LG Innotek Co. said Tuesday it started delivering under-display camera module samples to domestic foldable handset brands preparing a late-2026 design refresh, giving Korean OEMs a local alternative to Chinese UDC suppliers that dominated prior generations. The modules pair a wider effective aperture with a diffraction-masking film stack LG Innotek tuned for OLED panels that sit directly above the sensor, addressing the haze and resolution loss that made early in-display cameras easy marketing targets but hard daily drivers.
What changed in the sample stack
Engineers briefed InfoHandle that the new package raises usable megapixel output when the outer display is on, using micro-lens arrays to steer light around panel wiring without the punch-hole cutouts that break continuity on book-style foldables. LG Innotek’s optics team co-developed alignment tolerances with LG Display so hinge-flex zones do not shift the camera relative to the mask layer—a failure mode that showed up in 2024 lab tests when prototypes were folded thousands of cycles.
Sample lots include calibration firmware that tells the phone when to switch between display-compensated preview and full-resolution capture on the inner screen. Domestic brands asked for that split because social apps on the cover display still dominate selfie traffic in Korea, while video calls on the unfolded canvas need sharper center crops.
Why Korea OEMs want local UDC now
Samsung Electronics and smaller domestic brands source foldable OLED domestically but have historically imported specialized UDC stacks from Chinese module houses when Korean yields lagged. Trade ministry officials have encouraged parts localization since U.S.–China technology friction tightened export paperwork on certain optical films. LG Innotek’s move lets procurement teams dual-source without redesigning the entire camera island, though executives cautioned mass production still depends on autumn yield walks.
Analysts at a Seoul brokerage said a successful UDC sample could lift LG Innotek’s camera module margin mix next year if even one Korean flagship adopts the stack for a cover-screen refresh. Competitors including Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Chinese vendors OFilm and Holitech continue pitching rival films; LG Innotek is betting its cleanroom integration with LG Display shortens tuning loops.
Manufacturing and yield
Production runs start at the company’s Paju campus, where existing smartphone camera lines can add UDC film lamination without a greenfield plant. Workers must bond masks within single-micron registration on curved cover glass, a step that kept prior generations in pilot status longer than marketing slides promised. LG Innotek said defect bins this quarter focus on dust particles trapped between the OLED and lens stack, not on sensor silicon itself.
Customers receive reference boards that document heat budgets so foldable batteries do not warp the mask during fast charging—an issue Korean carriers raised when testing loaner units in summer outdoor demos. Module shipments are samples only; commercial volume pricing remains under negotiation.
Consumer and carrier stakes
Korean mobile operators SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus subsidize foldables heavily during Chuseok and year-end upgrades, and they pressure OEMs for fewer visible compromises on cover cameras. Retail staff in Gangnam said shoppers still ask whether cover selfies match bar-type flagships; UDC is the industrial answer if software tuning keeps pace.
Privacy advocates noted under-display cameras do not remove the need for clear recording indicators; LG Innotek referred policy questions to handset makers. The science ministry’s parts industry council listed UDC as a strategic component in its 2025 supplier resilience report, giving LG Innotek talking points when applying for R&D tax credits.
Timeline to retail
Handset partners target design freeze by November for devices that could ship in the first half of 2027, though LG Innotek left room for slip if mask yields miss internal gates. International brands may request samples later in the year if Korean pilots prove stable; LG Innotek historically exports camera modules to U.S. and Japanese customers once domestic lines stabilize.
For Korea’s foldable refresh, the practical test is whether cover-screen selfies finally match bar-type flagships without a visible hole—and whether LG Innotek can produce enough masked modules at Paju when marketing teams turn samples into launch claims.