Apple's long-term push into OLED displays is beginning to reshape the competitive landscape for panel makers, opening new fronts even as it consolidates others.
The company is expected to bring OLED technology to its iMac lineup as early as 2029 or 2030, according to industry reports, and has recently asked suppliers including Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display to begin developing prototype panels using existing production lines. The targeted specifications—a 24-inch display, 600 nits of brightness, and roughly 218 pixels per inch—signal Apple's intent to extend its high-end display strategy deeper into its desktop products.
According to sources cited by ZDNet Korea, SDC is widely seen as having an early lead. The company plans to adapt its large-size QD-OLED lines to produce higher-resolution samples, aiming for around 220 PPI, with deliveries to Apple as soon as the second half of 2026. Recent advances by its equipment partner Semes—including inkjet printing systems capable of supporting that resolution—could help accelerate development.
LG Display, by contrast, is pursuing OLED panels based on its white OLED, or WOLED, technology. While that approach has historically lagged QD-OLED in brightness, the company is working to close the gap with next-generation five-stack structures and new manufacturing techniques such as eLEAP, which eliminates the need for fine metal masks. Those technologies, however, are still in development, raising the possibility that LG Display could trail its rival in securing early iMac orders.
Yet even as competition intensifies in larger-format OLEDs, LG Display has quietly tightened its grip on another crucial Apple product line: the Apple Watch.
Following the withdrawal of Japan Display Inc. from the Apple Watch OLED business amid worsening profitability, LG Display has effectively become the sole supplier. With that position secured, analysts expect the company's earnings momentum to accelerate into 2026.
Data from market research firm Omdia, cited by Seoul Economic Daily, show that LG Display's share of revenue in the smartwatch OLED segment rose to 43.7% in 2025, up from 39.7% a year earlier and the highest level in its history. Industry analysts say the figure effectively reflects LG Display's capture of nearly all Apple Watch panel orders.
The shift was swift. Japan Display's shipments for Apple Watch panels fell from 850,000 units in the first quarter of 2025 to just 5,000 units by the third quarter, before dropping to zero in the fourth. LG Display, meanwhile, expanded shipments from 5.8 million units in the first quarter to 11.2 million in the third, before supplying 7.1 million units in the final quarter alone, fully absorbing the gap left by its exiting rival.
Behind that dominance is a technological edge. LG Display's low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, or LTPO, OLED panels can reduce refresh rates to as low as 1 hertz, significantly lowering power consumption and enabling always-on display features—a capability that remains difficult to replicate at scale. The technology now spans Apple's full smartwatch lineup, from entry-level models to premium variants, allowing LG Display to maximize both volume and margins.
That expanding foothold is expected to translate into a sharp financial turnaround. According to estimates compiled by FnGuide, analysts project LG Display's operating profit will reach about KRW1.3 trillion (approx. US$852 million) in 2026, a 152% increase from 2024.
Samsung Securities has also forecast that LG Display will return to profitability across its OLED divisions—including mobile, television, and IT panels—by 2026. As product mixes shift toward higher-end devices and lower-margin LCD businesses are pared back, the company's broader restructuring may begin to bear fruit.
For Apple's suppliers, the contrast is striking: a fiercely contested future in next-generation displays for devices like the iMac, and a rapidly consolidating present in products like the Apple Watch. Together, they underscore how Apple's evolving display strategy is not only driving innovation but also redrawing the balance of power across the global panel industry.
Article translated by Elaine Chen and edited by Jack Wu
