A basketball thrown by a robotic arm slammed into a hoop backboard made of a foldable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and then swished through the net. A thud rang out each time the ball hit, but the screen kept playing video without interruption. Visitors lifted their phones to record video every time the ball struck the screen.
A few steps away, at the front of the LG Display booth, a plastic OLED (P-OLED) applied to a humanoid face greeted visitors. After first showing how future displays connect with robots, the inside arranged scenes of use in living rooms, workspaces, and vehicles, as well as other daily-life and industrial settings. Visitors examined the robot's face and then naturally moved on to each experience zone.
At COEX in Gangnam District, Seoul, the exhibition booths prepared by Samsung Display and LG Display for K-Display 2026, the Korea Display Industry Exhibition that opened on the 22nd, bustled with visitors until late afternoon. The two companies leading Korea's display industry presented robots, mobility, and information technology (IT) as new demand sources for OLED through this show. Around both companies' booths, lines formed with visitors waiting to hear explanations and take their turns at experiences, and in front of key products, people repeatedly stopped to film.
They targeted the same market, but their approaches differed. If Samsung Display emphasized the scalability of OLED through new form factors and an artificial intelligence (AI) interface, LG Display put forward its product lineup—from TVs to smartwatches, vehicles, and humanoids—and real-world utility. The exhibition flow also diverged: Samsung Display arranged it so that visitors directly experienced the materials and technology of the products, while LG Display had them follow scenes of future technology connecting to daily life.
K-Display 2026 is Korea's largest display-focused exhibition, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and organized by the Korea Display Industry Association. Marking its 25th edition this year, 142 corporations and institutions took part with 446 booths, showcasing next-generation panels and technologies for materials, parts, and equipment.
◇ Same robot OLEDs: Samsung focuses on "interaction," LG on "on-site reliability"
Samsung Display and LG Display put forward OLED panels for humanoids as key exhibits. It is evidence that both companies are eyeing the robot sector as a future growth market. Samsung Display, however, emphasized interaction between robots and people, while LG Display focused on stable operation and applicability required in industrial environments.
Samsung Display applied a 6.9-inch OLED to a robot face to display expressions and status, and implemented eye-tracking that moves the pupils in line with visitors' gaze. It also exhibited the "OLED Companion AI Toy" with a 1.3-inch circular OLED, a small AI pet bot, and a necklace-type AI pendant. The display for humanoids and the Companion AI Toy are concept products unveiled for the first time at this event.
LG Display unveiled a P-OLED for humanoids in Korea for the first time. It extended to robots the thin, lightweight characteristics of P-OLED first applied in vehicles and its durability to operate from minus 30 degrees to 85 degrees Celsius.
◇ Future cars: "Greater design freedom" vs. "a moving living space"
In vehicle displays, the two companies' solutions also diverged. Samsung Display unveiled for the first time a "big hole" center fascia prototype with an 80-millimeter-diameter opening in the active display area. It scaled up its hole-in-active-area (HIAA) technology used for smartphone camera holes to place a gear shift dial and air vents within the screen. It also showcased a vertical slidable OLED that stays hidden in daily use but rises when needed to as large as 15.5 inches. The focus was on boosting interior design freedom by combining the screen with physical components.
LG Display focused on turning the vehicle interior into a living space. It installed a 48-inch pillar-to-pillar (P2P) display stretching from the driver's seat to the passenger seat, and from the rear-seat ceiling, an 18-inch slidable OLED drops down at the push of a button. Visitors sat directly in the digital cockpit to watch the screen unfold. If Samsung Display secured space by changing screen structures, LG Display realized scenes of watching videos, holding meetings, and gaming on the move through large sizes and stowable form factors.
◇ Samsung showcases technology experiences, LG offers full lineups by lifestyle
The two companies also exhibited differentiated products in IT and gaming, where OLED adoption is rising. If Samsung Display had visitors directly feel performance differences in individual technologies, LG Display focused on showing what value products create in real use environments.
Samsung Display linked exhibits naturally from smartphone OLEDs to laptops, monitors, and large QD-OLEDs. Through a foldable backboard, the privacy technology "Flex Magic Pixel," and a display comparing real flowers with on-screen colors, it let visitors experience durability, security, and picture quality firsthand. It also placed a 16-inch tandem OLED, a 14-inch ultra-slim tandem OLED with peak brightness of 2,000 nits, and a 31.5-inch QD-OLED delivering 4K and 360 Hz.
LG Display arranged OLEDs along lifestyle scenes such as vision, home, work, and mobility. The gaming zone—featuring a 24.5-inch 540 Hz OLED, a 27-inch dual mode (DFR) 720 Hz OLED, and a 39-inch 5K2K OLED—drew crowds waiting to try it out. In the home zone, it let visitors compare tandem white OLED (WOLED) with peak brightness of 4,500 nits and reflectance under 0.3% in living room settings by day and night. It unveiled for the first time a 27-inch 5K OLED with 220 ppi and an RGB stripe structure targeting the professional market.
Meanwhile, attention also turned to Samsung Display President Lee Cheong and LG Display President Jeong Chul-dong as they toured each booth together to look at one another's technologies and business directions. Jeong tried on smart glasses at Samsung Display's booth, and Lee stepped into LG Display's in-vehicle digital cockpit to examine its large and slidable panels. The two pointed to each other's products and exchanged views on technical configurations and applicability. After finishing the tour, Jeong met with reporters and said, "Samsung Display prepared remarkably well," adding, "Looking around in person made me think we need to work even harder."