Inherent Advantages of OLED Displays to Override Higher Costs in Long Run

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The competitive landscape of the global OLED displays market is highly oligopolistic in nature, according to Transparency Market Research (TMR). Samsung Electronics, which has been one of the pioneers when it comes to advances in LED and OLED technology, held over 70% of the market in 2011 and collectively accounted for 84.4% of the market along with Visionox and WiseChip.

The wide-ranging operation spectrum of Samsung Electronics has allowed the company to stay in touch with the changing industry trends, resulting in its early entry into the OLED displays market and subsequent dominance. However, with several other major consumer electronics manufacturers starting to advance diverse product portfolios of their own, the competitive dynamics of the global OLED displays market could change significantly over the coming years.

Inherent Advantages of OLED Technology Starting to become a Determinant Factor

While the sharper images, higher refresh rates, and better contrast ratios offered by OLED displays took some time to catch on due to the higher prices of the technology, with steadily increasing incorporation in high-end electronics, OLED displays have now become cheaper and thus more accessible to the average consumer. This has given a strong boost to the demand for OLED displays, as the advantages of OLED displays have resulted in an increasing number of consumer electronics manufacturers opting for OLED displays rather than LCDs or other conventional display technologies.

High Costs of OLED Displays to Remain a Barrier

The installation costs of OLED displays are higher than conventional display technologies due to the increased refinement in the former. This has been the key restraint on the OLED displays market, as other display technologies such as LCD have been commercialized earlier than OLED and are thus now experiencing a steady drop in prices, leading to them becoming more lucrative to consumer electronics manufacturers. The ongoing development of the OLED ecosystem in consumer electronics will help OLED display manufacturers overcome this restraint in the coming years.

OLED TVs are still a nascent segment of the OLED displays market, with smartphones currently taking up a majority share in the global demand for OLED displays. However, as prices level out, the advantages of OLED technology will come to the fore in the global television industry, resulting in an increased demand for OLED displays.

OLED Displays Market to be worth US$25.9 bn by 2018 

The global market for OLED displays is expected to be valued at US$14.8 bn by the end of 2016 and further rise to US$25.9 bn by 2018.

By product type, active matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays are expected to retain their dominance in the global OLED displays market in the coming years. Mobile phones are the leading application area for the OLED displays industry, while Europe is likely to be the fastest growing regional segment.