Samsung Ramps Up AMOLED Production, Surplus Expected in 2011

No more AMOLED shortages will affect production of various mobile phones out there, as Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) plans on ramping up production for these panels, increasing capacity to meet demand.

With more and more handsets using AMOLED displays today, there have been supply issues with some of them, which affected the availability of these devices in some markets.

Moreover, a series of phone makers switched to alternative solutions when AMOLED was not available, to keep up with demand for their handsets (such as HTC with 3.7'' packing Android-based devices like Desire, or DROID Incredible).

Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) is the leading supplier of AMOLED panels, and the company has had issues with meeting demand for these displays, as it produced them only at its 4.5G plant.

At the end of the ongoing year, the company is expected to account for around 90 percent of the total AMOLED market, but its share should drop next year, even if the company plans on increasing production significantly.

According to a recent article on DigiTimes, Samsung plans on starting mass production of AMOLED panels at its 5.5G plant.

Global AMOLED panel shipments are expected to reach 168 million units during the next year, though Samsung's market share would drop to around 70 percent.

It appears that the maker would actually plan on increasing production tenfold, from 3 million AMOLED panels a month to 30 million of them.

The new production line should start up in May 2011, with the said increase to be performed gradually from that moment forward.

The deal refers mainly to the small-size AMOLED displays the company has brought to the market in various smartphones, and which are already present on smartphones from rival mobile phone makers too.

All in all, it appears that AMOLED panels will indeed be available for all those in need next year, though it remains to be seen whether devices currently using Sony’s Super LCD or other solutions will transition back to this technology as well.