Omdia: Weak Smartphone Demand Drives Record Growth in Display Shipments to Refurbished Phone Market
Omdia (TTGT) reports that display panel makers are increasingly redirecting excess capacity to the refurbished smartphone market as demand for new smartphones weakens.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Refurbished phone displays quarterly shipments by technology
Rising memory prices have prompted smartphone manufacturers to significantly reduce production plans, with Omdia forecasting demand for displays used in new smartphones will decline by
In the first quarter of 2026, display panel shipments into the refurbished smartphone market increased
The refurbished smartphone ecosystem includes display panels used for consumer repairs, professional refurbishment of recycled smartphones, and aftermarket replacement parts. While the complexity of the supply chain makes it difficult to measure final end demand precisely, the growth in panel shipments clearly reflects the rapid expansion of the refurbishment market.
The trend is being driven by both weaker demand for new smartphones and structural factors within the display industry. Panel manufacturing requires significant long-term investment, making it difficult for suppliers to quickly reduce production capacity when demand falls. Instead, panel makers are increasingly supplying displays into the refurbishment market to maintain factory utilization, absorb fixed costs, and reduce operational pressure.
“For panel makers, the refurbishment market acts like a reservoir that helps absorb fluctuations in demand from smartphone manufacturers, although no one knows exactly how large that reservoir is,” said Joy Guo, Senior Principal Analyst in Omdia’s Displays practice. “Higher memory prices have significantly reduced demand for both LCD and OLED displays from smartphone manufacturers, leading suppliers to redirect more panels into the refurbishment market. As a result, higher-quality OLED displays are becoming increasingly available for refurbished smartphones.”
The shift is particularly evident in OLED panels. In the first quarter of 2026, OLED accounted for
ABOUT OMDIA
Omdia, part of TechTarget, Inc. d/b/a Informa TechTarget (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets, grounded in real conversations with industry leaders and hundreds of thousands of data points, make our market intelligence our clients’ strategic advantage. From R&D to ROI, we identify the greatest opportunities and move the industry forward.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260804406580/en/
Fasiha Khan: fasiha.khan@omdia.com
Eric Thoo: eric.thoo@omdia.com
Source: Omdia