Smartphone OLED panel shipments totaled about 190 million units in the first quarter of 2026, down 12% from a year earlier and 20% from the fourth quarter of 2025, UBI Research estimated.
The research firm attributed the decline mainly to rising memory prices. Its figures measure display-panel shipments rather than sales of finished smartphones and represent market-research estimates rather than shipment disclosures from individual manufacturers.
Samsung Electronics separately said seasonal factors and higher memory prices reduced first-quarter earnings in Samsung Display’s small and medium display business. The company’s assessment concerns its own operations and does not establish how much of the industry-wide shipment decline resulted from memory costs.
Korean suppliers gained share despite lower shipments
UBI Research put Samsung Display’s share of first-quarter smartphone OLED shipments at 44.4%, compared with 42.8% a year earlier. BOE held an estimated 16.3%, while LG Display’s share rose to 9% from 7.6%.
The firm estimated that combined shipments from Samsung Display and LG Display fell 7% year over year. Shipments from the four major Chinese suppliers—BOE, Visionox, Tianma and TCL CSOT—declined 17%.
BOE and Visionox nevertheless increased their individual market shares, UBI Research estimated, while Tianma and TCL CSOT lost share. The figures show that suppliers’ relative positions shifted even as overall shipments contracted.
Display makers emphasize premium products
Samsung Electronics said Samsung Display would focus its small and medium display sales on the relatively resilient high-end segment in the second quarter of 2026, despite weak overall market demand. It expected continued uncertainty and limited visibility in that business during the second half.
LG Display attributed its higher year-over-year first-quarter operating profit to its focus on OLED and high-end customers, alongside cost reductions and improved operational efficiency. Those results covered its broader display business, rather than smartphone OLED shipments alone, and did not establish that its smartphone panel volumes would increase later in the year.
