Multiple smartphone brands are increasing their inventory of finished smartphones and OLED panels

On April 18th, according to industry sources cited by The Elec in South Korea, smartphone companies such as Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Huawei are all increasing their inventory of finished smartphones and OLED panels. On the one hand, Samsung has just replaced Apple in the first quarter, occupying the position of “world’s largest mobile phone shipment”. In the first quarter, it produced a total of 64.5 million smartphones and tablets, which is 22% more than the original plan of 53 million units; The sales of the Galaxy S24 series in the first quarter were about 10% higher than the previous generation models, and the sales of the ultra low price model Galaxy A16 exceeded expectations. On the other hand, due to the particularly sluggish sales of iPhones in the Chinese market, Chinese smartphone companies such as Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Huawei are seeking opportunities to capture the iPhone market. An industry insider said that “Chinese smartphone companies are overbooking.” Downstream smartphone brand factories are increasing inventory, and orders from upstream OLED suppliers are naturally rising. Samsung Display has secured a rigid OLED order for mid to low priced smartphones from Samsung Electronics, leading to an increase in production line operating rates. Samsung Display has requested the equipment supplier to introduce relevant equipment to improve panel performance. The operating rate of the sixth generation flexible OLED production lines of Chinese panel companies such as BOE, Huaxing Optoelectronics, Tianma, and Weixinnuo has also increased. The news indicates that some companies are expected to fully launch the 6th generation flexible OLED production line by the end of this year, and there is expected to be a large demand. However, industry insiders also remind that if the actual sales of related smartphones do not meet expectations in the future, the operating rate of OLED suppliers may decrease.