future growth.
Sigmaintell believes that short-term terminal smartphone demand remains weak, with downward pressure on device shipments gradually transmitting to the panel side, putting overall panel shipments under strain. In the second half of the year, price increases on terminal products will further suppress upgrade intentions, while repair and replacement demand is expected to remain robust. Combined with relatively stable orders for Apple's high-end models, this will collectively provide a floor for panel demand, with the flexible OLED market expected to maintain strong resilience.
Over the medium to long term, terminal brands will drive new growth space for flexible OLED through a dual approach of product form innovation and technology migration down the price curve. On one hand, new form factors such as wide-fold and wide-bar designs are being actively introduced, continuously expanding application scenarios. On the other hand, as costs continue to optimize, terminal brands are accelerating the deployment of flexible OLED into low-end models, pushing the technology into a broader price range and unlocking long-term incremental opportunities.
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