In 2025, the global display industry will undergo a major shift as South Korea exits LCD production and strengthens its OLED patent lead. China gains dominance over LCD capacity and market share, while Taiwanese companies advance with microLED, e-paper, and new business models. This marks a move from "capacity scale wars" to "technology value battles."
Despite approaching the end of the year and the promotional peak season coming to an end, overall utilization rates in the smartphone panel market have remained relatively high. Additionally, differences in market conditions and structures among panel technologies have led to mixed price movements.
The 8K TV market, once seen as the hallmark of premium products, is rapidly fading as major manufacturers cease launching new models. Currently, Samsung Electronics remains the primary player in the 8K TV space, while the 8K Association, which it spearheads, is shrinking swiftly.
Taiwan's Amtran Technology is reshaping its growth trajectory, pivoting from scale-driven contract manufacturing to a profit-focused strategy built around high-value products—a shift now clearly reflected in its financial performance and product mix.
Apple has reportedly kicked off an OLED panel development program for the iMac, with South Korean outlet The Elec citing industry sources saying the company has sent Requests for Information (RFI) to Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD).
Taiwan's display solutions provider Winstar Display anticipates at least 10% order growth in 2026, driven by applications across up to 173 industries. While US tariff policies and cautious customer sentiment created market uncertainty in the first half of 2025, demand began a steady recovery in the second half of the year, giving the company confidence in its sustained growth trajectory.
China hosts the world's largest display panel capacity, pulling upstream suppliers into an increasingly concentrated ecosystem. In polarizers, a string of acquisitions has pushed China to the top globally, with Shanjin Optoelectronics and Hong Kong Heng Mei Group forming a clear duopoly.
Apple is widely expected to mark the 20th anniversary of the iPhone in 2027 with a redesigned model, and South Korea's two dominant display makers—LG Display (LGD) and Samsung Display (SDC)—are already positioning themselves for the project. But industry watchers in South Korea say the two companies are doing so with noticeably different levels of commitment.
InnoCare Optoelectronics held an investor conference on December 16, 2025, where company chairman James Yang pointed out that while the global medical device market grows annually by about 5–8%, InnoCare maintains a double-digit growth rate, outperforming the overall market. The company expects to sustain stable growth through 2026.
South Korean IC design house Sapien Semiconductor is emerging as a disruptor in the global smart glasses supply chain, after reports that it will supply display backplanes for Meta's next-generation augmented reality (AR) glasses, a development that could loosen China's long-standing grip on key micro-display components.
Wah Hong Industrial, a leading Taiwanese optical film and advanced materials maker, remains focused on product upgrades and structural adjustments to enhance overall competitiveness, despite tariff-related uncertainties and conservative demand in 2025, according to the company's president, Chih-Ming Lin.
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