[ET NEWS] LG Display will supply organic light-emitting diode panels for next flagship smartphones of its sister firm LG Electronics and China’s Xiaomi, industry sources said on April 19.



The shipments are expected to start within the first half of this year. The panels are reportedly similar to the curved screens used in Samsung Electronics ' flagship models.











LG Display has supplied some flexible OLED panels for Xiaomi’s Mi Note 2 since last year but the full-scale production has not yet started as it is still working on elevating the yield rate.



Sources said the panels are likely to be featured in the two handset makers’ bigger-screen models -- LG’s V series and Xiaomi’s Mi Note -- that come out in the latter half of this year.



LG Display produces a monthly 22,000 units of the fourth-generation OLED panels. It will start the operation of its new E5 production lines for the latest sixth-generation panels in the coming months. Its total production capacity will reach 37,000 units per month.



Among other things, LG Display is hoping to supply OLED panels for Apple’s iPhone. The company has supplied liquid-crystal displays for the iPhone over the past decade but the lucrative business is at risk as Apple plans to use OLED screens for all new iPhones possibly from next year.



Currently, Samsung Display, which owns more than 95 percent of the smartphone OLED production, is the sole supplier for the upcoming iPhone.



By Yun Keon-il and Bae Ok-jin (benyun@etnews.com) (withok@etnews.com) (jylee@heraldcorp.com)

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