Apple is pressing Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD) for steep price reductions on OLED panels for the iPhone 18 series as rising memory and storage costs increase handset production expenses.
South Korea's display giants, Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD), are showcasing a shift in their product focus at the K-Display 2026 exhibition from traditional TVs to IT and gaming applications, underscoring weak TV demand and the rising importance of OLED for monitors and notebooks. The trend has turned IT OLED applications into a key growth engine.
Samsung Display's (SDC) and LG Display's (LGD) presidents told media at the K-Display 2026 show that memory-related cost pressure will persist into the second half of 2026, even as both companies step up OLED investment and technology development to defend competitiveness through differentiation and customer-focused strategies.
AUO says its Micro LED technology is moving beyond screens and into a broader smart interface platform, even as one high-profile automotive project was shelved. The company argues that years of development, a growing production base, and expanding use cases have strengthened its position in a market still shaped by slow vehicle approvals and shifting electric vehicle strategies.
Taiwan-based PlayNitride aims to reduce MicroLED production costs by 75% by 2030 through smaller chip designs and its proprietary high-efficiency Tantium chip architecture, positioning the technology for broader adoption across consumer electronics, automotive displays, AR devices, and optical interconnects, founder and chairman Charles Li said at South Korea's Display Business Forum 2026.
Hisense outlined a broader AI strategy at its global partner conference in New York, saying it will expand beyond home appliances into semiconductors, smart energy, laser displays, and automotive electronics. The Chinese consumer electronics maker said the plan is designed to widen its AI value chain, strengthen global brand management, and improve user experience and operations.
LG Display said its core business turned profitable in the first half of fiscal 2026 for the first time in five years, even as a large one-off restructuring charge pushed the company to a headline operating loss in the second quarter and rising component prices cast doubt over demand in the months ahead. The company reported the results on July 22 during its second-quarter earnings conference call.
LG Display reported a second-quarter operating loss of KRW107.7 billion (approx. US$72.77 million) on revenue of KRW5.61 trillion, according to an interim, unaudited disclosure the panel maker filed with South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service on July 22. Revenue was essentially flat against the same quarter a year earlier and up 1% from the first quarter, while the operating loss narrowed 7% from the KRW116.0 billion deficit of the second quarter of 2025.
Haesung DS has reportedly added China's CXMT as a customer for DDR5 package substrates as the South Korean supplier expands its DDR5 business and considers panel-based production for higher-layer-count products for the DDR6 generation.
BOE Technology Group said on July 20 that it is pushing beyond display panels into glass-core substrate packaging, perovskite solar cells and Micro LED optical interconnects. The Chinese display maker outlined the three areas as strategic priorities as it moves toward advanced packaging, optoelectronics and new energy markets, according to meeting notes from an investor relations event posted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange website.
South Korea's Seoul Semiconductor, one of the world's largest optoelectronics makers, is assessing plans to build a manufacturing plant in India and is in early talks with several state governments, the Economic Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The move would make the LED specialist a candidate to become the first major Korean chip-manufacturing project to follow India's revamped incentive push.
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