New research from Omdia forecasts that global shipments of polarizer-less OLED displays will reach 244 million units by 2032. reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.7% between 2026 and 2032.
OLED displays typically use a circular polarizer layer (CPL) to ensure light generated from each pixel travels in a straight line. However, this process reduces light efficiency, cutting the brightness of the OLED light passing through it by around 50% compared with its original level. In addition, the single film layer is relatively thick, which creates design and performance limitations.
To address these challenges, OLED manufacturers have developed polarizer-less OLED technology in recent years. However, due to higher investment costs and increased reflectivity, adoption has so far been largely limited to premium products. More recently, panel suppliers have expanded the use of this technology into a wider range of applications, helping to accelerate innovation across OLED display market.
“For set manufacturers and consumers, the value of display innovation lies not only in the technology itself, but also in how effectively it performs in real-world usage,” says Jerry Kang, Practice Leader at Omdia. “COE technology provides set manufacturers with key advantages, including higher light extraction, a thinner structure, and greater design flexibility. For consumers, it offers improved color reproduction and privacy features, which are expected to strengthen preference for OLED displays and further differentiate them from competing technologies.”
One of the most representative examples of this technology is Color Filter-on-Encapsulation (COE), which involves precisely patterning color filters and black matrices on top of the OLED encapsulation layer. Compared with CPL, COE is thinner, which has contributed to a high adoption rate in foldable smartphone panels. Because COE also delivers higher light extraction efficiency than CPL, its use is expanding, particularly in special-purpose smartphones that require high brightness or extended usage times.
COE also offers advantages when implementing an Under Panel Camera (UPC), as it can be designed to match the pixel structure without compromising the camera’s light capture capability. Samsung Electronics recently launched the Galaxy S26 Ultra featuring a COE-based Privacy View display.
This technology differs significantly from conventional privacy displays because it can be activated not only across the full screen, but also within selected areas of the display.
What’s more, as the competition in the display market increasingly centers on improved color reproduction, COE is gaining momentum as a potential replacement for CPL.
Technologies that eliminate polarizers are not limited to premium innovations such as COE. Other approaches, like the Simplified Polarizer Layer (SPL), induce polarization by limiting light transmittance across the display surface. While this can lead to lower contrast ratios, narrower viewing angles, and weaker outdoor visibility, SPL’s lower cost compared with conventional polarizer technologies makes it a strong candidate for adoption in lower-cost OLED panels.
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