As Chinese display manufacturer BOE announced technology to improve creasing in foldable panels, industry observers predict that competition between Korean and Chinese companies will intensify in the foldable panel market, which has been largely dominated by Samsung Display.
According to industry sources on March 10, China’s BOE recently unveiled crease-free foldable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology at ‘MWC 2026,’ the world’s largest mobile exhibition held in Barcelona, Spain. The technology features a multi-neutral layer structure and hinge-display integrated design, which reduces the appearance of fold marks by more than 40% compared to conventional foldable panels. The panel was first installed in the flagship smartphone ‘Honor Magic V6’ from Honor, which spun off from China’s Huawei, and is expected to expand its adoption to domestic smartphone manufacturers such as Vivo, Oppo, and Huawei.
Given that folding issues have been a persistent concern for foldable panels, Samsung Display, which has the longest track record in the foldable industry, has quickly disclosed its achievements in related technology. The company unveiled its next-generation foldable panel at ‘CES 2026,’ the world’s largest consumer electronics and IT exhibition held earlier this year. The advantage is that the crease depth at the folding area is approximately 20% shallower compared to previous products. In this regard, Samsung Display explained, “We improved the crease through continuous R&D innovation, including optimization of the layered structure.”
In this context, as Chinese companies starting with BOE overcome the folding issue, there are projections that China’s foldable market share will expand. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Samsung Display ranked first with a 43% market share based on foldable panel shipments last year. Chinese companies including BOE (34%), Visionox (13%), and TCL CSOT (9%) ranked second through fourth. According to UBI Research, based on foldable phone OLED panel shipments last year, Chinese companies such as BOE and TCL CSOT shipped a total of approximately 12.4 million units. Samsung Display’s annual shipments were tallied at approximately 9 million units.
However, as the foldable market is struggling due to stagnant demand caused by high prices, analysts suggest that the key factor is whether Apple, one of the ‘top two’ in the smartphone market, will launch a foldable phone this year. In particular, as Samsung Display is reportedly set to be the exclusive supplier of OLEDs for Apple’s foldable iPhone, the company is expected to expand its market share.
An industry insider explained, “Given Apple’s overwhelming sales of finished smartphones, the competitiveness that Samsung Display has established in foldable panels will not be extinguished overnight,” while also noting, “Given that the cost burden on finished products has increased due to rising prices of memory such as DRAM, if Chinese panels’ technological capabilities improve, there is a possibility that Apple may consider this option as well.”
