Omdia’s latest Smartphone Display Intelligence Service reports that display panel shipments to the refurbished smartphone market reached a record 298 million units in the first quarter of 2026. This marks a 20% annual growth and overtakes shipments to new phone manufacturers, which totaled 289 million units during the same period. The shift is tied to a sharp decline in new smartphone demand, driven in part by higher memory prices that have pushed manufacturers to cut production plans. Panel makers are now pivoting their output toward the second-hand market to manage excess capacity and remain profitable.
The role of the refurbishment market
According to Joy Guo, a senior principal analyst at Omdia, the refurbished market functions as a kind of reservoir for panel producers. When demand for new devices falters, suppliers turn to this alternative channel to keep production facilities running, maintain output, and absorb fixed costs. The refurbishment ecosystem includes three main components: display panels for consumer repairs, professionally refurbished used smartphones, and replacement parts sold in the aftermarket. While the intricate nature of the supply chain makes it challenging to gauge exact end demand, the growing shipment numbers signal a clear trend toward expansion in this sector.
OLED panels gaining ground in refurbished phones
The growth is particularly noticeable with OLED displays. In Q1 2026, OLED panels accounted for 7% of shipments to the refurbished market, up from just 2% a year earlier. This reflects a rising availability of premium-quality display parts in the second-hand market, catering to a growing demand for high-end refurbished phones. The shift is fueled by structural challenges within the panel manufacturing industry. Since panel production requires substantial long-term investment and heavy capital, suppliers cannot easily scale back output when demand drops. Instead, they are redirecting production to maintain utilization and reduce operational strain. As smartphone manufacturers continue to scale back orders due to high memory costs, this trend is expected to continue, with suppliers increasingly supplying both LCD and OLED panels to the refurbishment market.