Thanks to the easy availability of OLED panels from the likes of Samsung, LG and BOE, even cheap smartphones now use the technology. However, Samsung and Apple are pretty much at the top of the pack when it comes to selling OLED smartphones. All these years, Samsung dominated the coveted smartphone with OLED displays. And then Apple nudged its iPhone 12 series (four models) towards OLED display.

Now a piece of news arrives from the side of market research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) via Patently Apple that Apple is anticipated to send 176 million devices of OLED smartphones this 12 months for a marketplace percentage of 28% whilst Samsung will send 145 million devices for a marketplace percentage of 23%. This would be the first time that Samsung will lose its most sensible spot on OLED smartphone shipments.

In all, OLED smartphone shipments tally for 2021 would be around 630 million. The DSCC report attributed to the iPhone 12 series’ popularity, which also coincided with the fact that Samsung’s Galaxy S21 series did not do well as much as it expected it to.

Samsung is said to have embarked on an in-house special review phase to evaluate its smartphone business and bring about any changes if necessary.

Aside from Apple, other Chinese brands have also made aggressive overtures in the market. Xiaomi and Oppo have made appreciable inroads in the market with their competitively priced offerings. Xiaomi is expected to ship 82 million units of OLED smartphones for a 13% market share, while Oppo will make 69 million units shipment and walk away with an 11% market share.

Although for Apple, the DSCC report believes that Apple will continue its lead in the next year too. The estimate is that Apple will have 226 million units in 2022.