Organic light-emitting diode panels accounted for more than 60 percent of the world's market for smartphone displays in the third quarter of 2018, data showed Monday.

The global market for smartphone displays came to US$10.7 billion in the July-September period, with OLED panels taking up 61.1 percent, or $6.6 billion, according to industry tracker IHS Markit.

The proportion of OLED panels rose sharply from the 35 percent posted in the first quarter of 2017, the data showed.

Industry watchers said the increase in the presence of OLED panels followed rising demand for flexible OLED products in the market.

Samsung Display Co. accounted for 93.3 percent of the smartphone OLED panel market in the third quarter and also accounted for 94.2 percent of the market for flexible OLED panels.

As for the entire smartphone display market, which also includes liquid-crystal displays, Samsung's market share stood at 57.8 percent in terms of revenue, with China's BOE and Tianma to follow with a 7.8 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively.