Omdia: COE technology will become a major solution to reduce the reflection and glare of OLED smartphones under ambient light

Omdia expects the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of COE (formed on film encapsulation) technology to be an astonishing 33% from 2024 to 2030, as consumer demand for foldable OLED smartphones surges. According to Omdia's latest research report, COE technology will gradually replace traditional circular polarizers to become the primary solution for reducing the reflection and glare of OLED smartphones under environmental light. It is estimated that nearly 90% of foldable phones and nearly 20% of OLED smartphones (about 1 billion units) will adopt COE technology by 2030.Despite having a higher reflection rate than circular polarizers, COE excels in enhancing panel brightness, reducing power consumption, extending lifespan, and expanding color gamut, which are the reasons some display panel makers claim COE can improve screen "readability".Moreover, compared with circular polarizers laminated on display panels, COE directly patterns the display panel, making it thinner and more effective in reducing film stress, which has significant advantages in foldable display panels.Charles Annis, director of display research at Omdia, commented: "Through the adoption of black pixel definition layers (PDLs) and optimization of pixels, PDLs, color filters (CFs), electrode designs, and processes, the high reflection rate of COE technology can be effectively reduced. With the launch of new black PDL materials by multiple companies, the performance gap between circular polarizers and COE is narrowing, making COE the preferred technology for foldable displays."Although COE technology requires a large upfront capital investment to purchase necessary equipment and prepare corresponding facilities to achieve CF coating and patterning processes, Omdia's cost model analysis shows that the difference in depreciation costs and mature manufacturing costs between OLED display panels using COE technology and those using LC-type circular polarizers is almost negligible.Annis added that the high-end mobile phone market usually prefers LC-type circular polarizers due to their superior performance compared to traditional film-type circular polarizers. "Given the negligible cost difference, the speed and extent of COE technology's adoption in traditional OLED straight smartphones may depend on consumers' subjective evaluation of its image quality compared to circular polarizers."