A survey conducted by Taiwanese market analysis firm TrendForce found that 45% of smartphones produced worldwide in 2022 will have AMOLED screens. Furthermore, this year alone, the total will be 39,8%. According to the research, the increase in the number of smartphones with AMOLED screens is due to the adoption of the technology by companies such as Apple and Samsung.

Since the Galaxy S10, the South Korean company, for example, has been using a variant of AMOLED, Dynamic AMOLED, in all of its flagships. This standard of excellence brings more accurate colors and improves the contrast ratio on the screen—because of this, details in dark scenes in movies and games are sharper and more immersive.

The numbers predicted by TrendForce, however, are at risk. This is because the growing adoption of AMOLED screens — and we've already talked about this here the difference of this standard for OLED and LED — leads to a high consumption of chips whose demand, due to the shortage of semiconductors in the industry, may not be met by factories. According to the research, AMOLED screen chips are manufactured in 28 and 40 nanometer processes and require more wafers (semiconductor slices) to be produced.

Currently, only four companies in the world are capable of assembling these parts en masse: TSMC, Samsung, UMC and GlobalFoundries. Of the four, only the first three, according to TrendForce, have enough wafers to produce screens next year.

Specificities hinder production

Another factor that could affect the production of smartphones with AMOLED screens in the future is that each manufacturer has unique panel specifications. For example, companies differ in details regarding the uniformity of the display image (greater or lesser elimination of opacity, or color/brightness compensation, among others).

Currently, AMOLED technology — and its variations — can be seen in the industry's main flagships, such as the Samsung Galaxy S21, OnePlus 9 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 11. The standard can also be found in mid-range smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and the (future) Redmi Note 10.

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