The Rise and Fall of Samsung Displays: From Market Dominance to the Challenge of Domestic Brands

The Rise and Fall of Samsung Displays: From Market Dominance to the Challenge of Domestic BrandsRecently, while reviewing all the new phones released in 2024, an interesting phenomenon caught my attention: the remarkable scarcity of Samsung screens. Looking back at the new phone boom at the end of last year, only the Realme GT7 Pro used a Samsung screen

The Rise and Fall of Samsung Displays: From Market Dominance to the Challenge of Domestic Brands

Recently, while reviewing all the new phones released in 2024, an interesting phenomenon caught my attention: the remarkable scarcity of Samsung screens. Looking back at the new phone boom at the end of last year, only the Realme GT7 Pro used a Samsung screen. In fact, over the past two or three years, Samsung screens have steadily lost presence in the domestic Chinese market. Domestic screen manufacturers BOE, Huaxing Optoelectronics, Visionox, and Tianma have almost completely divided the market share, leaving only Samsung's own products and a few overseas brands like Apple and Google still using Samsung screens. However, 2025 might see a shift. A Weibo blogger revealed on December 24, 2024, that Samsung would supply domestic phone manufacturers with various screens, including 2K LTPO deeply curved screens, 2K LTPS straight screens, 1.5K LTPO deeply curved screens, and 1.5K LTPO straight screens, covering a wide range of sizes. On January 6th, the blogger further hinted at the potential launch of smaller domestic phones equipped with Samsung screens in the second half of the year. Once the dominant player in the domestic flagship phone market, Samsung screens now face a strong challenge from domestic brands. What story lies behind this dramatic rise and fall? Let's delve into the rise and decline of Samsung displays.

01. Former Hegemon: The Golden Age of Samsung Displays

Although Samsung screens have declined in recent years, many consumers still consider their quality superior. This stems from their absolute market dominance for a long time. Research data shows that in 2017, Samsung's AMOLED smartphone panel market share reached a staggering 96%, almost a monopoly. Even when some models used both Samsung and other manufacturers' screens, consumers often preferred Samsung. Samsung's market dominance was due to its strong comprehensive capabilities.

As early as 2010, Samsung launched the Super AMOLED display, a significant upgrade to traditional AMOLED screens. Super AMOLED abandoned the traditional architecture of a touch sensing layer + display layer, and the built-in touch chip significantly improved the operating response speed. The elimination of the glass cover layer also resulted in better display performance under sunlight. The most striking feature of Samsung screens was their vibrant colors, boasting wider color gamuts, higher contrast ratios, and color saturation, resulting in a strikingly vivid display effect. While some found the colors overly saturated and slightly unrealistic, their visual impact was undeniable, and the overall display effect was impeccable.

Beyond color performance, Samsung screens had significant advantages in uniformity and transparency. Uniformity refers to the consistency of light and color across the screen, creating a more harmonious visual effect. Transparency is reflected in the purity of colors and clarity of the image, producing more natural and clear images and avoiding issues like blurring, color cast, or speckles. Many users praised the transparency of Samsung screens in their reviews.

Samsung's dominance was a result of its strong technological capabilities, early technological accumulation, continuous large-scale R&D investment, and the superior display effects and user experience it ultimately delivered. These factors together created Samsung's glorious period in the market.

02. The Rise of Domestic Screens: Overtaking on the Curve and Differentiation

Why did Samsung screens gradually lose market share? Besides pricing, the rise of domestic screen manufacturers was key. In the early days, due to lagging technology, domestic screens could only barely survive in the low-to-mid-range market, unable to compete with Samsung. Even when a few flagship models used domestic screens, their display effects often fell short of Samsung's, becoming a product weakness.

However, domestic screen manufacturers didn't give up; they constantly sought breakthroughs. From around 2022, they found a way to overtake on the curve eye protection. In recent years, phone manufacturers have emphasized the eye protection features of their screens, with "PWM dimming" becoming a popular specification. While Samsung screens boasted excellent display quality, they were criticized for being harmful to the eyes, with many users reporting eye strain after prolonged use. Domestic screen manufacturers seized this pain point, meeting user needs by improving eye protection features and achieving a breakthrough in a single area.

Simultaneously, domestic screen manufacturers continuously improved in areas like color, color accuracy, brightness, resolution, and viewing angles, gradually catching up with and even surpassing Samsung. More importantly, they offered something Samsung couldn't: deep customization. In recent years, cooperation between domestic phone manufacturers and screen manufacturers has become increasingly close, with co-designed screens becoming the norm. For example, in 2024, OnePlus partnered with BOE to customize its second-generation Oriental screen using X2 luminescent materials; Huaxing Optoelectronics exclusively customized screens with M9 luminescent materials for the Xiaomi 15 series.

The cost of independent screen R&D is high, making deep cooperation with screen manufacturers a more cost-effective choice. Domestic screen manufacturers are more willing to tailor their offerings to phone manufacturers' needs, providing flexible services in resolution, under-display cameras, color, and brightness. While the overall level of domestic screens hasn't fully surpassed Samsung, their strength is undeniable. Furthermore, Samsung's best M-series screens aren't supplied to the domestic market, further encouraging domestic manufacturers to opt for customized flagship panels, ensuring user experience while supporting the development of the domestic supply chain.

03. Samsung's Counteroffensive: Challenges and Opportunities Coexist

As mentioned earlier, Samsung will supply various screen specifications to domestic phone manufacturers in 2025 and reportedly lowered prices, willing to accept customization. This seems to confirm online comments like "They lost the market and now they know to turn back." However, times have changed. Before, phone manufacturers had no choice but to rely on Samsung. Now, the market competitive landscape has drastically changed, and even if Samsung "bows down," it may not be readily accepted by domestic manufacturers. There are reports suggesting both domestic and Samsung screens will be used, with Samsung potentially becoming a "secondary supplier."

Although Samsung screens still hold a leading position in the global market, their market share has been continuously declining in the first three quarters of 2024, particularly in the domestic market where it has fallen into the "Others" category. For Samsung screens to regain their former glory in the domestic market, they face enormous challenges.

04. Competition and Progress: Continuous Momentum

Although the full-year 2024 data hasn't been released, according to a CINNOResearch report, China is expected to be the world's largest OLED market in 2024 (by area). TrendForce predicts that Chinese panel manufacturers' overall shipments will exceed those of South Korean manufacturers in 2025, reaching a global market share of 50.2%.

Online discussions about Samsung screens' return are heated, with netizens expressing various opinions. Some believe that domestic screens have risen, claiming "You ignored me then, but now you can't afford me"; others criticize Samsung for not understanding how it lost market share; still others emphasize that "Making money is the most important thing." Some netizens even point to Samsung's previous arbitrary price increases and supply cuts, leading to a lack of trust from domestic manufacturers.

Samsung's price reduction strategy may impact domestic screen manufacturers, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Strong competitors will incentivize domestic screen manufacturers to continually improve. Currently, domestic screen manufacturers still have shortcomings in areas like process maturity, and they cannot stop their pursuit of progress. The road ahead is challenging, but the prospects are bright.