CounterPoint Research's latest forecast indicates that global shipments of foldable smartphone panels will experience explosive growth in 2026, with a year-on-year increase of 46%. The core driving force comes from the release of Apple's first foldable iPhone's tens of millions of panel procurement demand, marking the industry's official transition from 'niche exploration' to 'mainstream track'. As a leader in foldable screen technology, Samsung Display, with nearly a decade of technological accumulation and scalable production capacity advantages, not only secured the exclusive screen supply rights for this Apple model (planning to ship 11 million sets of internal and external screens) but also built barriers with core technologies such as UTG ultra-thin glass and crease-free hinge adaptation, and is expected to occupy 57% of the market share. Coupled with its innovation of 1.4R ultra-small curvature flexible screens for the Galaxy Z series and the capacity expansion layout for large-sized foldable screens (currently the mainstream market form), Samsung Display will become the biggest winner in this wave of industry growth and panel average price increase benefits.
