Apple Watch propels LG Display to command 91% of smartwatch display market

“With the introduction of the Apple Watch, the global smart watch panel market has entered a boom period, which allows LG Display to be the dominant player in the market with an overwhelming market share,” Cho Jin-young reports for BusinessKorea. “According to market research firm DisplaySearch on May 11, LG Display turned over US$186 million in the global smart watch panel market during the first quarter of this year. The size of the market was estimated at US$240 million in the period, and LG Display accounted for 90.9 percent of the market. Virtually, there is no rival company, considering that Samsung Display, which was in the runner-up position with a 3.1 percent share, posted US$63 million, followed by Japan Display at US$48 billion (2.4 percent) and Futaba US$37 billion (1.8 percent).”

“In terms of shipments, the top-ranked company comprised 66.8 percent of the total with 8 million units. Compared to 1.1 million units in Q4 2014, the number in Q1 2015 is a seven-fold increase from the previous quarter. The figure is much bigger than 1.48 million units recorded by Japan Display in the runner-up spot (12.4 percent), 1.12 million units by Futaba in third place (9.4 percent), and 900,000 units by Sharp in the fourth spot (7.5 percent),” Cho reports. “LG Display is exclusively supplying plastic OLED panels to the Apple Watch, which was released in April.”

“Samsung Display seems to be the only one with the potential to curb LG Display’s dominance,” Cho reports. “The second-largest smart watch panel maker, equipped with a system to mass-produce plastic OLED panels, will also reportedly supply the panels to the following model of the Apple Watch, along with LG Display.”

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MacDailyNews Take: If those other things are “smart,” then Apple Watch is the world’s first geniuswatch.

Apple is changing the world yet again. Watch and see.