From Apple to Windows, Samsung dominates OLED laptop displays
Mainland China’s BOE and EverDisplay are backup suppliers to Lenovo, Asus and Acer.
South Korea's Samsung Display is the only panel supplier for Apple's first OLED MacBook Pro, according to research firm TrendForce. Mainland Chinese panel makers are getting into OLED laptops through Windows brands instead: Lenovo, Asus and Acer have added BOE (京东方) and EverDisplay (和辉光电) but mainly as secondary suppliers, according to research firm Sigmaintell (群智咨询).
TrendForce forecast in an Oct. 29 report that Apple will ship 1.2 million to 1.5 million of the new MacBook Pros in 2027. Apple's entry is likely to lead other laptop brands to give priority to OLED models, TrendForce says. It expects worldwide OLED laptop shipments to grow nearly 40% from a year earlier in 2026 and more than 40% in 2027, even as the laptop market as a whole shrinks.
The new MacBook Pro uses tandem OLED, with two stacked light-emitting layers, at 254 pixels per inch. TrendForce says those specs make materials cost and yield a big challenge for panel makers. Other makers have qualification projects under way, it says, but Samsung Display already holds first-supplier status. So South Korea's LG Display, mainland makers BOE and TCL CSOT (TCL华星), and others are mainly aiming at an OLED MacBook Air, which TrendForce expects in 2029.
Windows laptops are a different market. Samsung Display still supplies more than 70% of the OLED panels at most laptop brands, Sigmaintell said in an analysis relayed by Zhitong Finance (智通财经). Lenovo buys mainly from Samsung Display, with EverDisplay, a Shanghai-based panel maker, and BOE as second sources. Relying on one supplier weakens brands' bargaining power, South Korean outlet The Elec reported, according to IT Home.
Sigmaintell's figures show worldwide OLED laptop-panel shipments rose from 2.1 million panels in the first quarter of 2025 to 4.3 million in the second quarter of 2026. More mainland supply is starting up: BOE's B16 line, which makes flexible OLED panels, began mass production in the second quarter, Sigmaintell says.
Sources: 集邦咨询 TrendForce, 智通财经 Zhitong Finance (证券之星 Stockstar), relaying 群智咨询 Sigmaintell, IT之家 IT Home (凤凰网 ifeng), Apple (MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display product page)
Editor: Ian Lamont
