A main motivation of Foxconn Electronics' investment in Sharp is to develop AMOLED panels mainly for use in smartphones, for Foxconn is a global leader in the smartphone OEM sector, according to Digitimes Research.
Following Samsung Electronics' adoption of AMOLED panels for smartphones, Apple and other vendors will do so for mid-range and high-end smartphone models. Global shipments of smartphone-use AMOLED panels will increase from 3.45 million units in 2016 to 10.24 million units in 2020 and further to 13.57 million units in 2025, Digitimes Research estimates.
Sharp will set up one 4.5G and two 6G AMOLED production lines with monthly capacity of 13,000, 11,500 and 34,500 glass substrates respectively, with total monthly capacity of 9.85 million 5.5-inch equivalent panels.
Thanks to financial support from Foxconn, Sharp's global market share for smartphone-use AMOLED shipments(including flexible models) will rise from 1.1% in 2018, 6.2% in 2020, 10.0% in 2023 and 13.2% in 2025.
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