All these years, Samsung dominated the coveted smartphone with OLED displays. And then Apple nudged its iPhone 12 series (four models) towards OLED display. The rest is new history. Thanks to the sustained demand for the iPhone 12 series, despite the imminent launch of a new series, the Cupertino-headquartered company is set to upstage its South Korean rival as the largest OLED smartphone vendor in 2021.
Apple is likely ship 176 million units of OLED smartphones this year for a market share of 28%, according to market research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC).
Samsung, at 145 million units and a market share of 23%, will have to make do with the second spot.
And it is for the first time that Samsung is yielding place at the top on OLED smartphone shipment. It is the top seller of OLED smartphones for around a decade now.
In all, OLED smartphone shipments tally for 2021 would be around 630 million.
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Why Samsung slipped
But why has Samsung slipped from its perch? The DSCC report attributed to the iPhone 12 series' popularity, which also coincided with the fact that Samsung’s Galaxy S21 series did not do well as much as it expected it to.
Samsung is said to have embarked on an in-house special review phase to evaluate its smartphone business and bring about any changes if necessary.
Aside from Apple, other Chinese brands have also made aggressive overtures in the market. Xiaomi and Oppo have made appreciable inroads in the market with their competitively priced offerings. Xiaomi is expected to ship 82 million units of OLED smartphones for a 13% market share, while Oppo will make 69 million units shipment and walk away with an 11% market share. To be clear, it is also a fact that brands like Oppo and OnePlus source their OLED panels from Samsung's display unit.
Worryingly for Apple, the DSCC report believes that Apple will continue its lead in the next year too. The estimate is that Apple will 226 million units in 2022.
For the record, Google is also set to launch of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro later this year. And LG is also eyeing the market intently. If it lives up to the buzz, then Samsung would have a bigger challenge on its hands.
