The global automotive industry is rapidly pivoting toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs), fueling a parallel surge in demand for large in-car displays. Market research firm Omdia forecasts that displays larger than 10 inches will account for a staggering 81% of automotive display sales by 2027, nearly doubling their market share from 2021.
With China's annual 618 e-commerce shopping festival coming to an end and government subsidies that helped boost sales earlier this year exhausted in most provinces, several LCD monitor brands are adjusting their panel inventory strategies amid signs of a sharp deceleration in consumer momentum.
South Korea's leading display manufacturers have officially begun production of OLED panels for Apple's upcoming iPhone 17, according to industry sources. While Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD) have secured the initial batch of orders, the total volume appears to be lower than that for the iPhone 16, reflecting geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
Chinese display manufacturer BOE has secured production capacity of roughly 100 million OLED panels annually for Apple's iPhones, according to industry sources. While BOE still lags behind South Korean giants Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD) in technology, its rapid expansion is expected to undermine the bargaining power of the Korean suppliers in future negotiations with Apple.
After an unexpectedly strong first quarter driven by front-loaded demand, the global LCD panel industry is now showing signs of cooling. The momentum, boosted by US tariff exemptions and China's "trade-in" subsidies for home electronics, is fading fast as those tailwinds weaken heading into the second half of 2025.
