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The purchase volume of OLED emitting materials in the third quarter of 2024 is expected to reach 32.7 tons, the highest ever purchase volume of emitting materials in 2024

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According to UBI Research’s ‘4Q24_Quarterly OLED Emitting Material Market Tracker’, the purchase volume of emitting materials in the third quarter of 2024 was calculated to be 32.7 tons. Previously, material purchases were highest in 2021, when the market expanded due to COVID-19, but the all-time high was renewed in the third quarter of 2024. Considering the characteristics of OLED emitting materials, which show the highest usage in the fourth quarter of every year, it is expected that 2024 will see the highest usage ever.

Looking at each company, Samsung Display consistently holds the highest market share. Samsung Display had a 41.4% share in the entire OLED emitting material market based on purchase volume, followed by LG Display with 20.5%, BOE with 11.6%, and Visionox with 8.3%.

By substrate, RGB OLED still maintains the 80% level with a market share of 83.7% based on purchase volume, and as 8.6G lines begin to operate in earnest, RGB OLED’s market share is expected to gradually decline. WRGB-OLED’s market share was 11.3%, similar to the second quarter, and QD-OLED’s market share was 2.8%.

The market share of RGB 2 stack tandem OLED once rose to 6.4% in the second quarter due to a surge in iPad Pro OLED shipments but fell to the 2.2% range in the third quarter due to low demand. Compared to panel shipments, IT devices that use 2-stack tandem OLED for smartphone OLED, which uses single stack OLED, have large panel areas and have two light-emitting layers, so material purchase volume accounted for a higher share than shipment volume.

However, as BOE’s 8.6G line was confirmed to supply OLED for smartphones first, the growth of the 2 stack tandem OLED market was in the hands of Samsung Display. Starting in 2026, when OLED is expected to be applied to MacBook Pro, the purchase amount of light emitting materials applied to 2 stack tandem OLED is expected to more than double compared to 2024. The 2-stack tandem OLED panel supplied to MacBook Pro is expected to be supplied first by Samsung Display.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶OLED Emitting Material Market Track Sample

Samsung Display’s Auto OLED shipments surge, sales remain strong even as tablet PC panel shipments decrease

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UBI Research ‘4Q24 Medium&Large OLED Display Market Track’

UBI Research ‘4Q24 Medium & Large OLED Display Market Track’

Samsung Display’s mid- to large-sized OLED shipments and sales in the third quarter were similar to those in the second quarter. Due to low sales of iPad Pro OLED, OLED shipments for tablet PCs decreased, but shipments increased in other applications and sales remained at a similar level. Samsung Display supplies mid- to large-sized OLED products for a variety of applications, including not only tablet PCs but also notebooks, monitors, and automotive OLEDs.

According to UBI Research’s recently published ‘4Q24 Medium & Large OLED Display Market Track’, as iPad Pro OLED panels began to be mass-produced in earnest in the second quarter, the shipments and sales of mid-to-large-size OLED panels from Samsung Display and LG Display surged. However, in the third quarter, panel shipments plummeted due to low sales of iPad Pro OLED, leading to a sharp decline in tablet PC OLED shipments and sales for both panel companies.

OLED shipments for TVs and OLEDs for tablet PCs increased rapidly at the same time, and LG Display’s shipments, which achieved its highest quarterly performance since the fourth quarter of 2021, decreased by 34% compared to the previous quarter, and sales decreased by 23%. However, because OLED shipments for TV recovered compared to the previous year, mid- to large-sized OLED shipments increased by 124% and sales increased by 111% compared to the same period last year.

In the case of Samsung Display, tablet PC shipments and sales also decreased. Samsung Display supplies OLED for tablet PCs to Samsung Electronics and Apple. Although OLED shipments for tablet PCs to Samsung Electronics did not change significantly, panel supply to Apple decreased. Accordingly, sales for tablet PCs also decreased by 38% compared to the previous quarter, but sales were able to be maintained similar to the previous quarter due to increased sales of other applications. Among Samsung Display’s applications, the one that has grown the most is automotive OLED. Automotive OLED shipments are rapidly increasing to 100,000 units in the first quarter, approximately 200,000 units in the second quarter, and approximately 500,000 units in the third quarter.

Samsung Display’s mid- to large-sized OLED shipments, which are investing in 8.6G, are expected to increase further from the end of 2025. As Samsung Display advances the mass production of its 8.6G line to the end of 2025, market expansion is expected to accelerate further. The notebook and monitor markets, as well as tablet PC and auto OLED, are expected to grow rapidly upon Apple’s entry into the market.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶Medium & Large OLED Display Quarterly Market Track Sample

Small OLED shipments in the third quarter increased by 7.8% compared to the previous quarter, and LG Display’s shipments surged

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‘4Q24 Small OLED Display Market Track’

‘4Q24 Small OLED Display Market Track’

The small OLED market in the third quarter rose 7.8% compared to the previous quarter. Most panel companies recorded panel shipments at a similar level to the second quarter, but overall shipments increased as shipments from LG Display and China’s Everdisplay surged.

According to the ‘4Q24 Small OLED Display Market Track’ recently published by UBI Research, small OLED shipments in the third quarter of 2024 were 247 million units, up 7.8% compared to the previous quarter and 32.6% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The shipments of Chinese panel companies, including Samsung Display and BOE, were similar to or slightly lower than the previous quarter, but as the shipments of LG Display and China’s Everdisplay surged, overall shipments increased.

Based on the iPhone 16 series, which began full-scale production, LG Display shipped 17.6 million iPhone panels, a 64% increase from the previous quarter, and smartwatch shipments increased 147% to 12.2 million units. Due to the impact of increased shipments, LG Display’s sales increased by 74% compared to the previous quarter and by 115% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

LG Display’s shipments are expected to continue to increase next year following the fourth quarter. As LTPO TFT begins to be applied to the iPhone 17 series scheduled to be released in 2025, there are predictions that BOE’s initial panel supply will actually be difficult, and as BOE is unable to supply panels, the supply may be transferred to LG Display. However, since LG Display is currently producing panels close to full capacity, line expansion is necessary to produce more panels. There is an analysis that it is realistic to expand 6G lines because it is realistically difficult to quickly start investing in 8.6G.

Among Chinese panel companies, shipments of Everdisplay and Tianma increased. Tianma’s shipments increased, but only slightly, and Everdisplay’s shipments more than doubled to 13 million units compared to the previous quarter.

Samsung Display’s shipments decreased somewhat, but sales were similar to the second quarter, and BOE’s shipments were similar to the second quarter, but sales increased by 15%. In the fourth quarter, shipments from not only LG Display but also Samsung Display and BOE are expected to increase, and considering the characteristics of the OLED market with the highest shipment volume in the fourth quarter, global OLED shipments for smartphones are expected to exceed 800 million units in 2024.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶Small OLED Display Quarterly Market Track Sample

iPhone 17 series to be released in 2025, panels supplied by Samsung and LG Display, BOE still unknown

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iPhone 17 Slim expected image (screen capture from @Apple Explained on YouTube)

iPhone 17 Slim expected image (screen capture from @Apple Explained on YouTube)

It is expected that only two companies, Samsung Display and LG Display, will supply panels for the iPhone 17 series to be released next year. It is unclear whether BOE will be able to supply the new model, but it is expected that it will be difficult to obtain panel approval within 2025.

BOE was previously supplying the normal model iPhone 13~16 series. Although panel production for the iPhone 15 was temporarily halted in the middle of this year due to panel quality issues, it has resumed, and panels for the iPhone 16 have also been approved and are being mass-produced. However, unlike existing models where LTPO TFT was applied only to the Pro model, LTPO TFT is expected to start being supplied to all models starting from the iPhone 17 series. Accordingly, BOE, which lacks technology, will not be able to produce the normal model iPhone 17 in the early stages. It is expected to be difficult. In addition, it is expected that low-dielectric TFE will begin to be applied starting with the iPhone 17 series, but BOE is expected to have setbacks in the development of this technology.

As BOE’s volume decreases, Samsung Display and LG Display’s volume is expected to increase. Samsung Display is expected to produce all models of the iPhone 17 series, and LG Display is expected to produce the 17, 17 Slim (tentative name), and 17 Pro Max models. In 2025, Samsung Display is expected to produce 130 million panels for Apple, and LG Display is expected to produce 72 million panels. BOE plans to supply 65 million panels to Apple in 2025, but in reality, it is expected to supply 40 to 50 million panels, which is less than this.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶Small OLED Display Quarterly Market Track Sample

Samsung Display advances mass production of 8.6G OLED line, Chinese panel companies are catching up

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Hefei Visionox V5 groundbreaking ceremony held last September

Hefei Visionox V5 groundbreaking ceremony held last September

Recently, there is news that Samsung Display is moving up the mass production of the A6 8.6G OLED line to the end of 2025. Following Samsung Display, Chinese panel companies are also rapidly investing.

The biggest reason why OLED panel companies are rushing to invest in the 8.6G OLED line is the chamfer rate. Initially, OLED began to be applied to small and medium-sized products first, and when producing small and medium-sized products of 10 inches or less, a sufficient chamfering rate could be achieved even with the size of a 6G substrate. However, as OLED began to be applied to IT products with large panel areas, unlike small and medium-sized products, the unusable and discarded area in the 6G line increased, and to solve this, a line using a larger substrate was needed.

Samsung Display, the leader in the 8.6G OLED line, began building a production line early this year and plans to begin mass production at the end of 2025. Samsung Display invested in the 8.6G line to mass-produce 2-stack tandem OLED for Apple’s MacBook Pro, but mass-produced it earlier than originally planned, gaining time before mass-producing panels for MacBook Pro. Before mass producing panels to be supplied to Apple, Samsung Display is expected to first mass produce tandem OLEDs to be supplied to laptop set makers such as Samsung Electronics, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

BOE, a latecomer, also began investing in the 8.6G line. BOE is expected to bring in two deposition machines from Sunic Systems in 2025 and begin mass production in the third quarter of 2026. BOE’s 8.6G line mass production period is from the third quarter of 2026, but like the iPhone, it is expected to be difficult to supply IT OLED panels to Apple in the early stages. Like other 6G lines, it is expected to initially mass produce panels for the Chinese domestic market and improve product quality to supply products to Apple. BOE is currently investing in module lines sequentially, and a total of 18 module lines are scheduled to be invested in Phase 1. Unlike Samsung Display, BOE is simultaneously investing in modules for smartphones and small and medium-sized OLEDs as well as IT OLEDs in the 8.6G line.

Following BOE’s lead, Visionox also invested in 8.6G. Last September, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Visionox’s 8.6G OLED line, V5, in Hefei, and when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hefei’s V5 line in October, it received positive reviews. Additionally, it is understood that Visionox officials visited Korean equipment companies and held meetings this month. Visionox plans to attract government investment based on ViP (Visionox intelligent Pixelization), but due to technical difficulties in vertical deposition, it is likely to be used only as a pilot line.

It was discovered that TCL CSOT is also preparing to invest in an 8.6G line based on inkjet technology. There is a high possibility that an investment announcement will be made at the end of the year. The location is Guangzhou City, and the line capacity is 16K for the inkjet method and 16K for the FMM method, with a total investment of 32K likely to be made.

In addition to the companies mentioned above, Tianma also has the possibility of investing in the 8.6G line, and HKC is considering new investments in 6G OLED. Now that Chinese panel companies are following in the footsteps of Samsung Display, which made its first investment, attention is being paid to how Samsung Display will widen the technology gap.

Junho Kim, UBI Research analyst(alertriot@ubiresearch.com)

▶2024 OLED Technology and Industry Trend Analysis Report for IT Sample

Korean OLED Panel Makers’ Emitting Material Purchases Reach 51.2% in H1, with a Modest Recovery Expected in H2

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According to UBI Research’s recently published “3Q24 OLED Emitting Materials Market Track,” the purchase of emitting materials by Korean OLED panel manufacturers in the first half of 2024 totaled $495 million, representing 51.2% of the market share—a 7.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. This is a notable shift. Meanwhile, Chinese companies held 48.8% of the market share, up 7.8% year-on-year, with purchases amounting to $471 million.

As Chinese panel manufacturers ramp up shipments, the gap in the purchase of emitting materials between Korean and Chinese companies is steadily narrowing. In the first quarter of 2024, for the first time, Korean OLED panel companies’ share of emitting material purchases fell to 47.4%, lower than that of Chinese companies.

However, from the second quarter onward, with the increase in OLED panel shipments for IT devices and the production of panels for the iPhone 16 by Korean manufacturers, their share rebounded to 54.7%. While BOE passed the sample certification for the iPhone 16, the delay in mass production is expected to result in smaller shipments this year. Additionally, certification for the iPhone 16 Max, which was expected to be produced at BOE’s B12 factory, was not approved.

With the reduction in BOE’s iPhone shipments, Korean panel makers are likely to see an increase in panel shipments. Thanks to growing OLED panel orders from Apple for products like the iPhone and iPad Pro, Korean purchases of emitting materials are expected to rise to a 55.6% market share by the end of 2024, a notable increase compared to the first half of the year.

▶AMOLED Emitting Material Market Track Sample

Due to the OLED iPad Pro for Tablet PC, shipments are rapidly increasing, and shipments are expected to increase by more than 6 times in 2024 compared to the previous year.

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According to the “3Q24 Medium-Large OLED Display Market Track” published by UBI Research, more than 12 million OLEDs for tablet PCs are expected to be shipped in 2024 thanks to Apple’s entry into the OLED market for tablet PCs.

As mass production of iPad Pro OLEDs began in the first quarter of 2024, shipments of OLEDs for tablet PCs surged to 1.2 million units in the first quarter and 3.4 million units in the second quarter.

As not only Samsung Display and LG Display, but also Chinese panel manufacturers have begun mass production of OLEDs for tablet PCs, the OLED market for tablet PCs is expected to expand further. Among Chinese panel manufacturers, BOE is expected to ship about 1.5 million OLED panels for tablet PCs in 2024, and Visionox is expected to ship about 800,000 OLED panels for tablet PCs.

Due to the increase in panel shipments by Apple and Chinese companies, OLED shipments for tablet PCs are expected to exceed 30 million units in 2028.

▶Medium & Large OLED Display Market Track Sample

OLED market for Tablet PCs to grow 6-7 times by 2024 due to Apple’s entry

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OLED panel shipment forecast for tablet PC

OLED panel shipment forecast for tablet PC

According to the ‘2024 Mid-Large OLED Display Annual Report’ recently published by UBI Research, shipments of OLED panels for tablet PCs are expected to grow from 12 million units in 2024 to 28.4 million units in 2028, with an average annual growth rate of 24.1%.

OLED panel shipments for tablet PCs were 1.3 million units in 2022 and 1.8 million units in 2023, forming a small market. However, with the decision to install OLED in the Apple’s iPad scheduled to be released in 2024, Samsung Display and LG Display are producing OLED panels for iPad-oriented table PCs.

Samsung Display produces panels for the 11-inch model and LG Display produces panels for the 12.9-inch model. Due to Apple’s entry, the OLED market for tablet PCs is expected to grow 6 to 7 times in 2024 compared to 2023.

In addition, panel companies are actively investing to apply OLED not only to tablet PCs but also to various IT products. Following Samsung Display’s recent investment in the 8.6G IT line, BOE also invested in the 8.6G IT line, and LG Display is also conducting a paid-in capital increase to secure funds for IT line investment and is planning to sell the Guangzhou LCD line. The OLED market for IT is expected to expand further due to the aggressive investment of panel companies.

▶ 2024 Mid-Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

Samsung Display continues to dominate the OLED market for foldable phones

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Foldable OLED shipment forecast

Foldable OLED shipment forecast

According to the ‘2024 Small OLED Display Annual Report’ recently published by UBI Research, OLED shipments for foldable phones are expected to increase from 27.4 million units in 2024 to 52.7 million units in 2028.

According to the report, Samsung Display’s OLED shipments for foldable phones in 2023 will be 13.4 million units, a 6.3% increase from 12.6 million units in 2022. Also, among Chinese panel makers, BOE shipped 6.2 million units of OLED for foldable phones, more than three times the 1.9 million units in 2022, while TCL CSOT and Visionox each shipped 1.1 million units of OLED for foldable phones.

Although there is fierce pursuit by Chinese companies, Samsung Display is expected to still take the lead in the foldable phone market. Samsung Electronics, to which Samsung Display supplies panels, is expected to expand the models of the Galaxy Fold series scheduled to be released this year, and Samsung Display’s foldable phone panels are expected to be applied first to Apple’s foldable iPhone to be released in the future. Based on such technological prowess and competitiveness, Samsung Display’s dominance in the foldable phone market is expected to continue for the time being.

▶ 2024 Small OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

International Business Conference: 2024 OLED Korea & 2024 eXtended Reality Korea will be held in parallel!

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UBI Research, a display specialist research company, will hold the international business conferences OLED Korea and eXtended Reality Korea in parallel at The-K Hotel in Yangjae, Seoul from March 27 to 29, 2024. This event is expected to be an opportunity for people from companies, academia, and research institutes related to the display industry around the world to attend, exchange the best information, and form a global network.

eXtended Reality Korea is the first XR industry-related business conference held by UBI Research and will cover trends and outlook on micro display, XR Hardware/Software, materials, equipment, etc.

This event aims to provide attendees with the opportunity to deeply explore the display and XR areas through a comprehensive program including tutorials, keynote presentations, and panel discussions.

The tutorial on March 27th will feature presentations on the future of XR, micro LED display technology, and key technologies to realize the next generation OLED display.

In addition, keynote presentations by ▲UBI Research, ▲Samsung Display, ▲LG Display, ▲Hyundai Mobis, and ▲Fortell Games are scheduled for the conference to be held on March 28th and 29th. Choong-Hoon Yi, CEO of UBI Research, will give a presentation on “OLED and XR industry outlook.” We will present the overall OLED industry, including OLED for IT, and the micro OLED industry that will be applied to MR equipment.

Samsung Display plans to introduce SDC’s roadmap for expanding the AR/VR market based on SDC’s plan to overcome technical obstacles in ultra-high-resolution displays under the title “AR/VR Development Strategy for Future Display.”

Under the theme of “Life with OLED,” LG Display will examine the field of OLED displays applied in daily life and present the continuous evolution and benefits of OLED technology.

Under the theme of “Automotive Display / HUD Trend and Future Display,” Hyundai Mobis presents trends and requirements for automotive displays, from Pillar To Pillar displays to Rollable displays, predicts future automotive displays, and announces development strategies.

Lastly, Fortell Games will discuss the topic of “Next-Gen Mixed Reality: New Horizons for Spatial Computing”, analyzing the latest developments in mixed reality technology and their impact on the future of the gaming industry.

In addition, it will be run by a total of 34 domestic and foreign speakers and programs, including AR/VR development and technology, automotive displays, OLED industry, backplane technology, and MicroLED display development.

Because it is a parallel event, attendees can attend both events even if they register for one event, and registration is possible at a special discount price during the early bird period until February 29th.

Detailed information can be found on the website (https://oledkoreaconference.com/, https://extendedrealitykorea.com/).

In 2028, the OLED emitting material market is expected to reach $2.43 billion with an average annual growth rate of 5.8%

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According to the ‘4Q23_Quarterly OLED Emitting Material Market Tracker’ recently published by UBI Research, the market for emitting materials used in OLED is forecasted to grow from $1.84 billion in 2023 to $2.43 billion in 2028, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8%.

By country, Korean panel companies’ material purchases are expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 4.2% from $1.11 billion in 2023 to $1.36 billion in 2028, and Chinese’ material purchases are expected to increase from $730 million in 2023 to $1.07 billion in 2028.

As forecasted, the material purchase ratio by country in 2028 will be 56% in Korea and 44% in China. However, Chinese panel companies are mainly mass producing panels for Chinese domestic use and white boxes, so even if panel shipments increase in the future, low-priced materials will be used. So, there is a possibility that the expansion of China’s emitting material market will be reduced further than currently expected.

Lastly, UBI Research predicted that Samsung Display’s purchase of emitting materials in 2028 will reach $810 million, LG Display’s will reach $550 million, and BOE will reach $440 million.

OLED emitting material market

OLED emitting material market

▶ 4Q23 OLED Emitting Material Market Track Sample Download

OLED shipments for IT are expected to reach 31 million units in 2027, with an average annual growth rate of 41%

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According to the ‘IT OLED Technology and Industry Trend Analysis Report’ recently published by UBI Research, OLED shipments for tablet PCs, notebooks, and monitors are expected to reach 31 million units in 2027 with an average annual growth rate of 41%.

This forecast is based on Samsung Display’s 5.5G OLED line, 6G OLED line, 8.5G QD-OLED line, 8.6G (2290 x 2620 mm2) IT line, and LG Display, BOE, and Visionox’s 6G OLED line.

Shipment forecast for IT OLED

Shipment forecast for IT OLED

For IT products, OLED had been a market that received less attention than smartphones or TVs, but has began to receive significant attention due to the increase in demand for IT products in COVID-19 and the prospect of Apple using OLED for IT products.

Previously, Samsung Display was mass producing a small amount of OLED for IT from some of A2 as the 5.5G rigid OLED line and the 8.5G QD-OLED line, and some Chinese companies such as EDO were producing IT OLEDs in small quantities, but in 2024, Samsung Display and LG Display plan to mass produce OLED for Apple’s iPad in earnest from the 6G line, and BOE also plans to mass produce OLED for IT from the B12 line.

In addition, Samsung Display decided to invest in the 8.6G OLED line for IT early this year, and is expected to mass produce various IT products, including notebooks, from the first half of 2026.

Moreover, LG Display and BOE are planning to invest in the 8.6G line as soon as they secure investment funds and customers, and Visionox is also reportedly holding meetings with major equipment companies to invest in the 8.6G line.

If demand for OLED from set companies for IT increases in the future and panel companies invest in 8.6G lines, the IT market is expected to become a new high value-added market for OLED, following the smartphone market.

▶ IT OLED Technology and Industry Trend Analysis Report Sample

[IMID 2023] OLED exhibited by Samsung Display and LG Display

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At ‘IMID 2023’ held in BEXCO, Busan on August 22, Samsung Display and LG Display exhibited a number of OLED products.

First, in ‘IMID 2023’, Samsung Display introduced 77-inch QD-OLED and light field display ‘2D↔3D Display’, ‘Slidable Flex Solo’ and ‘Slidable Flex Duet’, ‘Rollable Flex’, ‘Flex G’, ‘Flex It exhibited foldable and sliderable products such as ‘S’ and ‘Flex Note’. Products other than ‘2D↔3D Display’ were exhibited at ‘K-Display 2023’ held last week, and the exhibition scale was smaller than ‘K-Display 2023’.

Samsung Display 2D↔3D Display

Samsung Display 2D↔3D Display

Samsung DIsplay Light Field Display

Samsung DIsplay Light Field Display

The size of the ‘2D↔3D Display’ exhibited by Samsung Display was 16 inches, the panel resolution was 3840×2400, and eyetracking technology was inserted to support a 3D viewing angle of more than 40°.

LG Display’s 77-inch 8K OLED with ‘META Technology’ applied, 45-inch and 27-inch gaming OLED, ‘34” Full Dashboard OLED’, ‘18” Rollable OLED’, ‘15.6” Light Field Display’, ‘0.42” OLEDoS’ exhibited.

LG Display Rollable OLED

LG Display Rollable OLED

The 18-inch rollable OLED, which LG Display unveiled for the first time in Korea, realized a brighter screen by applying a tandem element structure, and passed more than 100,000 rolling tests. The resolution of the ‘18” Rollable OLED’ is 2560×1440, the brightness is 1,000nits, the rolling radius is 20R, and the cover window material is TPU (Thermoplastic Poly Urethane). An official from LG Display said, “There is no plan to mass-produce 18-inch rollable OLED yet, and the rolling radius will be between 5 and 10R when mass-producing actual products.”

‘0.42” OLEDoS (OLED on silicon)’, an ultra-high resolution product with 3500ppi, was the same as the product exhibited at ‘K-Display 2023’. It is a product that combines the optical system of LetinAR, a domestic optical module developer, with the panel of LG Display.

OLED panel makers’ 8.6G IT line investment trends, LG Display and BOE’s investment delays

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Apple iPad Pro

Apple iPad Pro

Samsung Display and LG Display are investing in the 8.6th generation IT line with high added value to compensate for the decrease in sales due to the Chinese panel makers’ flexible OLED low-cost offensive and LCD withdrawal.

At the LG Display 2Q earnings announcement conference call held on the 26th, an official from LG Display said, “The announced 6th generation IT-related investments are proceeding as scheduled, and the investments will be made until the first half of next year.”

However, regarding the possibility of investing in the 8.6th generation IT OLED, it stated that “nothing has been confirmed yet”. LG Display emphasized, “We will carefully look at the possibility and progress of technology development and whether market demand is developing to a level that can contribute to the company’s profits before making an investment decision.”

LG Display’s 8.6th generation IT line investment is expected to be delayed compared to Samsung Display due to difficulties in securing new line investment funds due to operating losses, but it is expected to be able to supply panels to Apple from 2026.

Not only LG Display, but also Chinese panel maker BOE’s investment is being delayed. Samsung Display can secure Samsung Electronics and Apple, and LG Display can secure LG Electronics and Apple as customers, but BOE is expected to take at least two years to invest in the 8.6G line for IT because of uncertainty in securing customers.

Another Chinese panel maker, Visionox, is also preparing to invest in the 8.6G line for IT. Visionox plans to announce its investment in the 8.6th generation line with a total capacity of 30K in September.

On the other hand, Samsung Display’s investment in the 8.6th generation IT line has already been decided. Samsung Display plans to apply Oxide to the TFT of the 8.6th generation IT line and build it with 2 stack RGB OLED. Samsung Display had previously developed 8.6th generation vertical deposition 2 stack RGB OLED as an IT line, but the investment was decided for 8.6th generation horizontal deposition. Canon’s exposure machine is planned to be brought into Samsung Display’s IT line in April 2024, and negotiations on the price of the deposition machine with Canon Tokki have already been completed.

▶ 2023 Medium and Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research “Samsung Display will strengthen profitability by producing OLED for high value-added IT”

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It is expected that Samsung Display will focus on producing panels for tablet PCs and notebooks to compensate for the reduced utilization rate of the A2 line due to the low-cost flexible OLED offensive of Chinese panel makers.

At the ‘2023 OLED & Micro Display Analyst Seminar’ held at the Federation of Korean Industries in Yeouido on the 5th, Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research, gave a presentation on ‘IT OLED industry trends and market prospects’.

Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research

Choong Hoon YI, CEO of UBI Research

CEO YI said, “Samsung Display is expected to focus on rigid OLED production for tablet PCs and notebooks to compensate for the reduced utilization rate of the A2 line due to the low-priced offensive of Chinese companies. As much as it focuses on IT OLED production, the shipment of rigid OLED for smartphones will drop sharply, but it is possible to maintain sales by producing rigid OLED for IT with high added value.” And he also said, “LG Display will start mass production one year later than Samsung Display, and BOE will start mass production at least two years later than Samsung Display.”

According to CEO Choong Hoon YI, LG Display’s decision is being delayed because it is difficult to secure funds for investment in new lines due to the deficit caused by the delay in switching from LCD lines to OLED lines. Nevertheless, LG Display is expected to be able to supply IT panels to Apple from 2026. However, there are still problems to be solved, such as stabilizing the process and securing yield of Sunic system equipment whose production capacity has not yet been verified.

BOE has invested in three OLED line factories for smartphones, but the operation rate is at a level of only one factory, and the Beijing city government is very dissatisfied with over-investment due to insufficient securing of Apple supplies. For the reasons mentioned above and because securing customers for IT OLED has not been decided, BOE’s IT OLED line investment is expected to take at least two years.

CEO YI said, “Chinese panel makers are trying to increase their market share with low-priced attacks, but domestic companies that have secured large customers such as Samsung Electronics and Apple have a significant advantage in competition. In the future, the OLED industry for TV and IT will be developed mainly by Korean companies.”

▶ 2023 Medium and Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

OLED emitting materials market in 2027 expected to reach US$ 2.59 billion with an average annual growth rate of 7.7%

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According to the ‘2023 OLED Emitting Material Report’ recently published by UBI Research, the total emitting material market is expected to reach US$ 2.59 billion in 2027 with an average annual growth rate of 7.7% from US$ 1.92 billion in 2023.

total emitting material market

total emitting material market

Analyst Yoon Daejeong of UBI Research said, “The small OLED material market is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 2.5% from 2023 to US$ 1.61 billion in 2027. And in 2027, Samsung Display’s purchase of small OLED materials is expected to be US$ 560 million, BOE US$ 430 million, and LG Display US$ 200 million.” and “the small OLED material market will change depending on how much the foldable OLED market replaces the sharp decline in rigid OLED shipments for smartphones.

Analyst Yoon continued, “As the shipments of LG Display’s WOLED and Samsung Display’s QD-OLED are expected to be 12 million units and 3 million units, respectively, in the large OLED material market in 2027, the purchase amount of emitting materials is also expected to be US$ 430 million and US$ 140 million, respectively”

Meanwhile, the report predicted that by OLED method in 2027, RGB OLED would occupy the largest share at 66.6%, followed by WOLED at 16.5%, RGB 2stack OLED at 11.4%, and QD-OLED at 5.5%.

▶ 2023 OLED Emitting Material Report Sample Download

Samsung Display Signs MOU with Ferrari, Enters ‘Samsung OLED’ in Supercars

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Samsung Display will supply state-of-the-art OLEDs to the supercar Ferrari. Samsung Display announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ferrari at the Asan Campus on the 11th to develop display solutions to be installed in Ferrari’s next-generation car models. The signing ceremony was attended by Choi Joo-seon, president of Samsung Display, and Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari.

According to this MOU, Samsung Display will develop a luxurious and innovative automotive display solution suitable for a luxury supercar brand based on the world’s best OLED technology and support Ferrari’s digital transformation, which is currently speeding up.

Samsung Display, which has led the technology transition in the premium smartphone market from LCD to OLED over the past decade, is actively targeting the automotive display market based on its unrivaled OLED technology accumulated over a long period of time.

In particular, the ‘New Digital Cockpit’ was introduced for the first time at the last ‘CES 2023’. The 34-inch display mounted on the ‘New Digital Cockpit’ is equipped with bendable technology that bends left and right at 700R, and provides the driver with an optimal viewing distance to enhance concentration.

Samsung Display said, “Samsung OLED is a technology that can satisfy the needs of automobile manufacturers who want innovative and luxurious designs because it has excellent design scalability with a light and slim structure and thin bezel, and can express perfect black and deep contrast.” and “Especially, OLED’s low-power characteristics will increase the efficiency of automobiles and act as a more attractive factor.”

Regarding the agreement, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Viña said, “Ferrari is a luxury company that provides a special experience, not just a means of transportation.” and “We expect to maximize the value and completeness of Ferrari’s next-generation products through strategic cooperation with Samsung Display, which makes the best OLED,” he said.

Choi Ju-seon, president of Samsung Display, said, “Based on OLED technology that has been intensively developed over a long period of time, we will introduce a cutting-edge display solution suitable for ‘Ferrari’.” And “We plan to strengthen our OLED business for automobiles in cooperation with leading global automobile companies, including Ferrari, in the future,” he said.

▶ 2023 Medium and Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

OLED panel shipments for TVs are expected to reach 14.1 million units in 2027 with an average annual growth rate of 11.6% from 9.1 million units in 2023

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According to the ‘2023 Medium and Large OLED Annual Report’ recently published by UBI Research, OLED panel shipments for TVs are expected to grow from 9.1 million units in 2023 to 14.1 million units in 2027 with an average annual growth rate of 11.6%.

Shipment Forecast for OLED TV

Shipment Forecast for OLED TV

In 2022, it is analyzed that TV demand will decline due to the global economic deterioration, and global TV shipments will also stop at the early 200 million units. In the case of LG Display, it set a goal to ship more than 10 million WOLEDs in early 2022, including those for monitors, but released a total of 6.96 million units, recording a decrease of 880,000 units from 7.84 million units in 2021. Samsung Display’s QD-OLED shipments for TVs are also analyzed to have recorded 950,000 units.

As the economic situation is expected to gradually recover in 2023, LG Display’s TV WOLED shipments are expected to be 7.6 million units and Samsung Display’s QD-OLED shipments to be 1.5 million units.

Meanwhile, UBI Research predicted that LG Display’s micro lens array (MLA) applied ‘OLED.EX’ panel would be partially mass-produced from 2023, and Samsung Display’s QD-OLED monthly capacity of 36K is expected to be 41K per month by the second half of 2023 and 45K per month by the first half of 2024.

▶ 2023 Medium and Large OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

2023 OLED KOREA Conference “OLED, a premium electronic product lineup and micro display, a promising future industry”

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OLED KOREA, hosted by UBI Research, a market research company, will be held at the Central Park Hotel in Songdo, Incheon from April 12 to 14. OLED KOREA, which marks its 7th anniversary, is a business conference where top authorities in display from Korea, Japan, Asia, the United States, and Europe gather.

This conference will deal with the topics of OLED, which has become a premium electronic product, and micro-display for AR and VR, which are rapidly emerging as future industries.

In order for OLED to replace LCD, the emergence of phosphorescent blue materials is the most important. At this conference, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and UDC will introduce the direction of phosphorescent material development. Commercialization of phosphorescent blue materials will be an inflection point that can overturn the display industry.

There are two types of micro displays: micro OLED and micro LED. While micro OLED is leading the way for VR, micro LED is gradually taking its place in AR. In OLED KOREA, programs are composed of AR companies, micro display manufacturers, and related technology companies. It will be an important place to guess who will be the winner of the future micro display.

The pre-registration period for this conference is until April 7, 2023, and you can check program and speaker information and register for the event through the website (https://oledkoreaconference.com/).

 

Samsung Display’s foldable OLED expected to exceed 50 million units in 2027

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Foldable OLED shipment ratio forecast

Foldable OLED shipment ratio forecast

According to the ‘2023 Small OLED Display Annual Report’ recently published by UBI Research, Samsung Display’s OLED shipments for foldable phones are expected to reach 50.9 million units in 2027 with an average annual growth rate of 28.1% from 18.9 million units in 2023.

According to the report, Samsung Display’s foldable OLED shipments in 2022 were analyzed to be 12.6 million units, accounting for 85.1% of global foldable OLED shipments in 2022. BOE, TCL CSOT, and Visionox mass-produced some foldable OLEDs, but Samsung Display led the foldable OLED market.

It is expected that Samsung Display will continue to dominate the foldable OLED market in the future. It seems difficult for TCL CSOT and Visionox to record annual shipments of more than 1 million units by 2027, and unless LG Display also secures a customer, the time for mass production of foldable phone panels is unclear.

Lastly, the report forecasted global OLED shipments for foldable phones to be 61.4 million units in 2027, with Samsung Display expected to account for 82.9% of the market with 50.9 million units and BOE with 9.6 million units and 15.7%.

▶ 2023 Small OLED Display Annual Report Sample Download

Samsung Display Develops the World’s First Large-sized, Touch-Integrated OLED Display

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Applying touch-integrated panels in place of plastic touch film to boost Samsung Display’s competitiveness with simplified design and productivity

Applying touch-integrated panels in place of plastic touch film to boost Samsung Display’s competitiveness with simplified design and productivity

Samsung Display today announced the successful development of the world’s first large-sized OCTA (On-Cell Touch AMOLED) technology, expanding the technology’s application from smartphone OLED to the laptop OLED panel, with full-scale mass production starting in January.

Samsung Display developed OCTA, the world’s first touch-integrated OLED, for smartphones back in 2010. It is a technology that embeds the touch sensor inside the panel instead of attaching a TSP (Touch Screen Panel) film to recognize touch action on the panel surface. The panel is much friendlier to the environment because it doesn’t need additional plastic film for touch. Moreover, the thickness and the weight of the panel are reduced with a simplified structure.

Samsung display touch-Integrated OLED Display

Samsung display touch-Integrated OLED Display

Samsung Display explained that touch film generally accounts for 6-11 percent of the total panel thickness and that the thinner the panel, the better the design expandability and portability of the product. Also, the company has been focusing on developing large-sized OCTA technology as the recent demand for laptops with touchscreen functions has increased with the expansion of the OLED laptop market.

Samsung display touch-Integrated OLED Display

Samsung display touch-Integrated OLED Display

“The difficulty level of the touch-integrated technology surges greatly as the display area increases, which leads to the increased number of touch sensors required,” said Hojung Lee, Head of Product Planning Team for Small and Medium-sized Display Division at Samsung Display. “We were able to achieve the natural feel and touch responsiveness for larger displays through the development of new materials and process technologies.”

Samsung Display plans to first apply its large-sized OCTA technology to Samsung Electronics’ new high-end Galaxy Book model and expects to complement a chic design with high portability. In addition, Samsung Display showcases the panel performance of its products with display features 16:10 ratio, 120-Hz refresh rate and 3K resolution.

▶ AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report Ver.5 Sample Download

Fold, extend… Foldable IT device trends seen through exhibition trends

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As panel makers have recently accelerated the development of foldable OLEDs, a variety of products, including foldable phones, foldable tablet PCs, and foldable laptops, are being exhibited. We look at the development trend based on the exhibited products of panel makers.

‘Flex Hybrid’ and ‘Slidable Flex Duet’ exhibited by Samsung Display

‘Flex Hybrid’ and ‘Slidable Flex Duet’ exhibited by Samsung Display

At CES 2023, which was held in January, Samsung Display, a leader in foldable displays, exhibited the ‘Flex Hybrid’, a combination of foldable and slider, and the ‘Slidable Flex Solo’, which extends on one side and, the ‘Slidable Flex Duo’, which extends on both sides. In the ‘Flex Hybrid’, the screen expands from the default 8 inches to 10.5 inches when the folded screen is unfolded, and to 12.4 inches when the right side is extended. Sliderable products can expand the screen from the basic 13 to 14 inches to 17 inches.

Prior to this, Samsung Display had exhibited S-type and G-type, double-folding ‘Flex S’ and ‘Flex G’, and ‘Slidable Wide’ that extends outward in 2022, and all three products had a maximum size of 12.4 inches. The size of the prototypes is 12.4 inches, which is the same as Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Tab S8+. When mass-producing actual products, it is expected that mass-production will be carried out according to the needs of set makers.

Foldable OLED for laptops from Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE

Foldable OLED for laptops from Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE

In addition to tablet PCs, foldable laptops are also being developed. Samsung Display exhibited the 17.3-inch foldable OLED ‘Flex Note’ for laptops at IMID 2022 and SID 2022. Originally, Samsung Display was expected to supply this 17.3-inch foldable OLED to Samsung Electronics last year, but the schedule was delayed to this year.

LG Display is also developing a foldable OLED for 17.3-inch laptops. LG Display exhibited a 17.3-inch ‘Foldable OLED Laptop’ with an improved folding radius of 1.5R at IMID 2022. LG Display is currently developing foldable OLED for laptops with the goal of supplying HP.

BOE of China is also developing foldable OLED for IT. BOE exhibited a 12.3-inch foldable OLED for tablet PCs that double-folds into an S-type at SID 2022 in May of last year. It also unveiled a foldable OLED for 17.3-inch laptops, and this panel was mounted on Asus’s ‘ZenBook 17 Fold’ released in 2022.

Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE are all developing foldable OLEDs for notebooks in the same size and resolution. When full-scale mass production begins, competition for panel supply between the three companies is expected to be fierce.

▶ AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report Ver.5 Sample Download

New emitting structure QM2 for QD-OLED will be applied to Samsung Electronics’ 2023 OLED TVs

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According to ‘AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report Ver.5’ recently published by UBI Research, QM2, a new emitting structure of QD-OLED, has been applied from the end of 2022, and is expected to be applied to Samsung Electronics’ 2023 OLED TVs.

QD-OLED QM2 structure, Source: AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report Ver.5

QD-OLED QM2 structure, Source: AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report Ver.5

QD-OLED, which is being mass-produced by Samsung Display, consists of three blue emitting layers and one green emitting layer, and is a structure in which the three primary colors of RGB are expressed through quantum dots and color filters.

In the QM1 structure mass-produced by the end of 2022, there was no aETL and G’ in the green emitting layer, but it was confirmed that all of them were applied from the QM2 structure. In addition, the change cycle of the emitting structure is expected to be extended from one year to two years due to recycling of materials.

Meanwhile, Samsung Display is expected to expand its existing 30K monthly QD-OLED Capa. to 45K monthly by 2024. In addition, from 2023, it plans to further expand its lineup by mass-producing 49-inch and 77-inch panels in addition to 55-inch and 65-inch panels.

▶ AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report Ver.5 Sample Download

2023 Gram for the first time to be equipped with OLED, applied Samsung Display’s rigid OLED

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Gram by LG Electronics

Gram by LG Electronics

Samsung Display’s rigid OLED panel is applied to Gram Style and Gram Ultraslim, the new 2023 Gram products to be released by LG Electronics. Samsung Display is producing rigid OLEDs for smartphones and IT products in the A2 line. This is the first time for Samsung Display to supply OLED panels to LG Electronics.

The representative product, Gram Style (model name: 16Z90RS, 14Z90RS), has an aurora white color that changes color depending on the angle and direction of light and Gorilla Glass material applied to the exterior. The space below the keyboard is equipped with a hidden touchpad that only lights up when touched.

Gram Style consists of two types, 14 and 16 type. The 16-inch adopts a 16-inch WQHD+ (3200×2000) OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and meets the standard color gamut DCI-P3 of the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI). AGLR (Anti-Glare & Low Reflection), which reduces light reflection and glare, is applied to the panel.

One 15.6-inch Gram Ultraslim has been released, with a resolution of FHD (1920×1080), an ultra-light weight of 998g, and a thin thickness of 10.99 mm, making it the lightest and thinnest ever among the Gram series.

LG Electronics applied only IPS panels to the previous Gram series, but applied OLED panels for the first time starting with this new product. It is analyzed that LG Electronics adopted OLED for reasons such as not only the excellent picture quality and immersion of OLED, but also the ability to use proven Samsung Display panels and a price that is not significantly higher than that of IPS. In addition, from the standpoint of Samsung Display, it is an opportunity to recover the utilization rate of the A2 line, which has been sluggish due to China’s low-price offensive, and to secure new customers.

▶ AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report Ver.5 Sample Download

Samsung Display’s first slidable display was introduced!

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Choi Joo-sun, CEO of Samsung Display Introducing a Slidable Display. Captured from Intel Newsroom Video

Choi Joo-sun, CEO of Samsung Display Introducing a Slidable Display.
Captured from Intel Newsroom Video

“Foldable is gone”

Samsung Display unveiled its 17-inch slidable display for the first time at the “Intel Innovation 2022” event held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California on September 27th.

When Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced Intel’s strategy for the user experience and said, “Let me introduce our Korean partner.” Samsung Display CEO Choi Joo-sun made a surprise appearance at the venue.

CEO Choi entered the stage and held a tablet PC-sized device in his left hand. “A few years ago, I saw this device and thought it was a good solution to the portability of a large monitor,” Pat Gelsinger said. CEO Choi added, “At the same time as demonstrating the demo version, we are here to prove that Samsung Display creates an innovative form factor through collaboration with ecosystem developers in software and hardware.”

Samsung Display's 17-inch Slidable Display Before Expansion(Left) and After Expansion(Right). Captured from Intel Newsroom Video.

Samsung Display’s 17-inch Slidable Display Before Expansion(Left) and After Expansion(Right). Captured from Intel Newsroom Video.

CEO Choi stated, “We sometimes need a big screen.” He went on to remark, “We will show you magic.” He then stretched the screen by pulling the slider display by hand. The 13-inch display screen has grown to 17 inches. It is a display for PCs that is applied with flexible OLED (organic light emitting diode). “Foldable is gone.” he declared and concluded that, “Slidable displays will meet the needs of large screens and portability.”

Gelsinger also introduced ‘Unison’, a software that can share information between smartphones and laptops using a slidable display. Unison supports both Android phones and iPhones.

[IMID 2022] Samsung Display to Start Mass Production of 49-inch and 77-inch QD-OLED Panels Early Next Year

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At ‘IMID 2022’, which was held in BEXCO, Busan, from August 23rd to 26th, 2022, Samsung Display exhibited 77-inch QD-OLED and foldable OLED such as ‘Flex S’, ‘Flex G’, ‘Flex Note,’ ‘Flex Gaming’, and ‘Diamond Pixel’.

77-inch QD-OLED TV/ Samsung Display

77-inch QD-OLED TV/ Samsung Display

The 77-inch QD-OLED exhibited by Samsung Display was very similar to the previously released 65-inch QD-OLED TV with a resolution of 4K, a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, and a refresh rate of 120 Hz, but Samsung Display revealed that there was a slight improvement in luminance.

Following the existing 55-inch and 65-inch QD-OLEDs, Samsung Display plans to start mass production of 49-inch and 77-inch QD OLEDs from early next year. If the MMG (Multi model glass) process is used in the 8.5 generation (2200x2500mm) ledger used by Samsung Display, it is possible to produce two 77-inch panels and two 49-inch panels, a total of four panels.

Samsung Display concluded with, “Depending on the situation of the set makers, a new size QD-OLED TV is expected to be released as early as the second quarter of next year.”

▶ OLED Display Report Sample Download

[IMID 2022 Keynote] Samsung Display Announces OLED Big Step in 2022

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At IMID 2022 held in BEXCO, Busan, from August 23rd to the 26th, Samsung Display CEO Joo-seon Choi gave a keynote speech, ‘Changing Display Industry with Disruptive Innovation’. He announced plans to expand the display business for automobiles and invest in micro-displays for AR/VR.

Samsung Display's mid- to long-term plans

Samsung Display’s mid- to long-term plans

First, President Choi mentioned the investment in 8.5G IT OLED and said, “When 8G ledger is used, glass efficiency is improved by more than 20% compared to the existing 6G half cut. This will accelerate the penetration of OLED in the IT market. Through this, we are also targeting the automotive display market in the future.”

Characteristics of premium OLED for automobiles

Characteristics of premium OLED for automobiles

Next, President Choi showed key features in Premium OLED in Automotive

 ‘Safety’ – accurate information with the characteristics of premium OLED for automobiles.

‘Interior Design’ – such as narrow bezel and multi-lamination.

‘Entertainment’ – high brightness through tandem structure and wide color gamut of OLED emphasized.

Samsung Display's AR/VR micro display

Samsung Display’s AR/VR micro display

Finally, “The AR/VR industry is a great opportunity to expand the display market. Samsung Display plans to develop micro-displays for AR/VR, such as micro-OLED and micro LED, to keep pace with the market needs. For the AR/VR industry to develop, cooperation across the ecosystem is important.”

According to the announcement, Samsung Display is aiming for commercialization in 2026 by mass-producing prototypes in 2024 and expanding the capacity in 2025. This is the first time that Samsung Display has revealed a specific time for AR/VR business.

In the announcement, CEO Joo-sun Choi predicted that the self-luminous display market would reach $100 billion in 2030 and that displays would penetrate all industries.

▶ OLED Display Report Sample Download

[K-Display 2022 Business Forum] Samsung Display, ‘QD-OLED, The New Display Industry Standard‘

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Samsung Display's Vice President Seon Ho

Samsung Display’s Vice President Seon Ho

At the ‘K-display 2022 Business Forum’ held at COEX in Samseong-dong from Aug 11 to 12, Samsung Display’s Vice President Seon Ho and Marketing Team Manager Shah Chirag gave a keynote speech, ‘QD-OLED: Redefining Your Visual Experience’.

Vice President Seon Ho said, “As the COVID-19 situation has passed, online communication has become more active, and the era has come when daily life is done through displays.” He continued, “If the focus has been on increasing the size of the display so far, the display in the future will pursue better picture quality. Samsung Display is aiming for a display that has excellent color volume and purity, expands HDR, and does not change color depending on the viewing angle. QD-OLED will be the new standard for displays in pursuit of better picture quality.”

Marketing Team Manager Shah Chirag

Marketing Team Manager Shah Chirag

Shah Chirag presented, “QD-OLED is currently the display that can display the color closest to nature.” Samsung Display’s QD-OLED supports more than 125% of DCI-P3 and more than 90% of BT2020 color gamut due to the characteristics of quantum dots.

Shah Chirag also mentioned the excellent viewing angle characteristics of QD-OLED. He further explained, “Unlike general displays that have different colors or brightness depending on the viewing position, QD-OLED shows 50% improved luminance and color characteristics compared to conventional displays at a viewing angle of 60 degrees.”

excellent viewing angle characteristics of QD-OLED

excellent viewing angle characteristics of QD-OLED

Lastly, Vice President Seon Ho concluded with, “It has been half a year since QD-OLED TV came out as a set, and Samsung Electronics and Sony are selling them. Next year, we will continue to strive to create brighter and clearer displays so that more products can be launched in Korea. I hope the display industry develops in a better direction.”

Samsung Display mainly exhibited QD-OLED TVs at K-display 2022. Samsung Display has mass-produced QD-OLED panels since the end of last year. The production capacity is 30,000 sheets per month and the products produced are 55- and 65-inch TV panels and 34-inch monitor panels.

▶ OLED Display Report Sample Download

삼성디스플레이 Flex OLED

[K-Display 2022] Samsung Display’s Flex OLED lineup

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This is Samsung Display’s Flex OLED lineup.
We were able to see the Flex S, which was made after the first letter S of Samsung, and the Flex G, which folds three times.
It was disappointing that I could not see the demonstration of the screens of Slidable products being stretched.

▶ UBI Research official website
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삼성디스플레이 QD-OLED

[K-Display 2022] Samsung Display’s QD-OLED

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Samsung Display unveiled QD-OLED for the first time in Korea.
It is unfortunate that the camera cannot capture the advantages of QD-OLED, but I hope you enjoy it.

▶ UBI Research official website
https://ubiresearch.com/en/

▶Business, display report inquiry
marketing@ubiresearch.com
+82-2-577-4391

▶If you are curious about the latest news related to OLED?
https://en.olednet.com/

iPhone14에 적용되는 M12 구조의 Supply chain

Samsung Display’s New Material Structure M12, iPhone14 Pro Models Only

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Samsung Display's M12 structure (to be applied to iPhone 14)

Supply Chain of M12 Structure Applied to iPhone14

Samsung Display will apply the new material structure M12 only to the top two Pro models of Apple’s iPhone 14 series, scheduled to be released in the second half of the year. For the lower two models, the M11 structure applied to the iPhone13 is used as it is.

Samsung Display supplies OLED to all four iPhone14 series. Samsung Display uses the same M11 structure applied to iPhone13 as it is for iPhone14 and 14 Max, the two lower models to which LTPS TFT is applied. Samsung Display applies a new structure, M12 structure, to 14 Pro and Pro Max to which LTPO TFT is applied.

The reason why Samsung Display applies a material structure differently to the iPhone series seems to be Apple’s cost-saving measure. In Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S22 series released in the first half of the year, M11 was applied to Ultra and Plus models and M10 was applied to regular models.

Samsung Display’s new material structure M12 is applied to Apple’s iPhone14 series and Samsung Electronics’ foldable phones Z Fold4 and Z Flip4.

▶ 2022 OLED Emitting Material Report Sample Download

This Year’s OLED Mass Production Capacity Substrate Area is Expected to be 47.3 million ㎡

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According to the ‘2022 OLED Components and Materials Report’ recently published by UBI Research (www.ubiresearch.com), a company specialized in OLED market research, the substrate area of ​​the total OLED mass production capacity in 2022 is expected to be 47.3milion ㎡. In 2022, the LTPO TFT line and EDO’s 6th-generation rigid OLED line, which Samsung Display invested in to supplement the idle capacity of the A3 line, are scheduled to be operated. In 2023, LG Display’s E6-4 line and BOE’s B12-3 line Line, Samsung Display’s 8.5G IT line are expected to be put into operation in 2024.

As for the substrate area of ​​small OLED for smart watch and smartphone, the line capacity for rigid OLED in 2022 is 5.29 million ㎡, accounting for 24.8% of the market share. Rigid OLED investment is not expected in the future. In 2022, the capacity for flexible OLED is 15.3 million ㎡, accounting for 71.5% of the total. From 2024, part of Samsung Display’s A3 line will be converted to an IT line, and the mass production capacity is expected to decrease. The line capacity for foldable OLED is expected to reach 0.79 million ㎡ in 2022 and 1.52 million ㎡ from 2023.       

Samsung Display’s IT line capacity is expected to expand to 2.69 million ㎡ by 2025 as part of the A3 line is converted to an IT line in the first half of 2024. A new 8.5G line is expected to be operated in 2024. From the second half of 2023, LG Display’s capacity is expected to be 0.75 and 0.52 million ㎡, respectively, with the E6-4 line operating and BOE’s B12-3 line operating.

OLED line capacity for TV is not expected to change until 2026 unless additional investment is made. From 2022, LG Display’s mass production capacity is 20.3 million ㎡, accounting for 85.5% of the total. Capacity is expected to increase further depending on whether additional customers are secured in the future. Samsung Display’s capacity is 3.3 million ㎡ and BOE’s is 0.13 million ㎡, accounting for 13.9% and 0.6% of market share, respectively.

Meanwhile, the ‘2022 OLED Components and Materials Report’ published this time dealt with the latest OLED industry issues analysis, development of components and materials for foldable devices, industry status, analysis of mass production capacity of OLED panel companies, and major component and material market forecasts. It is expected to help parts and materials companies to understand related technologies and predict future technology directions and markets.

▶ 2022 OLED Components and Materials Report Inquiry

Can VR replace TVs and Monitors?

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VR devices have been on the rise since 2016 and were expected to be an important factor in IT business, but have not yet made a big impact. At CES 2016, Intel exhibited applications that enable creative activities such as education and art. In 2017, Samsung presented games and movies that can be felt with the body in 4D form at the IFA VR experiment zone.

VR features excellent immersion and presence. A 1-inch display can look like a 60-inch display. The display that provides information uses micro-display, but LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) has a slow response speed, poor color, and low contrast ratio. So the trend is changing to OLEDoS (OLED on silicon). Sony is making its own micro OLED and Panasonic is working with US Kopin to make VR.
Recently, VR devices are preparing to replace monitors. If it is made in high resolution, about 10 screens can be displayed on each VR monitor screen. In the future, the monitor market will change to the VR market. VR can emerge as the best dark horse in the IT market. VR may possibly also replace TVs. A head speaker with a much better three-dimensional effect is essential. There may also be changes in the movie theaters as a VR device might provide a 60-inch screen and provide a high sense of immersion into the film for movie-goers.
Micro OLED composition consists of TFT designed on a silicon wafer and OLED is formed on it. LGD’s WOLED method is used for OLED. The RGB method requires a fine metal mask, but the AP system is preparing a mask capable of 2000ppi or more using a laser. Because WOLED uses a color filter, there is a loss of about 10%. RGB may be more advantageous in terms of luminance, but for commercialization, WOLED resolution can be much higher. Since it has been developed for a long time, WOLED is expected to be applied. Applications include military, medical, industrial, viewfinder, smart glasses, and the like.

Recently, Apple requested LG Display and Samsung Display to prepare Micro OLED. LG Display placed an order for the Sunic System evaporator in June and is moving quickly.
Samsung Electronics also has a request for VR. In 2025, it can be seen that LG Display and Samsung Display can produce many types of Micro OLED. We expect to see Apple’s VR devices around 2024.

Related Report : 2022 Micro-display REPORT

Samsung Display Unveils World’s First High Refresh Rate 240Hz OLED

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□ OLED supporting 240Hz, installed in new MSI notebooks
□ Emerging as a ‘game changer’ in the gaming laptop market with high refresh rate OLED

<World’s first 240Hz OLED laptop from MSI featuring Samsung Display OLED delivers game changing lifelike immersiveness>

 

Samsung Display today announced the start of mass production of the world’s first OLED displays for laptops with high refresh rate of 240Hz. The new panel will make its debut in MSI’s latest 15.6-inch gaming laptop, Raider GE67 HX, upping the ante in the fiercely competitive gaming market for high-performance displays.
Samsung Display’s OLED exceptional advantages of wide color gamut, high contrast ratio, true black and low blue light are not only recognized by smartphone users but by discerning laptop users as well. Beyond visual elements, specifications that affect actual gameplay such as response time and refresh rate, are more critical to gaming laptop users and the reason many players are opting for OLED products.
Refresh rate, or the number of times a display can update its image in one second, is a key factor in display performance. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother the movements on a screen without afterimages. As displays featuring higher refresh rates present better image transitions, they are the tools of choice among first-person shooter (FPS) players who need to perceive fast-changing game situations as quickly as possible.
“OLED with high refresh rate is the perfect combination for a premium gaming experience, with super-low response time, super-wide color gamut, and super-high contrast ratio. In addition, it balances well between high resolution and high refresh rate performance,” said Clark Peng, Vice President of MSI Notebook Product Management Division. “Therefore, the latest 240Hz OLED display is suitable for high-performance enthusiasts and content creators as well as for gamers enjoying premium games,” he added.
“Our new 240Hz refresh rate OLED meets and exceeds the demand of consumers who have long been waiting for a laptop with a high refresh rate OLED panel,” said Jeeho Baek, Executive Vice President and Head of Samsung Display Strategic Marketing for Small and Medium Business. “The clear advantages offered by high refresh rate OLED panels compared to LCDs will be a game changer for the gaming industry.”
To introduce Raider GE67 HX to the world, MSI will hold a new product launching event on its YouTube channel on June 7, 2022, 10:00 a.m. PDT under the theme “MSIology: Ahead of the Curve.

What is the future change of WRGB OLED to respond to QD-OLED?

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2As Samsung Display’s QD-OLED begins to be applied to TVs and monitors in earnest in 2022, technological changes are being detected for LG Display’s WRGB OLED, which has been leading the large OLED market.

LG Display’s WRGB OLED has produced a WBC structure consisting of two blue layers and one red+yellow green layer in Paju by the end of 2021, and a WBE structure consisting of two blue layers and one red+green+yellow green layer in Guangzhou. Deuterium substitution technology was applied to the blue of the WBE structure.

Since 2022, LG Display has stopped producing WBC panels from its Paju line and has been producing ‘OLED.EX’ panels with deuterium substitution technology applied additionally to green of WBE produced in Guangzhou.

<Photo of OLED.EX presented by LG Display at the 2022 OLED Korea Conference>

At SID 2022, LG Display also exhibited a large OLED panel with micro lens array technology. Micro lens array technology was applied to Samsung Electronics’ ‘Galaxy S Ultra’ series, and it is the first technology applied to large OLEDs. LG Display is known to expect a 20% improvement in luminance compared to the previous one by applying micro lens array technology. Panels which micro lens array technology is applied are expected to be produced in Paju from the second half of this year.

Lastly, it is known that LG Display is developing a structure in which yellow green is removed from WRGB OLED. By eliminating yellow green, material and processing costs can be saved, and color gamut is expected to be improved.

Attention is paid to how LG Display’s WRGB OLED will evolve to compete against QD-OLED.

<OLED panel with micro lens array technology exhibited by LG Display at SID 2022>

[SID2022] Samsung Display Tour 2 Display Week 2022

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Introducing iPhone 14 Display Specifications and Panel Vendors

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<Apple iPhone 14 Series Specifications>

 

Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE are expected to supply panels to Apple’s new iPhone 14 series in 2022. It is expected that Samsung Display will supply panels to all models in addition to iPhone 13 series. LG Display will supply 6.12-inch LTPS models and 6.69-inch LTPO models. BOE will supply panels only to 6.12-inch LTPS models.

The existing 5.4-inch mini model has been removed from the iPhone 14 series and a 6.69-inch Max model has been added. The size and resolution of iPhone 14 Max are the same as iPhone 14 Pro Max and LTPS TFT is applied instead of LTPO TFT.

In terms of design, the iPhone14 Pro and 14 Pro Max will have a punch hole design instead of the conventional notch. Apple’s punch hole design is expected to be applied as a double punch hole design due to various sensors and cameras.

Meanwhile, the total OLED panel supply to Apple in 2022 is expected to be about 215 million units, with Samsung Display expected to supply 135 million units, LG Display 55 million units, and BOE 25 million units. However, shipments are expected to be organically controlled due to market conditions and Apple’s policies.

 

[2022 OLED KOREA CONFERENCE] Samsung Electronics Joins the OLED TV Market, and the TV Panel Market is Expected to Exceed 20 million Units in 2025

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At UBI Research’s ‘2022 OLED Korea Conference’ held on April 6th-8th, UBI Research CEO Choong-Hoon Lee gave a presentation on, ‘OLED Market Review’.

CEO Lee presented the status of the entire OLED industry, market, and outlook with a focus on issues in 2022.

CEO Lee first announced the OLED TV business, a major issue in the recent OLED industry. CEO Lee said, “The biggest issue that has been heating up the OLED industry since the end of last year is OLED TV. There are topics such as Samsung Display’s re-entry into the large OLED business, sales of QD-OLED TVs between Samsung Electronics and Sony, and visualization of collaboration between Samsung Electronics and LG Display.”

In the TV OLED panel demand and supply forecast, CEO Lee said, “If Samsung Electronics purchases OLED panels from LG Display and conducts OLED TV business, LG Display and Samsung Display can supply a total of 12 million TV OLED panels this year. Among them, demand is 11.7 million units, and oversupply accounts for only 3%.” In addition, “With the joining of Samsung Electronics, the demand for OLED TV panels is expected to expand to 13 million units in 2023 and 20 million units in 2025. According to the expanding market, companies need to expand their facilities by the third quarter of this year” he predicted.

CEO Lee continued, “LG ​​Display has been working hard to secure funds for 8.5 generation OLED line expansion since last year, and it is estimated that it will secure additional funds for 45K expansion within this year. With LG Display’s additional measures, the TV OLED panel market is expected to reach 13.5 million units in 2023 and 16 million units after 2024. However, to secure a market of more than 20 million units, it is necessary to plan to invest in the 10.5 generation by next year” he analyzed. He also said, “If Samsung Display invests, 10.5G investment is desirable, but 8.5G investment is expected.” He said, “Whether LG Display invests or Samsung Display invests, a long-term supply contract with Samsung Electronics for 10.5G investment should take precedence. If the investment proceeds, Samsung Display is expected to secure its own funds, but LG Display is expected to require joint investment with Samsung Electronics.”

‘2022 OLED Korea Conference’ was a conference for exchange of ideas, business relationships, and partnerships with renowned speakers from major companies in the display industry from all over the world. ‘2022 OLED Korea Conference’ held a business conference on the 7th and 8th, beginning with a tutorial on April 6th.

 

2022 OLED KOREA Conference Day1 (Session highlights)

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SDC, 4Q2021 The Highest Smartphone Shipments 125 million units, Highest market share of flexible OLED 50.1%

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According to UBI Research Weekly Report, Samsung Display’s OLED shipped 480 million units in 2021. The highest number of shipments were in the 4th quarter at 133 million units and the second highest was in the in 3rd quarter at 129 million units.

Samsung Display OLED application products shipped in 2021 were smartphones, watches, tablet PCs notebooks and TVs. OLED for TVs started shipment in the fourth quarter of last year. It was the first OLED for TV shipment in eight years since 2013 when they had discontinued mass production.

Samsung Display OLED for smartphones shipped 456 million units, which was 94% of the total shipments. OLED for watches shipped 14 million units, just 2.9% of the total shipments.

OLED for notebooks had the most significant growth in 2021. 5 million units were shipped, representing a 2.5 times higher growth than the 1.9 million Tablet PC units shipped.

According to a quarterly analysis of Samsung Display smartphones shipments in 2021, 125 million units were shipped in the fourth quarter, showing the highest performance. This is mainly due to high shipments to Apple in the fourth quarter for OLED for iPhone. In 2021, 102 million units of OLED for iPhone were shipped and 45.4 million units were supplied to Apple in the fourth quarter. Therefore, the market share was the highest at 50.1% in the fourth quarter for flexible OLED shipments.

Flexible OLED and rigid OLED shipments were 190 million units and 257 million units respectively in 2021. The annual shipment market share was 41.6% and 56.5% respectively. Foldable OLED shipments were 8.7 million units, a market share of 1.9%.

 

[GLOBAL TECH KOREA 2021] Samsung Display ‘Display Innovation: Form Factor, Energy Saving, Color’

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At ‘GLOBAL TECH KOREA 2021’ held in September 2021, Changhee Lee, Head of Samsung Display’s Next Generation Research Department (Vice President) delivered a keynote speech on the topic of ‘Display Innovation: Form Factor, Energy Conservation, and Color’.

For the first time in the form factor sector, Vice President Lee said, “The screen-to-body ratio, which was only 50% in the early days, has recently reached over 85%” and “We are in the process of introducing UPC (Under Panel Camera) technology to use full screens in various product groups he said. UPC technology can be applied to laptops as well as smartphones, and he said that advanced technology is needed to gradually increase the resolution of the camera and create the same luminance and color as the surrounding screen.

Vice President Lee said, “In 2010, flat screens evolved into various form factors such as foldables and rollables, and most inconveniences in durability, convenience, and usability disappeared”. In addition, Vice President Lee said, “Active devices such as OLEDs and transistors are placed on a neutral plane and designed to be protected by multiple layers, and a foldable display can be made with UTG with reduced thickness and increased durability”. Vice President Lee continued, “If not only folding but also rollable are made, the volume will be much smaller, and the technology is high enough to be commercialized now”, He said, “Materials with excellent properties that can be repeatedly deformed and restored will be developed and will be employed in various products through technology that can make them mechanically strong”. He said, “Materials with excellent properties that can be repeatedly deformed and restored will be developed and will be employed in various products through technology that can make them mechanically strong.”

In terms of energy saving, Vice President Lee explained that Samsung Display’s ‘Eco Square OLED’ is “a technology that reduces power consumption by removing the polarizer” and “We are further developing this technology to further reduce power consumption” He said. In addition, in terms of software, he said, “When ‘Windows 11 Dark Mode’, which can use OLED display more efficiently than before, is released, it is possible to reduce OLED light-emitting power consumption by more than 25%”.

In the color gamut sector, Vice President Lee said, “The higher the saturation and the wider the color gamut, the brighter the human body perceives it.”, and he said, “We are developing a new index called XCR (experienced color range) and evaluating the picture quality of the display through it”. In addition, he said, “We are developing a display with lower power consumption and higher saturation using quantum dots” and “It has already been applied to LCD and applied to Samsung Electronics’ QLED, and QD-OLED products will be released soon, and QD-LED will also be developed” he announced.

Lastly, Vice President Lee said, “Various sensors are being combined and applied to displays, and they have developed innovatively in various form factors, sizes, picture quality and the application changes have also expanded. Companies in the sector must work together to achieve technological innovation” he emphasized.

Small OLED performance in the second quarter of 2021

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According to the market track on small OLED market performance of less than 10 inches published by UBI Research, Revenue and shipments in the second quarter were about $9.5 billion and 161.7 million units, respectively. QoQ(Quarter over Quarter) revenue and shipments decreased by -14.0% and -5.8%, respectively. Compared to the year over year (YoY), Revenue and shipments increased by 70.1% and 56.3%, respectively.

In 3Q, Samsung Display’s 6G LTPO TFT line capacity is expected to be increased to 60K units. LG Display decided to invest $15,000 in the LTPO TFT line for P6 ph3. The expected equipment installation time is the second quarter of 2022. BOE’s B15, which reviewed the investment in the 6G flexible OLED line, was changed to the 8.5G line for IT manufacturing. Revenue and shipments are expected to increase in the second half of 2021 with the mass production of Apple’s iPhone 13.

Medium & Large OLED performance in the second quarter of 2021

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UBI Research has published a market track on the market performance of 10-inch and larger OLEDs. Applications include TVs, monitors, laptops, and tablet PCs.

According to UBI Research’s Medium & Large OLED market track, the total revenue in the second quarter were about $1.5 billion, which is a 6.5% (QoQ) increase from the previous quarter and 129.6% in the same quarter of the previous year (YoY). In the second quarter, shipments totaled 5.1 million units, an increase of -3.6% (QoQ) and 40.4% (YoY). Samsung Display’s notebook OLED shipments in the second quarter were about 900K units. LG Display shipped 1.8 million TV panels in the second quarter of 2021.

Although there were concerns about a decrease in the utilization rate of the rigid OLED line due to the decrease in OLED for smartphones sold to Samsung Electronics, the A2 line is gradually being converted to production of OLED for laptops due to the increase in rigid OLED demand. In the first half of the year, two 12K lines were put into OLED production for notebooks, and in the second half, it is planned to increase to three or four lines.

Apple’s iPad, which will be mass-produced by Samsung Display from the end of the year, will use LTPO TFT and hybrid OLED (rigid substrate + TFE).

Samsung Display begins mass production of QD-OLED in the fourth quarter of 2021

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Samsung Display begins mass production of QD-OLED in the fourth quarter of 2021, a new growth opportunity in the large OLED market

Samsung Display is planning to start mass production of QD-OLED in earnest from the fourth quarter of 2021. The mass production scale is 8.5G 30K/month, and it is expected to be mass-produced mainly for 65-inch 4K resolution panels. Since three 65-inch panels can be produced in the 8.5th generation, about 1 million panels are expected to be mass-produced annually.

At the closing seminar held in the second half of 2020, UBI Research predicted that Samsung Display’s QD-OLED will produce 200,000 units in 2021, 600,000 units in 2022, and 800,000 units in 2025. However, as Samsung Display announced in its second quarter conference call that it will also introduce a monitor product with a smaller QD display than a TV, production is expected to vary depending on the proportion of products..

If mass production begins in the fourth quarter, QD-OLED TV will be unveiled for the first time at the CES 2022 exhibition held in Las Vegas in 2022, and the product is expected to be officially released in the first half of the year.

Joo-seon Choi, president of Samsung Display, emphasized in a recently published sustainability report that “If QD displays are commercialized, new growth opportunities will be created in the large display industry, which has been stagnant for a long time.”

Attention is paid to how much influence Samsung Display’s QD-OLED mass production will have in the large OLED market led by LG Display.

<Expected structure of QD-OLED, Source: UBI Research>

How far has QNED completed?

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The reality of QNED (quantum dot nano-rod LED), which Samsung Display is preparing as a next-generation display, has become clear.

As a result of analyzing 160 patents applied by Samsung Display, it was confirmed that the structure constituting the QNED has already been completed, and that the only remaining task is to keep the number of nano-rod LEDs arranged in the light-emitting pixel constant.

As a result of classifying the contents of each patent according to the purpose of the application, a total of 39 types were found, with 49 cases related to device arrangement being the most. The following is 20 cases to improve the light efficiency.

The number of aligned nano-rod LEDs per pixel, which determines the yield and image quality characteristics of QNED, is determined by the distribution of LEDs in the ink, the number of LEDs injected into the pixel, and the alignment ratio of the injected LEDs.

If the distribution of the number of nano-rod LEDs per pixel is different, there is a change in the voltage applied to each pixel, resulting in a defect.

It has been confirmed that Samsung Display has already developed a method for making the number of nano-rod LEDs per pixel constant and an algorithm that can make the luminance uniform even when the number of nano-rod LEDs is different.

In the “QNED Technology Completeness Analysis” published this time, it was written as the contents of the previous report published through analysis of 94 patents and 66 newly added patents. It was analyzed and recorded.

In this report, QNED patent numbers, classification tables, and quantitative analysis data that have not been disclosed before are provided in Excel.

Forecast of OLED Light Emitting Materials Market in 2021: $15.2 billion

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Citing the recently published ‘2021 OLED emitting material report’, UBI Research (www.ubiresearch.com), a company specializing in OLED market research, forecasted that the OLED emitting material market size in 2021 will be $1.52 billion, a 17% increase from $1.3 billion in 2020.

By country, Korean panel makers’ material purchase rate is expected to account for 74.3% of the total market, and China is expected to account for 25.7%. By company, Samsung Display is expected to take the 1st place with 45.9% of the total, LG Display to take second place with 28.5%, and BOE to take third place with 13.7%.

By evaporation method, it is expected that the emitting materials for RGB OLED used for small OLEDs account for 81.4% of the total market, and the emitting materials for WRGB OLED of LG Display account for 18.3%. Samsung Display’s QD-OLED emitting material, which will be released in the second half of this year, is expected to account for less than 1% of the total material market as shipments of QD-OLED panels are not expected to be large.

Meanwhile, the ‘2021 OLED Emitting Material Report’ published this time includes not only the OLED emitting material market forecast, but also the development trend of low-power driving technology, the development trend of blue phosphorescent materials, and the material supply chain of Chinese panel makers. It is expected to be helpful for the companies related to emitting materials understand related technologies and forecast future technology directions and markets.

Equipped with OLED panel on Samsung Display in Hyundai Electric Vehicle’Ionic 5′

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  • Samsung Display’s first OLED panel mounted on Hyundai’s first exclusive electric vehicle,’Ionic 5′
  • Optional digital side mirror to mount camera and display screen
  • Significantly helps to improve the mileage and fuel economy of electric vehicles

Samsung Display’s organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display will be used in Hyundai Motor’s first exclusive electric car,’Ionic 5′.

▲ Inside Hyundai’s first exclusive electric car Ionic 5

Ionic 5 can choose a side view camera as an option along with a standard side mirror that uses a regular mirror as before. With this option, there are no mirrors on the side mirrors. In the digital side mirror, a camera is mounted in the place of a general side mirror and a display is located inside. You can see the back and surroundings of the vehicle using the camera and display screen. The wider field of view reduces blind spots and has the advantage of being able to see the surroundings brightly even in the dark underground or at night. This display screen is Samsung Display’s OLED product.

The contract for supplying OLED for vehicles is significant in that it is a 10-year contract between Hyundai Motor Company and Samsung. Samsung Display signed a contract to supply 8-inch LCDs for navigation in 2011, and supplied supplies for three years, but there was no significant business link between the two groups. Hyundai Motor Group selected Samsung Display as the first supplier when it first selected OLED as a vehicle display. As Hyundai Motor adopts Samsung products for its first dedicated electric vehicle with high symbolism, analysts say that the scope of cooperation between Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung will continue to expand in the automotive industry.

Samsung Display has been supplying OLED displays to Audi’s electric vehicle ‘e-tron’ that applied the same system under the name of ‘virtual side mirror’ from 2018.

Audi’s first pure electric car’e-tron 55 quattro’ was applied with ‘virtual side mirrors’ for the first time in mass-produced cars. Are collected.

▲ Audi e-tron ‘Virtual Exterior Mirror’ with Samsung OLED

When the camera is mounted on the side mirror, it improves the aerodynamic flow, greatly helping to improve the mileage of electric vehicles and increase fuel efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles. In addition, even if the window is covered by snow or rain and it is difficult to see the outside, the side view can be clearly seen through the internal display.

▲ Hyundai Ionic 5’digital side mirror’ equipped with Samsung OLED

The e-tron is equipped with a diamond-shaped OLED display, but the digital side mirror of Hyundai Ionic 5 has a square display design. When I got on the inside of the vehicle and looked at the digital side mirror, I could clearly see the outside from the inside through the screen. In addition, the screen response speed was also smoothly driven without interruption. It is a structure that can easily adapt to drivers who were used to the existing mirror-type side.

 

 

 

 

Cover window market forecast for foldable phones

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The biggest difference between flexible OLED and foldable OLED will be the cover window material. In terms of price competitiveness, various Colorless Poly Imide (CPI) are superior to suppliers, but in the end, the cover window market is expected to depend on which material Samsung Electronics and Apple choose.

Samsung Display plans to supply only foldable OLEDs using UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) to Samsung Electronics and other China this year, and is expected to adopt UTG as the main cover window material in the future.

BOE and CSOT currently focus on transparent PI, but they are securing technology by continuously collaborating with UTG-related glass processing companies. For this reason, according to the UBI Research component and materials market track, UTG is expected to occupy 80% of the market for foldable cover windows in the future, and transparent PI is low in price and easy to apply to products larger than 10 inches As a result, it is expected to be applied to low-end models, tablets, and notebook models.

 

In 2020, small OLED shipments increased by 3.4%↑, sales decreased by 2.8%↓

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Corona 19 and Huawei’s US sanctions negatively affected the OLED market for smartphones, but it was a plus with Apple’s strong sales of iphone 12.

Samsung Display completed the Y-OCTA renovation of the Apple line in 2020, and the LTPO TFT secured a 30K scale. By the first half of 2021, the company plans to convert the LTPS line from Apple’s line to the LTPO TFT line.

The foldable phones released by Samsung Electronics in 2020 are the Galaxy Z Flip released in February and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 released in September, both in-folding and using UTG (ultra thin glass). Galaxy Z Fold 2 is a product to which LTPO TFT technology is applied.

BOE failed several times without exceeding the approval process in Apple’s iPhone12 quality test, but received final approval for panel supply at the end of December 2020. BOE’s new line, B12, is an Apple module line that starts bringing in equipment from December 2020, and is aiming for mass production in November 2021.

According to the annual small OLED display report published by UBI Research, small OLED shipments in 2020 increased by 3.4% compared to 2019, but sales decreased by 2.8%. The increase in shipments is due to the increase in OLED for watches, and the decrease in sales is due to the decrease in OLEDs for smartphones.

In 2020, the total sales of OLED for smartphones was 26.7 billion dollars, of which Samsung Display accounted for 78.8% with 21 billion dollars. LG Display has sales of $2.8 billion and a market share of 10.5%. Samsung Display accounted for 91.7% with 2.35 million dollars in 2019. Smartphone sales in 2020 decreased by 6.68 million units compared to 2019.

Middle and Large OLED sales growth of 40.2% in 2020

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Although Samsung Display’s rigid OLED line is expected to decrease due to a decrease in Huawei’s volume due to the US production, demand for rigid OLEDs is expected to increase as demand for laptops, monitors and tablet PCs is increasing. To respond to this, investment in rigid OLED lines in A4 is also being reviewed. This year’s notebook OLED panel is expected to come out with more than 10 different model product lines, and Apple’s OLED production for iPad is scheduled to start from 2022, so demand for middle and large-sized OLED panels is expected to increase.

In addition, LG Display, a leader in P-OLED supplying in the automotive field, is planning to supply plastic OLEDs for automobiles to German car makers by producing premium OLED panels, and Samsung Display is also supplying OLED panels for vehicles.

According to the 2021 middle and large OLED annual report published by UBI Research, the total sales of middle and large-sized OLEDs in 2020 was $3.882.7 million, and last year was $2.63 billion, an increase of 40.2% from the previous year. By application, the notebook and automobile markets have increased remarkably, and the notebook, monitor, and automotive product markets are expected to grow in 2021.

Samsung Display’s QD-OLED mass production is expected to be around December 2021, and 65-inch panels are highly likely to be used by Sony. Samsung Electronics is expected to receive only 32-inch QD-OLEDs for monitors, not purchasing 65 inches.

LG Display’s 2020 TV OLED panel shipments were counted to 4.4 million units, and if the Guangzhou plant operates at 90K from the third quarter, the production capacity will reach 8.5 million units in 2021.

 

Samsung Electronics’ foldable smartphone to be released in 2021, with touch pen and UTG thickness different?

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According to the ‘2020 OLED Components and Materials Report’ recently published by UBI Research, Samsung Electronics’ next-generation foldable smartphones to be released in 2021 are expected to be equipped with a pen function.

It is expected that the pen function will be added to Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z Fold2, which was released in September, but the flexibility issue of the digitizer, which is an essential material to support the pen function, and ultra thin glass (UTG), the cover window material. The pen function was not added in the end due to its thin thickness.

In order to add a pen function, Samsung Display seems to be considering applying an active electrostatic solution (AES) method that does not require a digitizer and changing the thickness of UTG.

First, the’Galaxy Note’ series uses an electro-magnetic resonance (EMR) method with a digitizer at the bottom of the OLED panel. The EMR method has good touch sensitivity and does not require a battery to be embedded in the pen, but it is not applicable to foldable devices due to the flexibility issue of the metal digitizer.

Unless the companies developing the EMR method provide a special solution, the AES method is highly likely to be applied to the pen for the next ball double device. In this case, the sensor pitch of Y-OCTA is formed more densely or the Touch IC is more complex. Can be designed.

The AES method is also being developed by LG Display and BOE to apply to foldable devices.

In addition, the thickness of UTG is also expected to change. The 30 um thick UTG, which is currently commercially available, has good flexibility, but due to its film-like characteristics, when pressure is applied with a touch pen, traces remain and may affect touch sensitivity. To solve this problem, Samsung Display is developing UTG with a thickness of more than 60 um in cooperation with glass processing companies.

As the thickness of the UTG decreases as the thickness increases, it is expected that the UTG currently under development will be applied with a concept in which the folded part is processed thin and filled with a material having the same refractive index as glass. In addition, in the future, there is a possibility that an additional coating process will be added after the reinforcement process without a protective film such as PET on UTG.

In UBI Research’s ‘2020 OLED Parts and Materials Report’, Samsung Display’s expected change in foldable OLED was written as a roadmap and the trends of related materials were analyzed. According to the report, Samsung Electronics’ application of pens for foldable devices is expected in 2021, and UTG materials are expected to lead the market at 78% by 2025 in the future cover window market for foldable devices.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 image leak, internal and external displays become bigger

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<The first supposed official render of Galaxy Z Fold2, Source: twitter.com/ishanagarwal24>

On 21 July, information leaker for IT new product, Ishan Agarwal, released an image presumed to be a rendered photo of ‘Galaxy Z Fold2’ on his Twitter.

Galaxy Z Fold2 will be released at the end of September, about two months after it was unveiled at the Galaxy Unpack event on the 5th of next month.

Inside the Galaxy Z Fold2, a 7.7-inch foldable OLED that is larger than the previous Galaxy Fold’s 7.3-inch screen is used, and the cover window material of the foldable OLED is UTG. The size of the external OLED is 6.23 inch, which is 1.63 inch larger than the previous one.

The rear camera is equipped with a 1,800-megapixel main camera, a triple (three) camera and a flight distance sensor (ToF), and the internal camera is known to be located in the center of the right screen in the form of a punch hole, but can’t see in this image.

Expected touch pens do not apply to this model. The shipping price is expected to be 2.3 million won, which is about 100,000 won cheaper than the previous one.

Deuterium substitution blue, will be next generation blue materials?

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Fluorescent blue emitting material is the only fluorescent material used in small and medium-sized OLEDs and large-area OLEDs.

Development of next generation emitting materials such as TADF and hyper-fluorescence is also in progress, but deuterium substitution technology has got attention since it is adopted to Samsung Galaxy S20.

Deuterium substitution technology is to replace hydrogen with deuterium in a compound combined with existing hydrogen, and each company has a difference in substituting the compound before or after synthesis or substituting the whole. Representative development companies for deuterium substitution include Idemitsu Kosan, DuPont, SFC, and JNC.

As related patents, compounds substituted with deuterium with an atomic mass of deuterium that is twice as high as hydrogen have lower zero-energy and lower vibrational energy than those combined with hydrogen, resulting in lower ground-state energy and weaker intermolecular interactions, resulting in a thin film in an amorphous state. It is effective in improving the life of OLED.

It is expected that the OLED device to which the deuterium-substituted compound is applied can improve the lifetime by more than 20% compared to the previous one.

What is the difference between the touch types of each model of iPhone 12?

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All of Apple’s iPhone 12 models, OLED panels will be used and consisted of four models. There are three sizes, 5.4 inches, 6.1 inches, and 6.7 inches, respectively, and 6.1 inches are divided into two models.

Samsung Display and LG Display have begun preparing to mass-produce, with recent orders from Apple. Samsung Display plans to supply OLED panels of all sizes, LG Display plans to supply 6.1-inch OLED panels, and there are differences in touch type by size.

First, on-cell touch which a touch electrode is formed on a thin film encapsulation (TFE) is applied to 5.4 inch and 6.7 inch models. Each panel maker is called Y-OCTA (YOUM on-cell touch AMOLED), ToE (touch on encapsulation), FMLOC (flexible multi-layer on-cell touch), and unlike add-on touch, a touch electrode is formed directly on the upper layer without base films. Due to this, the on-cell touch has a higher process difficulty than the add-on touch, but it is advantageous to fabricate a thin OLED panel thickness, and the process cost is also reduced.

Add-on method is applied to 6.1 inches. A touch electrode is formed on the base film, and is attached on the TFE by adhesive. It has the advantage that the process is simpler than on-cell touch.

<Flexible OLED touch type, Source: AMOLED Manufacturing Process Report>

Recently, rumors that BOE is supplying 5.4 inch and 6.1 inch OLED panels to Apple have turned around, but 5.4 inch is on-cell touch type and it is still difficult to supply for iPhone 12 due to technical difficulty. BOE is developing a 6.1-inch OLED panel and has not received calls yet.

<iPhone 12’s touch types and panel suppliers>

78.6 tons of OLED emitting material demand increased by 5.6% in 2020

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According to the 2020 OLED emitting material report published by UBI Research, the demand for emitting materials in 2020 is 78.6 tons, which is 4.2 tons higher than last year’s 74.4 tons. The material used for OLEDs for smartphones and mobile devices is 62.9 tons, and the OLED emitting material for TVs is expected to be 15.7 tons.

In 2019, the total emitting material market was totaled at $ 1.28 billion, and 43% of the total amount was purchased from Samsung Display. It was found that the amount purchased by LG Display was 19.4% and the BOE was 11.6%. LG Display’s purchase of emitting materials accounted for 60.8% of TV use. The order of purchase of emitting materials for mobile devices is in order of Samsung Display, BOE, and LG Display. This is because BOE has a large amount of OLED production for mobiles after Samsung Display.

The OLED panel for TV only produces LG Display, but Samsung Display is pursuing QD-OLED commercialization using blue light emitting material and QD. In addition, although BOE is a white OLED structure similar to LG Display, it is developing a top-emission structure that transmits light in the opposite direction of TFT, and it is expected that three companies will produce OLED panels for TV within a few years, and the emitting material market is expected to increase as well.

The market for emitting materials in 2020 is expected to increase by 7% from 2019 to $ 1.37 billion. Among the emitting materials, green and red hosts are expected to be $ 19.2 billion and $ 19 billion, respectively, and green dopants and P + are expected to be $ 1.37 billion and $ 1.35 billion, respectively.

Apple’s last LCD phone, iPhone SE

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The iPhone SE, the last product of the LCD smartphone that Apple has opened to the smartphone market, has been released.

Apple’s 2019 model iPhone 11 had three models, the base model iPhone 11 used a 6.06inch LCD, and the advanced specifications iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max used 5.85 inch and 6.46inch flexible OLED, respectively.

Samsung Display supplies both 5.85inch and 6.46inch flexible OLEDs, and LG Display has supplied only 6.46inch flexible OLEDs from the fourth quarter of 2019.

This year, Apple releases a four-model iPhone. There are three types of iPhone, SE2 which started selling this month, and 3 iPhone 12 which starts selling in September. Strictly speaking, since there are 2 models of the iPhone 12 Pro, 4 types of iPhones using OLED will be released in the second half of this year.

Apple’s current LCD phones are the iPhone 11 and the newly released SE2. Of the iPhone models released by Apple this year, only the LCD will use the SE2, and the SE2 is expected to be Apple’s last LCD smartphone.

Apple already mentioned that in 2019, all future iPhone displays will be replaced by OLEDs. Therefore, in fact, this is the reason that the SE2 released this time is expected to be the last　LCD phone.

Most of the latest smartphones are more than 6 inches, but the iPhone SE2 released this time is a small 4.7-inch model using IPS LCD.

The reason Apple used a small display is believed to be a strategic product to target the mid-priced market of around $ 500. It’s currently $ 549.99 on eBay, but it’s on Amazon for $ 399.

Apple’s expected iPhone strategy is two tracks. First of all, in order to maintain the second largest market share in shipments, it is necessary to match shipments with products with a wide market of $ 500. And the operating profit creation is to fit the expensive iPhone 12 series using flexible OLED.

However, shipments of LCD phones are expected to gradually disappear after 2021, depending on the sales of 5.42 inches, the basic model of iPhone 12, which will be released in the second half of this year.

Samsung Display QD-OLED Investment Timing Forecast to Oppo?

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Samsung’s LCD business, which began in 1991, will be suspended in 2021. Samsung’s LCD business is completely closed after a 30-year lifespan. Samsung foresaw the limitations of the LCD business 10 years ago and stopped investing in the 10G. Instead, Samsung Electronics has separated the LCD business to create a Samsung Display combined with Samsung SDI’s OLED and has been preparing for a new display era.

Samsung’s loss of LCD business can be estimated for two reasons. The first is the deterioration of profitability from China’s LCD over-investment, and the second is the transition to a new business with high added value.

Since the display is an essential product in the modern information society, demand is gradually increasing worldwide as the usage is increased. In addition, as the amount of information increases, the data to be expressed increases, so the display size must also increase. By these two factors, the display industry has the power to continue to develop. However, China’s LCD investments have continued to invest in large quantities over many years. In the wake of this, only two LCD companies in Japan, Sharp and JDI, remained, and the Korean LCD business also reached a point where it was necessary to organize the business due to deficits.

Samsung Display and LG Display have expanded the OLED business to respond to the low-priced panel of Chinese LCD companies, and have focused on producing OLEDs with the best image quality preferred by set makers with high brand power. Samsung Display already secured a market of $ 25.3 billion in the smartphone display business in 2019, and LG Display secured $ 2.2 billion in sales in the OLED market for TV last year.

Samsung Display has enjoyed tremendous sales and operating profit in the OLED business, but the LCD business has been in the red for several years. Samsung Display sells LCDs for monitors, mainly for LCDs for TVs, but has secured the optimal solution to replace them all as QD-OLEDs.

QD-OLED production, which Samsung Display started investing from this year, uses 8.5G equipment. This is because Samsung Display’s factory in Tangjeong is an 8.5G LCD line, which can reduce the cost of building an OLED production line. Samsung Display will produce 8K 65-inch QD-OLED panels at this plant starting next year. It also produces QD-OLEDs for 32-inch 4K monitors. Maintaining the TV and monitor panel business previously held by Samsung Display, profitability can be secured by selling expensive products.

Samsung Display started investing in QD-OLED 30K in the existing 8.5G LCD factory, but the total investment is 120K. The remaining investment is 90K. Samsung Display’s additional investment is expected to change in size and timing depending on the QD-OLED production situation starting next year. If a yield of over 60% is secured from the beginning of production, the remaining 90K can be invested in next year. This is the most desirable timing. It can be used without leaving the LCD engineer. To prepare for this situation, all LCD lines must be removed by the first half of 2021. The next scenario is when the QD-OLED yield is less than 60%. In general, when the yield is low, the plant cannot be fully operated, so it does not require much manpower. Since additional investment is appropriate after securing the yield, it is a method of separating the investment, investing 30 ~ 60K, and then investing the remaining size later.

Nobody know what will happen next year, but Samsung Display is steadily taking a step forward to secure the future business.

Samsung Display, LG Display, and OLED sales depend on the operation of the Vietnamese module factory

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Samsung Display and LG Display, whose business trip to Vietnam was blocked by the Corona virus, are trying to prevent delays in OLED production by launching charter.

Samsung Display, which produces OLED for mobile devices, operates a line of OLED modules for smartphones in Bac Ninh, Vietnam, and Samsung Electronics also has smartphone manufacturing plants in Bac Ninh and Tai Nguyen. Samsung Display installed the foldable OLED module line 30K in December 2019. In this module factory, Samsung Display is producing foldable OLED modules for Galaxy Z flips, which Samsung Electronics has begun selling this year. LG Display invested a total of KRW 1 trillion in Haiphong, Vietnam in May 2016 to produce the OLED module, built a module factory and started operation in September of that year.

The Vietnamese government is blocking entry from Korea to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This has made it difficult for Korean companies with factories in Vietnam to travel to Vietnam. However, Samsung Display and LG Display are preparing a charter for the normal operation of their OLED module factory and are on a business trip to Vietnam.

If Samsung Display is unable to manage the Vietnamese module factory, Samsung Electronics will disrupt the production of the Galaxy Z Flip, which is the biggest game this year, and may cause huge losses and may be affected by the leading position in the foldable smartphone market. LG Display is also in an urgent situation. From the fourth quarter of last year, LG Display began to supply pOLED to Apple following Samsung Display, and pOLED shipments to Apple are increasing this year. As LG Display supplied pOLED to Apple, sales increased significantly last year. This year, LG Display’s Apple supply is expected to reach 15 million units.

Therefore, these two companies are desperate to manage the module factory in Vietnam to maintain the OLED business.

The impact of the corona virus on the OLED market in 2020

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Dark clouds are approaching Korean industry by the corona virus that has been blown since the beginning of the year. Wuhan, the birthplace of the corona virus, is badly affecting the Chinese display industry because it is a key place where Chinese display makers are building large production bases.

Wuhan and other plant set-ups are experiencing difficulties due to the lack of manpower needed to build the line. At the same time, the utilization rate of the entire supply chain in China is falling sharply, as the labor force of parts and materials manufacturers in China is delayed to return to the factory. In the smartphone industry, the center of the OLED industry, iPhone production is affected in the first quarter. Foxconn’s factories, which produce iPhones in Zhangzhou and Shenzhen, China, are operating at 50% at end-February. This is because manufacturing workers are returning to the factory late. Companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are also hampering smartphone production due to delays in parts procurement.

Nevertheless, the production of OLED smartphones is not much affected yet. First, Samsung Display’s panel production plant, which accounts for 86.3% (2019) of OLED shipments for smartphones, is located in Korea, while the module plant in Vietnam is not affected by China. In addition, the supply chain has no effect as most of the material production bases that make up OLED panels (including modules) are also in Korea.

Samsung Display’s OLED production for smartphones in January and February totaled 48 million units, less than 2 million units compared to 50 million units shipped in the same period in 2019. Of these, 14 million and 17 million units were supplied to Chinese smartphone makers in 2019 and 2020, respectively. This year, more than 3 million units are shipped. So far, Samsung Display’s OLED business is not affected by the corona virus.

The total market share of Chinese OLED panel makers in 2019 is 11.7%. By February, the panel utilization rate of Chinese OLED panel makers was maintained at 80%. The impact of factory operation due to lack of manpower is about 20% because most of the display manufacturing industry is driven by automated facilities. Chinese OLED makers import most of the major materials, including light emitting materials, from Korea and Japan, so they are hardly affected by the corona virus.

The parts procurement status of smartphone makers in China affects the market. If Chinese suppliers, including Huawei, fail to procure parts in China, smartphone production will be hampered. However, as Samsung Display’s OLED production for China is progressing smoothly, Chinese smartphone makers have a strategy of maintaining OLED smartphones, which are expensive brands.

In addition, the first quarter is the off-season with the lowest shipment season, so even if it is difficult to operate a smartphone manufacturing plant until March, the impact on the overall market is about 10%. After the second quarter, if the corona virus subsides, demand can resume.

The problem is from March. China’s corona virus has slowed down, but South Korea has been expanding since the last week of February. There is someone has a virus at Samsung’s Gumi smartphone manufacturing plant. In addition, the Vietnamese authorities, concerned about the influx of South Korea’s virus, refused to visit Koreans, which may make it difficult for the headquarters to properly deal with problems with Samsung Display’s module plant management in Vietnam.

Most important of all, the corona virus is spreading all over the world, and economic activity is severely reduced. In China, the entrance of the apartment is blocked, so it is difficult to bring TV. The Chinese TV market is shrinking. Many people are refusing to go out because they are concerned about a corona virus infection, so fewer people visit a store and buy a smartphone. Consumer sentiment is falling significantly.

Assuming that the corona virus crisis will end in March in Korea and China, the impact of the smartphone OLED industry on 2020 is estimated to be about 5%, but if it is prolonged, it may be adversely affected by more than 10%. Assuming that the corona virus crisis will end in March, the impact of the smartphone OLED industry on 2020 is estimated to be around 5%, but if it continues until the first half of the year, it could be adversely affected by 10%.

The OLED business for TV is slightly different. LG Display’s factories that produce exclusive OLED panels for TVs are located in Paju, Korea, and Guangzhou, China. The Paju plant is not disrupted at all. Like OLEDs for smartphones, parts and components are mostly supplied by Korean and Japanese companies, so Paju factory is not affected by China.

The problem is the Guangzhou plant. LG Display has been expected to produce panels since September 2019, but its supply has been delayed due to poor panel lifetime. LG Display has begun production of panels again this year and is undergoing product tests from customers. Recently, however, the corona virus has begun to spread in Korea, making it difficult for Korean engineers to go to Guangzhou. Even if the corona virus disappears in the first quarter in China and the factories operate normally, it may take some time before the panel is supplied from the Guangzhou plant.

According to Ubi Research’s OLED market track, the 2020 forecast is 4.95 million units without considering the corona virus situation, of which 750,000 OLED panels for TV can be produced by LG Display in the first quarter. If the 55-inch production volume is large, up to 800,000 units can be produced. Since the data were prepared in anticipation that panels produced at the GuangZhou plant will be available from the second quarter, LG Display’s panel supply is expected to be 1.4 million units in the second quarter.

However, it is possible that production will be delayed after May if the customer’s quality certification of panels produced at Guangzhou plant is delayed due to the Korean coronavirus rather than the Chinese coronavirus. In that case, the annual TV panel production could be reduced by about 200,000 units, which is expected to decrease by 4% from the estimated total. However, if the corona virus is prolonged by June, it can cause up to 10% of adverse effects. The market should consider 500,000 fewer than expected.

[Press Release] OLED production capacity will increase to double in 2023.

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UBI Research has published [2019 OLED Equipment Report] that forecasts the OLED equipment market. According to the report, the total substrate area of display companies in 2019 will be 34.9 million square meters, which will be 68.5 million square meters in 2023 and double after four years.

OLED substrate area growth is attributable to investments made by OLED lines for TVs driven by Samsung Display and LG Display. Currently, OLED manufacturing lines for TVs are 8G lines optimized for 55-inch panel production. However, the demand for premium TVs is shifting from 55-inch OLED TVs to 65-inch TVs. By 2021, the 65-inch OLED TV market will account for more than 40%. In response to these market conditions, LG Display is preparing to invest 10.5G lines in the most efficient production of 65-inch panels. In 2023, the substrate area of a large OLED line is expected to occupy 42% of the total substrate area.

<OLED production capacity by generation>

The substrate area of the 6G line is expected to grow to 13 million square meters this year and to 19.3 million square meters in 2023. Most of this is due to investment by Chinese panel makers. In China, the smartphone market accounts for about 40% of the global market, so Chinese smartphone makers have a very high market share based on the domestic market. Huawei has recently become the world’s second-largest shipper based on its domestic market. Chinese panel makers are boldly adding a 6G flexible OLED line to Chinese smartphone makers, with the Chinese government’s huge support.

<OLED production capacity by country>

In 2019, Korea’s OLED production capacity (substrate area) will total 27.9 million square meters, accounting for 80% of its total production capacity and expanding to 54.8 million square meters by 2023. The market share will remain at 80% and lead the OLED industry.

Chinese panel makers are expected to stay at around 20% as they are investing only in OLED production lines for mobile device.

The OLED manufacturing equipment market (excluding logistics equipment) is estimated at $ 28.4 billion for four years from 2019 to 2022 due to investment by Korean and Chinese panel makers. Among them, the sixth-generation equipment market is expected to account for 61% of the total equipment market, at $ 17.2 billion.

<Equipment Market Forecast by Generation (2019 ~ 2022)>

[Press Release] AMOLED components and materials market grew to $ 24.15 billion in 2023

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Although Samsung Electronics and Apple’s OLED smartphone market are stalled, Chinese smartphone makers are gradually increasing their use of OLEDs based on the huge smartphone market in China. As a result, BOE and Chinese panel makers have aggressively established a Gen6n flexible OLED plant, which is driving the OLED industry.

As a result of UBI Research’s panel makers’ operation rate analysis due to OLED plant expansion and supply and demand, the market for various component materials (excluding light emitting materials) that make up OLEDs is expected to reach $13.9 billion in 2019 and expand to $ 24.15 billion in 2023.

Recently, as the production of foldable OLED has started, various kinds of films that are not applied to LCD are emerging as core materials.

In the [2019 OLED Components and Materials Report] published by UBI Research, we examined the foldable OLED structure of Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE, and analyzed the thickness and characteristics of the films that make up the module.

In the OLED components and materials market, components for TV OLEDs will grow rapidly to reach $ 19.1 billion in 2023 and lead the OLED industry.

OLED emitting materials market to grow to $ 1.71 billion in 2019

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OLED light emitting materials market is gradually increasing as Chinese companies enter OLED panel market led by Samsung Display and LG Display.

The 2019 OLED emitting material report, published by UBI Research, predicts that the emitting material market in 2019 will reach $ 1.17 billion. 2021 and 2023 are expected to grow to $ 1.87 billion and $ 2.0 billion, respectively.

The size of light emitting materials consumed by Korean companies will account for 70.2% in 2019 ($ 0.82 billion), and its share will increase to 75.6% in 2023.

Korea’s emitting material market is growing because the consumption of OLED materials for TVs is soaring. In 2019, 21.1% of light emitting materials for TVs are expected to increase to 49.7% in 2023.

[OLED KOREA 2019] Early Bird Registration D-4 (until January 31)

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The year 2018 was the inflection point for new application that had never existed in the OLED industry. Newly introduced OLED applications in 2019 include foldable phone, 8K OLED TV, rollable OLED TV, monitors made of inkjet technology, and automotive side view display.

The speaker of OLED KOREA 2019 consists of companies related to these five applications and presents the market and technology direction in 2019.

[Speaker]

Samsung Display Hyein Jeong

LG Display KY(Stephen) Ko

TCL Dr. Jueng-Gil(James) Lee

JOLED Dr. Toshiaki Arai,

Boeing Dr. Julian Chang

eMagin Dr. Amal Ghosh

UBI Research Dr. Choong Hoon YI

Cynora Dr. Andreas Haldi

Merck Dr. Remi Anemian

Sumitomo Chemical Takeshi Yamada

UDC Dr. Mike Hack

Kyulux Dr. Junji Adachi

Kateeva Kyung-Bin Bae

Idemitus Kosan Jisung So

Kolon Dr. Chung-Seock Kang

3M Sun-Yong Park

Nanosys Dr. Nahyoung Kim

ETRI Dr. Hyunkoo Lee

AMAT Dr. Robert Jan Visser

OTI Dr. Michael Helander

Samsung Display, supplies 7-inch OLED for Virtual Exterior Mirror to Audi

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Samsung Display announced on October 3 that the company will be supplying a 7-inch OLED display for Audi’s all-new electric Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), the Audi e-tron®. The Audi e-tron has attracted attention throughout the automotive industry. One of its highlights are optional* ‘virtual exterior mirrors’ – a ‘first’ for a volume-production car.

Audi’s virtual exterior mirrors feature a small side-view camera instead of the existing side mirrors. The driver can view the images captured by the camera in real time through the OLED display installed between the vehicle’s A pillar (the column next to the front glass) and the door.

<Virtual exterior mirror applied to e-Tron, Audi, Source: news.samsungdisplay.com>

The OLED display supplied by Samsung Display is equipped with one camera on each side of the vehicle dashboard, replacing the existing side mirror function, and the built-in touch sensor allows people to zoom in or out on the screen as if to manipulate a smartphone. Audi said the Virtual Exterior Mirror offers a wider field of view without blind spots, compared to a typical side mirror. It provides better visibility even on cloudy days and in dark places, and it provides a ‘view mode’ suitable for each driving situation such as highway driving, rotation, parking, etc for more convenient and safe driving. By eliminating the side mirrors that protrude out of the vehicle, it reduces air resistance and wind noise. Also, slim and beautiful design is possible, reducing the body width by 5.9 inches.

The images seen on the Samsung display that covers each virtual exterior mirror appear natural and distinct with none of the drag effects typically triggered by a slow response rate at low temperatures, while exhibiting outstanding color reproducibility. The Samsung 7-inch OLED display provides Audi e-tron drivers with an ideal visual solution, thanks to its low power consumption and innovatively thin, lightweight design, in addition to its superior imaging.

Jeeho Baek, Senior Vice President of Samsung Display, said “It is inspiring to many that our OLED display is used in Audi’s virtual exterior mirror, demonstrating that Samsung OLED technology is being optimized for cutting-edge automobile systems around the world. We will continue to actively support leading automotive manufacturers in helping them to advance the future automotive market through the use of our OLED display technology with its high resolution, advanced designs and low power consumption.”

 

 

[IMID 2018] Samsung Display, The key material that will connect the smart world and the individual in the future is the display

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At IMID 2018 held in BEXCO, Busan, Korea on August 29, Kwak Jin-Oh, vice president of Samsung Display, delivered a keynote speech on the theme of ‘The Infinite Evolution with Display’. He emphasized “Display will be the key material to link to the smart world and the creation of a new world and environment will be accelerated.”

Comparing the evolution of living things with the evolution of displays, Kwak pointed out the direction of the next-generation displays such as ‘size diversity from small to large size, adaption in design inclusive of full screen and flexible, and convergence with other technologies’.

In terms of size diversity, Kwak said, “High-resolution displays that can feel realism in small and medium-sized area, and displays that can be immersed like a big screen in a movie theater in large area, are required.”

The design adaptation then was referred to design autonomy as one of the values of next-generation displays. He further emphasized the value of rollable and stretchable displays as well as foldable displays in small and medium sized displays.

Kwak said that Samsung is developing rollable displays as well as foldable displays that are currently attracting great interest. Unlike foldable display, rollable display requires consideration of the stress on the front of the panel. He commented “Because there are many things to consider such as the time when it is rolled up, and the number of times it is rolled and unrolled, the company is conducting research to solve them.”

He also introduced a stretchable display that can implement patterns freely, and explained that it is developing various structures using RGB pixel unit and stretchable unit to implement displays that have high reliability with low stress.

Mentioning about biotechnology at the convergence area, he pointed out that new fusion technologies need to be considered such as measurement of oxygen saturation by transmitting light to hemoglobin or changes in the wake up mode and sleep mode of the display depending on the melatonin change.

Finally, Kwak concluded that display is evolving to create a new society and environment, emphasizing that display is the key material to link between the individual and the smart world in the forthcoming 5G era.

[IMID 2018] LG Display and Samsung Display exhibited a large number of large, and small & medium sized OLED applications.

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LG Display and Samsung Display introduced a number of applications using OLED at IMID 2018 held in BEXCO, Busan, drawing attention from many visitors. In particular, LG Display displayed its strategies mostly for large OLED applications such as 77-inch transparent OLED and 55-inch video wall OLED, while Samsung Display introduced the small and medium sized OLED applications mainly for automotive and virtual reality devices.

First, the panel thickness of the 77 inch transparent flexible OLED introduced by LG Display is 400 μm, the bending radius is 80 mm, and the luminance is 200 nit based on full white.

LG Display explained that it would improve the required transmittance and durability. Also, it commented that the goal is to reduce bezel to 0.5 mm at its display of 4 FHD OLEDs with 3.8 mm bezel.

In addition, LG Display presented a 1200ppi 4.3-inch WRGB OLED for virtual reality devices. One official explained that WRGB OLED, which represents the resolution by etching the color filter, would be advantageous for higher resolution than RGB using the deposition method.

Meanwhile, Samsung Display exhibited a number of automotive OLEDs, including unbreakable OLED for 6.22 inch steering wheel, 1000R curved OLED for passenger monitor, transparent OLED for HUD, S-curved OLED for CIO and rollable OLED. The concerned official expects the OLED to be widely applied to inside automobiles because it has excellent design autonomy, compared to LCD.

He added “Although there are many things to be improved, such as brightness and reliability, it is continuously improving the required performance through the feedback from European customers”.

Furthermore, Samsung Display showcased light field display and 2,000ppi resolution RGB OLED for virtual reality devices.

Market for OLED materials and components is forecast to grow to US$37 billion in 2022.

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In the 2018 OLED material and component report and Market Track published by UBI Research, the entire market for OLED materials and components market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 29% by 2022, forming a market of US$ 37 billion in 2022.

<Market forecast for OLED materials and components>

The overall OLED material and component market forecasted in this report is calculated based on the panel makers’ available capacity and includes all the materials and components for OLED production.

The total OLED material and component market is counted as US$ 9,794 million in 2017 and is expected to grow by 35% to US$ 13,264 million in 2018.

Major growth drivers are mentioned as capacity expansion of Samsung Display and LG Display inclusive of Gen6 flexible OLED mass production lines of Chinese panel makers.

UBI Research commented “Utilization of Samsung Display in the first quarter of 2018 was poor, but it is turning to normal from the second quarter, and LG Display and Chinese panel makers are also aiming to mass-produce this year. In particular, it will have a major impact on the growth of the materials and components market in 2018 whether Samsung Display’s A4, LG Display’s E5, E6 and BOE’s B7 lines will be in full operation.”

In the 2018 OLED material and component report, the market is forecast for 20 kinds of major materials and components used in OLED for mobile devices and large-area OLED, including substrate glass, carrier glass, PI and organic materials for TFT. In addition, the report covers industry trends and key issues related to the core materials, while Market Track forecasts the expected purchase volume and purchase amount by panel makers.

SID2018] Samsung display’s OLED technology, one step closer to full screen

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At the SID2018 exhibition in Los Angeles, a new concept OLED with no front speakers on the Smartphone was introduced.

Samsung Display’s new “Sound on display” removes the speaker at the top of the smart phone. Instead, it has a piezo electric actuator on the back of the panel that can turn the electrical signal into vibration. This is the mechanism by which the actuator vibrates the OLED panel to produce sound. It is the same method as LG Display’s “Crystal sound OLED”.

When this technology is utilized, the speaker can be removed from the front of the smart phone, resulting in a wider display area. Following the trend that the home button is embedded in the display, OLED will continue to evolve in the direction that the speaker is also embedded in the display.

Can BLUE OLED be used for OLED TV?

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Samsung Display selected blue OLED + QDCF (blue OLED) as next generation display technology following LCD TV, and started the necessary development.

Blue OLED is a technology, in which blue light emitted from blue OLED passes through a quantum dot color filter to represent red and green colors (b). The WRGB OLED used in OLED TV is a method in which white light passes through a color filter and implements RGB colors (a).

The ‘2018 OLED Materials Industry Report’ published by UBI Research on April 18 describes whether blue OLED, which Samsung Display has started to develop, can become TV OLED panels. The expected development direction and performance (efficiency and lifetime) of blue OLED + QDCF are analyzed. In particular, current status and development trends (fluorescence, phosphorescence, TADF) of blue emitting material, which is the core material of blue OLED, are covered.

Since blue OLED of Samsung Display is top emission type, the aperture ratio is increased by about 70% compared to the bottom emission, which emits light in the TFT direction, so that 8K resolution and high brightness are realized better than the conventional WRGB OLED. In addition, it is expected to reach BT. 2020, the UHD color standard, which was established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2012, using QD material with high color reproduction rate as color filter.

In the future premium TV market, 8K and BT. 2020 are necessary conditions for display. WRGB OLED is also being actively developed to implement 8K and BT2020. Attention is focused on the impact of the development of blue OLED in the premium TV market led by WRGB OLED.

In addition, the report analyzes the market status and development trends of the related companies, including overall technology development directions and key issues for new materials such as soluble OLED materials and near IR materials.

Changes in OLED panel market for smartphones

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According to the ‘2018 1Q AMOLED Display Market Track’ published by UBI Research, OLED panel shipments for smartphones are projected to grow at an annual average growth rate of 15.8%, from 450 million units in 2018 to 850 million units by 2022. This is a 9.6% decline from the CAGR 25.4% expected in the fourth quarter of 2017.

<Shipment forecast of OLED panel for smartphones >

The reason shipment forecast of OLED panels for smartphones is declined compared with 4Q,2017 is because smartphone trends have been reflected recently. The smartphone market is sluggish due to the prolonged replacement period of smartphones and the lack of new technology. In addition, the average size of smartphones has enlarged faster than expected, and the size of smartphones is expected to increase gradually with the anticipation for the launch of foldable OLEDs, leading to a slowdown in the shipment growth.

For flexible OLED, ASPs have risen due to the lack of supply, caused by mainly dependent on Samsung Display, and Chinese set makers are burdened by its high prices. As low-priced full-screen LCDs are emerging, it is forecasted that demand for rigid OLEDs will decline since Chinese set makers are adopting more LCDs than OLEDs in rigid smartphones.

Panel makers in Korea and China have aggressively invested in the Gen6 OLED line in 2016 and 2017. Starting this year, however, they are reviewing the investment and operation time frame of mass production lines, with looking into the smartphone demand. As OLED panels for smartphones account for more than 90% of the total OLED panel market, it is an important factor for the investment flow of panel makers.

Meanwhile, ‘2018 1Q AMOLED Display Market Track’ is based on the market performance data and projected system that UBI Research has accumulated over 15 years. It consists of 8 (eight) modules in total: Panel cost analysis, Market forecast, Supply and demand analysis, Market performance (sales), Competitiveness analysis of panel makers, ASP, Supply chain analysis and investment & Mass production line status.

Leading the OLED market of Samsung Display continues this year

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According to OLED Market Track, which was published by UBI Research in the first quarter of 2018, AMOLED sales and shipments amounted to US$ 8.86 billion and 130 million units, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2017. The sales amount is 100.2% higher than the fourth quarter of 2016. Among them, Samsung Display’s sales and shipments account for 91.6% and 94.5%, respectively, and keep its absolute position.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, the total number of AMOLED market for smart phones was 120 million units, representing 95.5% of the total market. AMOLED panels for smart phones sold by Samsung Display accounted for 97.5%, with 119 million units.

In 2018, the AMOLED market for smart phones is expected to reach 470 million units, with Samsung Display expecting its market share to maintain over 91.5 % with 430 million units.

<4Q’17 AMOLED market>

<2018 AMOLED market for smartphone>

AMOLED Display Market track – Investment & MP Line Status, just published

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According to the investment trend data from AMOLED Display Market Track published by UBI research, the net area capacity of AMOLED production worldwide is expected to grow at a CAGR of 48% from 2018 to 2020.

As a result of analyzing the glass area based on the overall equipment capacity, the net area capacity of AMOLED mass production was 13 million square meters in 2017, and it is expected to grow more than three times to 40 million square meters in 2020.

The net area capacity of AMOLED mass production area is projected to grow from 4 million square meters in 2017 to 8.4 million square meters in 2020, and that of small and medium-sized AMOLED is to be increased about 3.5 times from 9.1 million square meters in 2017 to 32 million square meters in 2020.

Analysis shows that LG Display’s net area capacity will be increased by 6.9 million square meters from 2018 to 2020, followed by Samsung Display with 5.8 million square meters increase and BOE with 4.4 million square meters increase.

On the other hand, when compared to the net area capacity for small and medium-sized AMOLED, Samsung Display is expected to increase by 5.8 million square meters, with the largest investment, followed by BOE of 4 million square meters’ increase and LG Display of 2.9 million square meters increase.

<Net area capacity of AMOLED mass production by company>

According to Lee Choong Hoon, CEO of UBI Research, LG Display’s AMOLED mass production line investment in China will lead LGD to more than double BOE’s AMOLED production capacity in terms of net area capacity in 2020, however, BOE is expected to overtake LG Display at small and medium-sized panel capacity in 2019.

AMOLED Display Market Track consists of investment data, market performance, market forecast, ASP, cost analysis, competitiveness analysis and so on. The investment data in this report contains details of the investment history of the panel companies, current status, and investment prospects for the next three years. Also, the useful data and graphs analyzed in various aspects are provided in excel format.

At the 10th CAR-ELE JAPAN, Many Companies Unveiled Automotive OLED Display and Lighting

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By Hana Oh (hanaoh@ubiresearch.com)

OLED display and lighting are expected to become increasingly applied to the interior and exterior of automobiles.

At CES 2018, Samsung Electronics introduced the OLED-applied dashboard. LG Electronics unveiled the center fascia with 14-inch OLED, and OLED set makers continue to exhibit their OLED applications for automobiles.

At the 10th CAR-ELE JAPAN held in TOKYO BIG SIGHT(Tokyo International Exhibition Center) on 17th, several companies including Tianma and Truly exhibited automotive OLED displays and lighting.

Tianma exhibited 4.2-inch, 5.46-inch and 5.99-inch OLED panels. The 5.99-inch OLED was a full-screen OLED, and the company official said “The full screen will be applied not only to mobile devices but also to automobiles such as CIDs and navigation systems due to the nature of automotive displays sensitive to visual impacts.” It is said they produced the OLED Panel with high luminance, including 5.46-inch and 4.2-inch OLED with luminance of 650 cd/m2, ensuring good high visibility under sunlight. In addition, they announced that they will manufacture unbreakable flexible type of OLED even though the exhibited OLEDs were all rigid type.

<Tianma’s Automotive OLED Panel>

Truly exhibited 5.5-inch OLED panel. The company’s official mentioned that although they can not disclose detailed specifications, it should be further developed in terms of reliability for the application to the current automotive displays. In addition, they announced that automotive potentials such as autonomous vehicles are so huge that the importance of displays that can provide visual information will become even more important, and therefore they will invest in it.

Lastly, Nippon Electric Glass introduced OLED lighting which was created in collaboration with OLEDWorks. “This was created as interior lights and taillights for vehicles.” and “The OLED lighting substrate uses IEL(internal extraction layer) to improve more efficiency when applied to indoor lights, and better visibility when applied to taillights,” explained the company’s official.”

<OLED Lighting exhibited by Nippon Electric Glass>

Meanwhile, in relation to OLED lighting, OLED light source companies such as LG Display and Osram supplied the OLED lights for tail lights to finished car makers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. In particular, it is expected to start the OLED lighting market in earnest, for example LG Display’s announcement of full-scale operation of the Gen5 OLED light source production line in December.

[iMiD 2017] Samsung Display, Huge release of application using OLED

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Samsung Display has received great attention by releasing a large number of applications using OLED such as VR and light field display in iMiD 2017 held in BEXCO, Busan from 28th to 31st August.

<Samsung Display booth>

First, Samsung Display comparatively exhibited a 3.5-inch OLED with 460ppi resolution for virtual reality and an 806ppi 3.2-inch OLED. A company official said “The higher the ppi, the better the experience of realism and immersion,” and mentioned “We are currently developing higher resolution OLEDs.”

<Comparison of 3.5 inch 460 ppi OLED and 3.2 inch 806 ppi>

In addition, Samsung Display exhibited OLED light field displays in the future display zone, and in the AMOLED zone, visitors can directly compare LCD and OLED.

A company official explained that “light field display is a technology that implements 3D by applying an optical lens on a panel, which is a little different from hologram using light interference effect.” And he said “We are developing a viewing angle that is wider than 30 °,” revealed “We now have pixel and lens alignment issues and optical design issues.”

<OLED light field display description and specification>

In the AMOLED zone, panels were displayed to directly compare the contrast ratio of LCD and OLED. The contrast ratio and color expressiveness of the OLEDs were clearly different from those of the LCDs, and a company official said, “These differences are the reasons why OLEDs are used in the Galaxy series.”

<Comparison of OLED (Left) and LCD (right) image quality>

Samsung Display has also introduced 1.3 inch circle OLED and 12 inch FHD OLED, which led to the great interest of the visitors during the exhibition.

2Q OLED panel shipments, continued to rise

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■ Panel shipments of smartphones grew 2.6% YoY to 95.3million units

■ TV OLED panel shipments reached 370,000 units, up 165% YoY

 

According to Ubi Research, OLED panel shipments for smartphones in the second quarter of 2017 were 96.3 million units, up 2.6% from 92.9 million units in the same period last year.

Compared to the previous quarter (94.7 million units), it increased by 0.6%.

<OLED panel shipments for smartphones>

Samsung Display has a market share of 96.7% in the second quarter of 2017 and is the number one player in the small and medium sized OLED market. Galaxy S8 and S8 + are showing robust sales, and Samsung Display’s small to medium sized OLED market is expected to continue to remain strong for the time being with OLED adoption of Galaxy Note 8 and some models of the iPhone 8.

OLED panels are also applied to LG Electronics’ V30, which is expected to be released on the 31st, and major smartphone makers in China are also expanding their OLED panels. The OLED panel market for smartphones is expected to grow steadily, and the trend for smartphone displays is expected to gradually shift from LCD to OLED.

<TV OLED panel shipments>

On the other hand, TV OLED panel shipments are growing 370,000 units, up 165.0% from 140,000 units a year earlier. Compared to the previous quarter (306,000 units), it increased 21.2%.

The OLED TV market is expected to expand gradually this year with Sony’s participation in OLED TV camps.

LG Display’s Paju E4 new line is expected to be fully operational from 3Q and TV OLED panel production is expected to increase steadily.

Stretchable OLED commercialization is on the rise

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Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have steadily been releasing smartphones and smart watches using flexible OLED since 2013, and electronics companies in China have begun to put out one of them. In particular, Apple, the leader in the smartphone industry, is also seeing the launch of iPhone with flexible OLED, and the flexible OLED market is expected to grow further.

The shape of the flexible OLED was expected to be changed to foldable and rollable beyond the bendable. Recently, however, the display industry has surpassed this trend and has been focusing on the development of stretchable OLEDs.

<Development Roadmap of OLED, Source: Ubi Research>

A stretchable OLED is a type of a flexible OLED that is finally evolves, which means OLED having elasticity as like rubber band.

 

Samsung Display unveiled this stretchable OLED at SID 2017. Samsung Display’s stretchable OLED is 9.1 inch and implementable both convex and concave shapes. At the time, Samsung Display announced that it realized the world’s first technology to maintain the existing image quality while increasing the screen size to 12 mm in concave mode.

<9.1 inch stretchable OLED displayed by Samsung Display, Source: Samsung Display>

LG Display will also develop the stretchable OLED. LG Display announced on June 6 that it will develop backplane and photoluminescence materials, devices, and process source technologies with elasticity of more than 20% for a total of four years through a consortium with Korea University.

 

In addition, LG Display has developed flexible plastic substrate materials, flexible wiring materials and transparent electrode materials, stretchable organic light emitting materials, and flexible encapsulates, they will also acquire essential process technologies including thin film transistors (TFTs) and process architectures that enable low-temperature processing.

 

At present, stretchable related technology is not yet applied to production, or elongation is only about 5%, and the number of repeated stretching is limited. In addition, most of the source technology is in overseas, it is expected that Samsung Display and LG Display will be able to secure technological gap with latecomers.

Stretchable OLED is free of form restrictions and expected to produce applications in new areas when applied to a variety of applications such as smart phones, tablets clothes and human skin when they are commercialized.

[SID 2017] Samsung Display, Unveil the world’s first 9.1inch Stretchable AMOLED

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Samsung Display unveiled the world’s first 9.1inch stretchable AMOLED, including touch, on SID 2017, boasting the world’s best AMOLED technology.

In addition to presenting a paper entitled “9.1-in-stretchable AMOLED display based on LTPS technology” at SID 2017 symposium, Samsung Display has attracted great interest in visitors by exhibiting real objects in the future display zone at Samsung Display’s.

In this 9.1 inch stretchable AMOLED, the PI is formed on the shrinkable film substrate, and then the stretchable region is patterned. And it is structured that TFT and OLED are formed on the patterned PI, and multi-touch sensor is realized at the same time.

<9.1inch stretchable AMOLED structure of Samsung Display>

In addition, stretchable AMOLEDs can be implemented in both convex and concave shapes, and up to 12 mm in concave shapes.

Stretchable display is the final technology of flexible display, so it is expected to be applied to various fields such as clothing and human skin because it does not receive any form restrictions and it is expected to create applications for new areas.

Samsung Display, which is leading the AMOLED market for mobile devices with flexible AMOLED, is expected to maintain its technological gap with latecomers once again, and also is expected how would it stimulate latecomers who are pursuing AMOLED technology at high speed.

<Samsung Display’s exhibition booth with 9.1inch stretchable AMOLED>

<9.1inch stretchable AMOLED specification of Samsung Display>

<9.1inch stretchable AMOLED displayed by Samsung Display, Source: Samsung Display>

From bezel-less to full-screen, Full-screen smartphone’s era has come closer.

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The area of display for a smartphone is getting wider.

The display area (hereinafter as D.A.) indicates the display size versus a set size. At the IMID 2016 business forum, the chief of Samsung Display, Park, Won-sang said that “The D.A. may be a core element to overcome the limit of its size through the portability of a smartphone.” and, “henceforth, the full-screen smartphone with more than 90% of D.A. will be released and take the lead the market.

<Samsung Display’s New Product>

The D.A. of an existing smartphone has been about 60-70%.

However, Samsung Electronics has enlarged D.A. over 75% by launching of Galaxy S7 Edge and Note 7 applied flexible AMOLED in 2016. Several companies in China have similarly started the enlargement of the D.A. through Nubia Z11 with 75.2% by ZTE and Mi Mix with 83.6% by Xiaomi.

As LG Electronics has applied full vision 5.7 inch QHD+ display by 18:9 at their G6, its D.A. reached to 80.4%. It was increased 0.4 inch compared to the former G5’s display size, but the bezel was decreased by 1mm from each side to side. It brings the enlargement about 10% of D.A. as a result.

Additionally, Galaxy S8 and iPhone S8(tentative name) planned to launch in 2017 will be more than 91% of D.A. according to reducing the bezel through up and down as well as side to side, since the models will not have a plan for the home button.

According to this, the smartphone market for full-screen maximized D.A. may lead a market trend for high-end smartphone, and the flexible AMOLED may be expected to take the market of full-screen smartphone forward.

Flexible AMOLED takes the high-flexibility through the plastic panel, it makes easy to realize the full-screen by arranging efficiently diverse modules to a smartphone.

By the “Key issue and Market Analysis for Foldable OLED” report published by Ubi Research in October, it looks forward that a smartphone with full-screen AMOLED type (a type which is minimized bezel area for up and down as well as side to side) will exceed the market share of OLED panel for bezel-less type as about 60% in 2020 from about 17% in 2017.

<A smartphone market share by display type, Source: Ubi Research>

What is the key to successfully commercializing the Next Flexible OLED?

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During the 3rd OLED KOREA CONFERENCE Samsung Display’s head researcher Taewoong Kim gave a keynote presentation on the topic of ‘Flexible Display: Application & Technical issue’

Head researcher Taewoong Kim emphasized that the 3 factors ‘Technical Breakthrough, New Application, and Strategic Partnership will be the key that successfully commercializes flexible OLED.

Head researcher Taewoong Kim mentioned that the first key for the successful Flexible OLED, Technical Breakthrough, has the four issues, improving durability of cover window and surface-coating of organic-inorganic materials, flexible electrode material and low resistance touch panel, decreased layer numbers and flexibility of encapsulation, and backplane which has low stress structure and demands a flexible and robust TFT material.

It was announced that the 2nd New Application needs an area expansion in Life & Health, transportation, wall display, loT, signage/PID, and education. Having the strength of design freedom, the Flexible AMOLED can be applied to various areas such as shoes, watches, glasses and the roll able which is an optimum display that is small and can maximize portability and materialize large screens. Even though the automotive has a long way to go due to lots of issues such as low life expectancy in harsh environments, it was emphasized that the AMOLED can create various applications.

Finally, head researcher Taewoong Kim emphasized and concluded with the win-win strategy through panel, material, equipment, and communication, collaboration, confidence between industry-university-institute was needed.

According to the ‘Key Issue and The Market Analysis for Foldable OLED’ by Ubiresearch, Samsung Electronics has successfully entered the smartphone market through design differentiation by using flexible OLED and is predicted that even several other set companies will actively use the flexible OLED to have competitiveness in the premium smartphone market. Following this, it is forecasted that the flexible AMOLED panel (including for smart watches) will grow to 1 billion in 2020.

Samsung Display maintains 70%, share of market of AMOLED panel for smartphones by 2020

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According to the “2017 OLED Display Annual Report” published by Ubi Research, it looks ahead to build about US$ 57,000 million market in 2020 of AMOLED panel for smartphones, and among this, it is expected to take about 72% by Samsung Display.

The market of AMOLED panel for smartphones in 2017 would be highly increased on the strength of the growth of shipments on smartphones by Chinese set manufacturers and Apple’s iPhone launch which applied flexible AMOLED panel.

Samsung Display, thus, has invested the mass production line in large-scale for flexible AMOLED panel starting in 2016, and its investment will be extended for catching up with its growing demands in this year rather than last year. Just the same, the panel manufacturers in China and Japan, including LG Display, are also investing and aggressively reviewing the mass production line, therefore, this market will be heavily developed.

“2017 OLED Display Annual Report” says that based on this investment, the market of AMOLED panel for smartphones which was just 374.4M in 2016, is anticipated to increase by 38.8% to 519.7M in 2017 and, it will be make the number of market by 1,442 with growing by 39.8% at an annual average by 2020.

In Samsung Display, particularly, would take the market share over 70% even after 2018 when the following company behind begins to roughly start the mass productions, since Samsung Display will endeavor to steadily keep its gaps based on the technology’s ability of high-quality images and flexible AMOLED panel, and the aggressive investments.

In “2017 OLED Display Annual Report”, meanwhile, depicts to help catching the greater flow of OLED industry on the supply chains, the latest trends by major panel company and investment state, the application trends applying AMOLED and the capability analysis of OLED mass production lines which are expected to invest in this year. It would be also expected to help field companies understand the market by analyzing the market prospect by 2021 in diverse perspective and AMOLED panel market performance from 2011.

<The Market Share Perspective of AMOLED Panel for Smartphones>

Samsung Display is Expected to Ship More than 100 Million Smart Phone AMOLED Panels Quarterly

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Samsung Display’s Smart phone AMOLED panels are expected to surpass 100 million units.

According to UBI Research, the shipment of Samsung Display’s OLED panel for smartphone in Q4 2016 was 98 million units, an increase of 6% from the previous quarter and 15% from the same time last year.

UBI Research announced “A3line invested in 2016 will operate starting from the 1st quarter, and accordingly the shipment of Samsung Display’s smartphone AMOLED panel is expected to surpass 100 million.”

In addition, Chinese TV set companies and many smartphone set companies such as Apple have an increasing demand for AMOLED panels, and especially the demand for flexible AMOLED panels to be applied to high-end smartphone is expected to increase significantly.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics announced at the Q4 conference call that the sales of OLED panels increased slightly compared to the previous quarter, and it plans to promote sales by actively responding to the rise in OLED panel adoption of major smartphone clients.

Expect to hit 1 trillion won in OLED emitting material market for 2017

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The OLED emitting material market is expected to exceed 1 trillion won in 2017.

The OLED emitting material market grew by 15%, about US$ 650 million versus 2015 according to “OLED emitting material Report-2nd data spread sheet” of Ubi research and it expects to achieve about US$ 980 million that over 1 trillion won in terms of Korean currency in 2017.

A researcher of Ubi Research said, “Despite continued price declines of OLED emitting materials, the 15% growth of the OLED materials market has analyzed due to the increased operation ratio of Samsung Display and LG Display in 2016. The OLED emitting material market in 2017 will be sharply grow through in earnest operating of A3 line of Samsung Display and E4 line of LG Display invested in 2016.”

Additionally mentioned, “The OLED emitting materials companies should pay attention to the high operation ratio of OLED production lines in China in 2017. Although the quantities of consumed for OLED materials of current Chinese company are less, but, the investment in mass production lines for Gen6 flexible AMOLED panels is underway, and sales volume of AMOLED panel companies in China may expect to grow sharply in the OLED emitting materials market. Therefore, the OLED emitting material companies should concentrate sales business for China in order to grow.

As such, the competition among related companies is expected to intensify because the OLED emitting material market would be increasing sharply in 2017.

Meanwhile, according to the report on the major performance by company in 2016, Samsung SDI (including Novaled) ranked first, followed by Idemisu Kosan (Japan) and UDC (US).

<Performance of emitting material market in 2016 and Forecasting in 2017>

[CES2017] Media Day: Meeting of the Prestigious Automaker and the Great Display Manufacturer

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Chrysler held an event to introduce its next-generation concept car “POTAL” at the Pre-CES 2017 show, Pre-CES2017Media Event.

Chrysler classified the space where humans will live in the future into three; family, job and vehicle, and named vehicles a “Third Space”. Future drivers can do a variety of activities inside vehicles thanks to autonomous driving.

The interior design of “POTAL” is very simply organized. The steering wheel is designed to have storage space in dashboard. The high-mount instrument panel display is positioned on the top of the dashboard to have high visibility. ‘Connected’ interface is applied between display and the surrounding environment including driving information. There is another display underneath the dashboard.

The displays on the interior front of “POTAL” prepared to open the new era of future vehicles consist of AMOLED. A ‘high-mount’ AMOLED display is flexible OLED, and a display underneath is a 12-inch glass AMOLED. Both displays are supplied by Samsung Display.

At many car shows, the concept cars with curved displays have been introduced so far, but this show might be the first time to exhibit flexible OLED directly.

Flexible OLED used for ‘POTAL’ is so reflective to minimize the loss of information against light coming in from the outside, and its background is black to have optimum visibility.

The prestigious automaker and the great OLED manufacturer meet and create a new technology.

Flexible OLED provided by the world’s best mobile display company, Samsung Display is not expected to be used in the f motor industry or a while. Apple will apply flexible OLED to iPhone in earnest, and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. will also use flexible OLED entirely for the next-gen Galaxy S8. Accordingly, the on-going flexible OLED line also lacks a capacity to respond to the smartphone market. Samsung Display’s flexible OLED is expected to continue a shortage of supply until 2019 so that the world’s best luxurious instrument panel will be supplied by 2020.

Visualization of display for mirror-less automobiles, Green light to OLED display

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After Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport did pre-announcement of legislation about partial revised plan of ‘Regulations on the performance and standards of automobiles and auto parts’ on the 7th, interests in ‘mirror-less automobiles’ having not side mirror (rearview mirror) are getting hot. This is a method of securing eyesight through display screen in the car after installing subminiature camera to car front and rear and also front doors of both sides, and solving blind zone problem which was the defect of existing side mirror and improving fuel efficiency and designs are expected, even though there are problems on functional errors and design development.

Thus, display for mirror-less automobiles is getting attentions as a drive of new market in display market for automobiles. Display fields for automobiles belongs to the industry to which creating high added value is expected because further customization is required compared to mobile and TV. So LGD or SDC panel enterprises are developing products for market penetration, and two companies are known as setting up policy of progressing differentiating strategies differently from Taiwan, Japanese companies by focusing on Flexible OLED especially.

Flexible OLED has thin, light characteristics and a nature to be able to bend, so it is favorable to mirror-less automobiles requiring new designs from free installing aspects. Also, mirror-less is being evaluated to be suitable to the display for automobiles because it can implement high visibility with very fast speed, contrast range, and wide viewing angle. On July 1st last year, Continental Corporation, auto parts supplier, revealed the possibility of better eyesight provision even in dark situations or the rain while introducing several merits of mirror-less automobiles to which 2 OLEDs were applied through its homepage. In addition, Alfred Eckert, Director of the Advanced Engineering department in Continental’s Chassis & Safety Division mentioned “The effects of unwanted optical phenomena such as glare and weak light can also be compensated”

<Mirror-less concept car to which 2 OLEDs were applied> (Source: www.continental-corporation.com)

Samsung Electronics is recently propelling automobile electric apparatus business in earnest by taking over Harman, US automobile electric company, and the industry foresees that competency of Samsung Electronics’ OLED and semiconductor would make great synergy effect to electric apparatus business. Furthermore, they lighted up goals such like securing world 30% market share in display for automobiles based on OLED display in 2018, and achieving 2 trillion won in sales.

In this way, OLED display is expected to play core roles in expanding business to electric field industry from electronic/display industry, and it is anticipated that OLED could be a new dynamic to growth of display industry.

Display for automobiles, newly expected revenue sources of OLED

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Display market for global automobiles has continued stable growth of approximately 10% yearly recently, and LG Display and Samsung Display do not save investments by paying attention to it as new application. In this regard, Senior Researcher Yang Seong-jin of LG Economic Research Institute lighted up the entry reason of display for automobiles such like creating effects of new revenue are anticipated.

Senior Researcher Yang said “Display market for automobiles has 10% volume of the whole display market and belongs to 2% levels of total cost, but automotive industry has been developed steadily through smart-car and connected-car etc. In contrast, display market has been withered gradually, and panel prices are being lowered continuously, and thus it is directly connecting to survival matters actually.” While stating display market for automobiles as an alternative for this problem, he revealed the reason by saying “The number of participating companies is a few, and average price of display panels for automobiles to which thorough commercialization is required is higher than mobile phone or tablet pc two or three times.”

In display market for automobiles, Innolux and AUO, CPT, Japan display, Sharp occupied about 70% of total market based on 2015 sales of Taiwan, and LG Display recorded 10% share uniquely in domestic, but Samsung Display, second mover, failed in entering ranks. However, LG Display announced a plan that they were planning to enter the market with POLED to which flexible function was available after having designated display for automobiles as a promotion business, and Samsung Display was known to set up a policy of progressing differentiation strategies on display for automobiles based on small& medium OLED technology, so market share is expected to be increased little by little.

<LG Display/Flexible Automotive Display, SID 2015>

In the display market having been stagnated currently, concentration on display market for automobiles would be resultantly necessary for high profits, and OLED panel could get opportunities of creating new revenue sources by overpassing mobile and tablet pc market, if OLED panel solves demanding requirements of display for automobiles.

Samsung Display Mentions OLED’s BT2020 for First Time, OLED Emitting Materials Companies’ Concern to Increase

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Source: Samsung Display Keynote, IMID 2016

Color Coordinates Development Direction for Each Color to Satisfy BT2020, Source: AMOLED Characteristics Analysis Report of Galaxy S Series

Samsung Display’s Dr. Sung-Chul Kim gave a keynote speech during IMID 2016 being held in Jeju ICC in South Korea. He emphasized that AMOLED is the suitable display for the current trend and discussed the issues to be solved for AMOLED.

 

Kim gave several talks this year on similar topics but this is the first time he mentioned BT2020 as AMOLED’s color space. Accordingly, concerns of OLED emitting materials companies are expected to increase.

 

Until now, Kim has been discussing phosphorescent blue materials as the key issue; only OLED phosphorescent materials are red and green, and development and application of phosphorescent blue materials are urgently needed, which will lead to 300% increase in efficiency. However, during this keynote speech, he emphasized BT2020 for the first time with the phosphorescent blue application.

 

BT2020 is color space with red, green, and blue wavelengths of 630nm, 532nm, and 467nm respectively. In CES 2016, it was selected by UHD Alliance as the color space applied to UHD TV.

 

According to AMOLED Characteristics Analysis Report of Galaxy S Series, published by UB Research in May 2016, Galaxy series’ color space needs to meet BT2020. In order to meet this, for u’, red needs to increase, green decrease, and blue to decrease. For v’, red needs to decrease, green to increase, and blue to increase in terms of color coordinate movement.

 

Resolution and color coordinates of mobile device panel tends to follow TV development direction. As UHD Alliance selected BT2020 as the standard, AMOLED panel for mobile that meets this requirement needs to be produced. Accordingly, OLED emitting materials companies’ development focus, which is currently on lifetime and efficiency, is expected to be required to change.

Samsung Display Principal Engineer, “VR∙AR will become comparable to 3D TV?”

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samsung display

Samsung Display’s R&D Center principal engineer JongSeo Lee

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

Samsung Display’s R&D Center principal engineer JongSeo Lee suggested that VR∙AR market is an optimistic one unlike the 3D TV market of the past.

 

During the Industrial Forum held in ICC Jeju of South Korea, Lee gave a presentation titled ‘Introduction of Display Technology for VR/AR’, and mentioned concern from some sectors that the VR∙AR market will walk the same path as the 3D TV market.

 

Lee explained that the 3D TV market did not become vitalized due to the limits on contents production and 3D conversion technology, low quality of 3D display, lack of standards, etc. However, for VR∙AR market, contents and hardware such as Pokemon Go and HoloLens have arried, and many companies are active in this sector. Lee’s explanation is that leading companies including Apple, Microsoft, Intel, and Facebook are actively investing for VR∙AR sector and ecosystem is forming.

 

Using the Goldman Sachs materials, Lee emphasized that VR∙AR market will record USD 85,000 million by 2025. Furthermore, he explained technical characteristics of OLED, suitable for VR and AR, pointing out that transparent OLED is the key solution for AR technology actualization. He explained AR as the digital experience added to the actual physical environment or live screen, and transparent display actualizes this.

 

Compared to LCD, OLED has higher transmittance, and is considered the optimized solution for transparent display. For transparent OLED actualization, Lee told the audience that cathode with high transmittance and low resistance is needed and substrate should be able to withstand heat and be flexible. Metal types can be applied to the transparent area of the transparent display to produce mirror display. With this, AR can be experienced even using the form similar to mirrors. For this Lee added that high reflectance level and high color gamut are required.

H1 2016 OLED Wearable, Disappeared Smartwatch and Rising VR ∙ Smartband

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bungee jump with Gear VR (Source = Samsung)

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

Unlike the same period last year, H1 2016 showed quiet smartwatch sector while VR (virtual reality) device and smartband became popular.

According to UBI Research, of OLED wearable device revealed in H1 2016, 6 are VR devices (OLED display is either directly equipped to the device or OLED smartphone can be connected) and 4 are smartbands. In H1 2015, there were 5 OLED smartwatches and 3 OLED smartbands. The difference between almost no smartwatches in H1 2016 is evident.

In VR sector, Oculus began the announcements with Samsung Display’s OLED equipped Oculus Rift in January. Following this, other companies such as Sony, HTC, and DeePoon revealed new products in international exhibitions. Samsung Electronics recently showed Gear VR that can be paired with Galaxy Note 7 in New York, and VR is expected to maintain its popularity in Q3.

In H1 2016, smartband stimulated the market with Samsung Electronics’ Gear Fit 2, Xiaomi’s Mi Band 2, and Fitbit’s Alta.

However, the only new OLED smartwatch product announced in H1 2016 was China’s GEAK’s GEAK Watch 3, and it was not even released in the market. The reason for the slump in the smartwatch market has been noted to be short battery life, and lack of useful applications. However, as Samsung Electronics and Apple are expected to announce new smartwatch products in Q3, renewed enthusiasm is anticipated.

Samsung’s Gear 3 is expected to be revealed in IFA 2016 in Berlin in September. Apple is also rumored to be announcing Apple Watch in September. Apple has already revealed smartwatch operating system Watch OS3 with improved speed and function in June.

SDC Urgently Needs Additional Installation of 20-30K Gen5.5 Rigid OLED Line

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Source = Samsung

Picture Source = SDC

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

In order to respond to rapidly increasing OLED smartphone demand, Samsung Display( SDC ) is analyzed to require additional installation of Gen5.5 rigid OLED line and V1 line move.

At present, China’s smartphone OLED demand is explosive. According to UBI Research’s investigation, China needs up to 200 million units of mobile OLED until next year. Therefore, for Samsung Display to produce more OLED panels in A2 factory, V1 line that produces transparent OLED needs to be moved to L8 which is a Gen8 LCD factory.

OLED use V1 line has been using Gen8 manufacturing equipment produced TFT substrate cut into 6. As such, moving the V1 line to Gen8 factory is analyzed to be advisable in terms of panel production and distribution management.

The president of UBI Research, Choong Hoon Yi explained that China’s future mobile OLED demand volume is difficult for China’s key panel companies such as BOE, and even for mobile OLED leader Samsung Display it is not easy to supply sufficient amount with existing mass production line. He estimated that Samsung Display, to meet the demand, will require additional installation of at least 20-30K OLED mass production line to Gen5.5 A2 line.

[SID 2016] Samsung Reveals 806 ppi VR Panel, Highest Resolution in Industry

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SDC Showcasing an 806ppi OLED Panel for VR ( San Francisco = OLEDNET )

Hyunjoo Kang / jjoo@olednet.com

Samsung Display is drawing attention with 5 inch level VR (virtual Reality) device display with the highest resolution in the industry. The company also displayed Bio Blue, which minimized blue wavelength harmful to human eye.

At Society for Information Display 2016 ( SID 2016, 22-27 May), Samsung Display drew visitors’ attention with their new panel products such as OLED for VR and rollable OLED. At the exhibition booth, Samsung Display presented new 5.5 inch panel. The panel’s resolution, 806 ppi, is the highest pixel density of the 5 inch level VR panels published so far. The resolution is 3840 x 2160 with 306 nit brightness and 97% color gamut.

SDC`s ‘Bioblue’ (Sanfrancisco = OLEDNET)

Additionally, Samsung Display revealed another OLED panel for VR named Bio Blue. Bio Blue minimized harmful blue light by adding light blue to the existing RGB pixel structure. Displaying Bio Blue, the company emphasized that OLED is better for eye health compared to LCD. Of the total blue spectrum, the proportion of blue light harmful to human eye is 66% for LCD and 32% for AMOLED. Samsung Display added that AMOLED will be able to reduce this figure to 6% in future.

Samsung Display exhibited diverse OLED panels including 5.7 inch rollable and panel for notebook use.

Not Only Samsung and LG, but Also BOE and AUO…Panel Profit Plunges due to LCD

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Source = BOE

Source = BOE

 Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

Although Samsung and LG both had smooth Q1 2016 for set businesses including TV, display sectors were different. The majority of the industry believes that global oversupply of LCD’s effects was great. Key LCD players in China, who could be seen as responsible for the LCD oversupply, also showed bleak performance. Key global LCD panel companies, including BOE and AUO, also revealed much reduced Q1 2016 profit.

On 28 April, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics announced that the business profit in Q1 2016 improved. Samsung Electronics recorded KRW 6.68 trillion business profit, a 12% increase compared to Q1 2015. LG Electronics also announced operating profit of KRW 505.2 billion, up 65.5% from last year. Both companies emphasized favorable TV business.

On the other hand, Samsung and LG both received significant damages in display sector. In Q1 2016, Samsung Display recorded operating loss of KRW 270 billion. Samsung Display recorded a profit against expectations. However, the business profit of KRW 39,500 million in Q1 2016 is a 94.7% fall from last year.

Not only Samsung and LG, but display leaders in Greater China region also showed much diminished performance. BOE, which has been aggressively investing in large area LCD mass production, showed a 6.7% increase from previous year with approximately CNY 12,300 million for Q1 2016 revenue. In Q1, BOE showed business profit of CNY 108 million, but profit ratio plummeted compared to the same period in 2015. The profit ratio in Q1 2016 fell to 0.8% from 8% in Q1 2015. On 28 April, Taiwan’s AUO also revealed TWD 5.58 trillion business loss in Q1 2016.

BOE and AUO are both key players within the global LCD TV panel industry, and within the top 5 in the Greater China region. BOE, in particular, is chasing the leader LG Display with aggressive product supply. The fact that BOE recorded dismal results despite this is analyzed to be due to price fall due to the oversupply of LCD and spread of OLED among others.

For global OLED leader for mobile device, Samsung Display, was known to have recorded deficit of approximately KRW 900 billion in LCD despite Samsung Electronics’ strength in OLED smartphone. Essentially, LCD eroded the profit that OLED brought. For LG Display, experts believe that as a leader of OLED for TV market, the company could avoid deficit by making up for the damages from the LCD price fall.

An expert of the display industry explained that LCD leaders such as BOE might have expanded market share with the product supply, but would have received significant damage in profit ratio. However, he explained that compared to 30 inch LCD panel, 50 inch and 60 inch level large area LCD panel received less fallout from the price fall. He then estimated that as the large size TV demand is increasing, the LCD industry could be improved in Q2.

 

Samsung, Despite the Favorable TV Sales in Q1, Display Still in Deficit

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Source = Samsung Elec.

Samsung Elec. today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016. Samsung’s revenue for the quarter was KRW 49.78 trillion, an increase of 5.7 percent YoY, while operating profit for the quarter was KRW 6.68 trillion, an increase of 12 percent YoY. In the company’s earnings guidance disclosed on April 7, 2016, Samsung estimated first quarter consolidated revenues would reach approximately KRW 49.0 trillion with consolidated operating profit of approximately KRW 6.6 trillion.

The first quarter saw overall earnings growth led by the early launch and successful sales of the flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, improved memory product mix, expanded 14nm supply of System LSI products and increased sales of OLED panels.
Overall earnings of the Display Panel business decreased due to a sharp decline in LCD panel earnings although earnings of OLED panels improved mainly driven by the Galaxy S7. The LCD business experienced temporary yield issues while adopting new process technology as well as TV panel price decline.

The IT & Mobile Communications (IM) Division saw a substantial earnings improvement both YoY and QoQ mainly driven by the early launch of Galaxy S7 and its strong sales and improved cost efficiency through the streamlining of mid-to-low-end smartphone lineups. Although the company had a one-time royalty settlement expense in the quarter, the impact on operating profit was equivalent to less than 1 percent of IM revenue.

The Consumer Electronics (CE) Division achieved significant earnings growth YoY led by expanded sales of premium TV models such as SUHD TV and Curved TV in developed markets, and also a notable sales increase of premium home appliance products in North America.

In the second quarter, the company expects its solid performance to continue led by steady earnings in the Mobile and Semiconductor businesses plus improvement of the CE and Display Panel businesses.

The IM Division is expected to secure solid earnings by expanding sales of the Galaxy S7 along with strong profitability of mid-to-low-end products. The CE Division expects to see improvements as seasonality should improve air conditioner sales, while flagship SUHD TV sales are expected to increase.

The Display Panel segment is expected to see earnings improvement compared to the previous quarter as LCD profitability is forecast to rise on stabilized TV panel yields and improved demand and supply conditions.

For the Display Panel business, OLED earnings are expected to improve due to growth driven by an increase in flexible and high-resolution panels. LCD panel profitability is expected to improve in the second half driven by high valued-added products amid better supply and demand conditions.

For the IM Division, the company expects the sales of flagship products to increase YoY, especially with strong demand for flagship products such as the Galaxy S7 and new model launches in the second half. In addition, the company will continue to manage cost efficiencies by streamlining its smartphone lineups.

For the CE Division, the company will focus on profitability by increasing premium products such as SUHD and Curved TVs. With the Olympics and other global sporting events forecast to drive global demand for large-size TVs, the company expects strong improvements in operating results YoY.

Meanwhile, capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the first quarter was KRW 4.6 trillion, which includes KRW 2.1 trillion for the Semiconductor business and KRW 1.8 trillion for the Display Panel business. The annual plan for CAPEX has not yet been confirmed but is projected to increase slightly compared to last year’s CAPEX based on various business opportunities. CAPEX for the Display Panel segment may increase as the company sees strong market demand for OLED panels. DRAM CAPEX will remain flexible based on supply and demand conditions but is expected to be lower than 2015.

The Display Panel segment posted KRW 6.04 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 0.27 trillion in operating loss for the quarter.

In the first quarter, shipments of OLED panels improved from the previous quarter, driven by launches of new high-end smartphone panels and strong demand for smartphones in the mid-to-low-end space. Conversely, the company’s LCD panel shipments decreased, affected by weaker demand during low seasonality.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, for OLED panels, Samsung hopes to actively address demand for new products and expand its customer base, while focusing on improving profitability of LCD panels by increasing shipments of strategic premium products such as UHD and large-size panels.

In 2016, the company expects OLED demand will continue to rise helped largely by growth in the mid-to-low-end smartphone segment while the LCD market will continue to be over supplied. In this market, Samsung hopes to actively address demand for new products, increase sales of value-added products and reinforce its leadership by developing new panel applications.

The IM Division – comprising the Mobile Communications and Networks Businesses – posted KRW 27.60 trillion in consolidated revenue, a 6.6-percent YoY increase, and KRW 3.89 trillion in operating profit for the quarter, a 42-percent YoY increase.

While smartphone and tablet demand saw a slight QoQ decrease due to seasonal effects, overall operating profit for the Division increased. This increase was largely due to the early launch and strong global performance of the flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, as evidenced by robust sell-out figures and low inventory levels compared to their predecessors. A streamlined mid-to-low-end smartphone lineup also contributed to improved profitability.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, while demand for smartphones and tablets is forecast to remain flat due to continued weak seasonality, the worldwide rollout of the latest flagship models as well as an increase in shipments of the mid-to-low-end Galaxy A and J series are expected to help the company maintain robust sales momentum and profit.

As for the year ahead, Samsung anticipates softening demand in the smartphone market and negative growth in the tablet market. The company will reinforce its leadership in the premium smartphone segment on the back of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, while continuing to increase volume and improve profitability in the mid-to-low-end segment. In addition, the company will continue to expand the Samsung Pay service to global markets and look into new business opportunities.

For the Networks Business, the company will seek growth through the continued rollout of 4G LTE services in new markets around the world, including Southeast Asia.

The Consumer Electronics Division – encompassing the Visual Display (VD), Digital Appliances (DA), Printing Solutions and Health & Medical Equipment (HME) businesses – posted KRW 10.62 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 0.51 trillion in operating profit for the quarter.

In the first quarter, TV market demand decreased YoY due to weak seasonality and economic downturn in emerging markets. Earnings for the VD Business showed significant growth YoY, led by increased sales of premium products such as SUHD and Curved TVs.

For the appliances business, earnings improved compared to the corresponding quarter last year, led by continued growth in the North American market and increased sales of innovative premium products such as Chef Collection refrigerators and the Activewash™ washing machine.

In the second quarter, TV demand is expected to slightly increase riding on sports events such as the Olympics. The company plans to further improve profitability by continuing to focus on the new and improved SUHD TVs with the world’s only cadmium-free Quantum dot display, while also increasing sales of premium products such as UHD TVs and Curved TVs.

Digital appliance demand is expected to rise due to seasonal growth for air conditioners, despite global market uncertainties. Against this backdrop, Samsung aims to increase profitability by expanding sales of innovative premium products such as a newly launched air conditioner and Family Hub Refrigerator. Additionally, the company expects to improve performance by expanding its enterprise business including built-in kitchens and system air conditioners.

Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Now Available in Pink Gold

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Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Pink Gold(Source : Samsung Elec.)

Samsung Electronics has released Pink Gold editions of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, bringing the total of available colors for the devices to five. Debuting in Korea on April 20, the Pink Gold Galaxy S7 and S7 edge will soon be available for customers in select markets.

Pink Gold was chosen as it, like the other colors available for the  S7 and S7 edge, is a natural color that provides a sense of comfort. These hues glitter and shimmer as if illuminated from inside their glass surfaces.

In particular, the refined, skin tone-inspired Pink Gold color scheme is intended to soothe and incorporate a touch of gentleness, radiance and sophistication to the smartphones’ design.

As well as Pink Gold, the S7 and S7 edge are available in a choice of Black Onyx, Gold Platinum, White Pearl and Silver Titanium.

Samsung Display OLED Equipped iPhone 7S in 2017? Is it Possible?

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Samsung Display is Expected to Supply OLED for iPhone(Source: Apple)

Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

On 14 April, one Korean media reported that Samsung Display agreed to supply OLED for Apple’s iPhone, and the forecast that Samsung Display OLED will be used for iPhone 7S (TBA) to be released in 2017 is gaining traction.

According to the Maeil Kyoungjae article published on 14, Samsung Display and Apple signed agreement of OLED supply of 3 trillion KRW worth of 5.5 inch panel a year, with 3 years of supplier right. Subsequently, it is known that Samsung will carry out new investment of total 10 trillion KRW for Gen6 flexible OLED exclusive line A3 factory, and supply 100 million units of OLED panel a year for 3 years from Q2 2017. The majority of the industry estimates that Apple will begin application of this panel from the model to be released in H2 2017.

No official confirmation is Samsung Display’s position. However, it has been widely known within the industry that Samsung Display has agreed to supply OLED for Apple from next year. OLEDNET analyzed whether Samsung Display’s OLED application to the new 2017 iPhone is possible.

UBI Research’s analysis of key Korean OLED manufacturing companies’ Financial Supervisory Service public announcements shows that the volume Samsung Display ordered for A3 line expansion is judged to be 30K. Samsung Display’s current A3 line is 15K volume. When the newly ordered 30K volume is established, the total volume becomes 45K.

1K equals 1,000 units of glass substrate per month. If 1 substrate can produce approximately 300 units of panel, 45K A3 line can mass produce 162 million units of OLED panel per year. Global iPhone sales volume is about 200 million units per year. For Samsung Display to supply about half of this volume, approximately 100 million units a year, the 45K line is enough.

The problem is that Samsung Display does not supply OLED to Apple only. UBI Research analyzes that when OLED panels of Galaxy series for Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display’s biggest client, is considered, 45K volume is not enough; at a minimum 60K is required to satisfy the demand of both Samsung Electronics and Apple.

UBI Research’s Choong Hoon Yi forecast that if Samsung Display carries out additional orders regarding A3 line expansion within this year and is equipped with over 60K volume, the company will be able to handle half of iPhone’s annual OLED supply at a minimum. He explained that the 45K could be insufficient to supply OLED for both Galaxy and iPhone series. Yi added that Samsung Display can at least supply a small volume of OLED to Apple, and have them be applied to the early batch of iPhone 7S (TBA) in H2 2017.

Foxconn’s Large Size Panel Yield, Equal to Samsung·LG within 2016

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Foxconn is expected to occupy approximately 22% of 2016 Q4 global large size panel yield(Source : Foxconn)

Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

Foxconn is expected to occupy approximately 22% of 2016 Q4 global large size panel yield, similar to the levels of Samsung Display and LG Display.

Foxconn, recently confirmed to buy 66% of Sharp’s stake for $ 3.5 billion, is estimated to actively invest in improving Sharp’s panel competitiveness against Samsung Display and LG Display.

DigiTimes recently reported their research indicates Sharp’s large size panel yield will occupy 5.3% of global market in Q4 2016. This places the company on the 7th place after Samsung Display, LG Display, Innolux, AUO, BOE, and CSOT.

However, Sharp and Innolux are under Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn Technology). If the Q4 2016 large size panel yield of Sharp and Innolux are combined, the global occupancy is added to 21.9%. This is approximately the same level as Samsung Display (23.7%) and LG Display (22.7%).

Foxconn is analyzed to be investing in Sharp mainly with focus on OLED. According to a recent DigiTimes article, Foxconn is planning to invest approximately US$ 1.8 billion in OLED development.

DigiTimes estimates that Foxconn will actively begin mass production of OLED for smartphone from 2018, and expand the production to large and medium-sized OLED panel for TV, notebook, etc. Foxconn is forecast to begin shipment of OLED for TV from 2021, and annually ship 7,200,000 units of OLED panel for TV in 2025.

Samsung, announced the availability and pricing for New SUHD TVs

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Samsung Electronics America, announced the availability and pricing for its 2016 line up, including SUHD TVs.(Source=Samsung Elec.)

Samsung Electronics America, announced the availability and pricing for its 2016 line up, including SUHD TVs.(Source=Samsung Elec.)

Samsung Electronics America, the leader in home entertainment for over 10 years, announced the availability and pricing for its 2016 line up, including an entirely new Flagship model series – the KS9800, bringing a new meaning to Smart TV.

“Samsung has always been about the ultimate experience in Picture Quality. This year is no different. Our new SUHD models provide the brightest, most realistic color and clarity for every viewing environment,” said Dave Das, Senior Vice President, Samsung Electronics America. “What is new this year is our redefined Smart TV experience. We listened to our customers and made enjoying content the easiest it’s ever been”

Whether it’s SUHD, UHD or LED, Samsung delivers the brightest, most stunning picture quality, with richer colors and more dynamic audio than ever before.

Samsung’s SUHD TVs feature the world’s only cadmium-free 10 bit Quantum Dot Display, setting the quality standard of 1,000-nit HDR with the best and most vibrant color and contrast available for true-to-life picture and experience. The Ultra Black feature reduces reflections by absorbing light to help provide for deeper, richer blacks. This year’s Samsung SUHD line up meets the UHD-A’s Premium UHD certification program, which ensures consumers are getting the most premium experience from their UHD TV.

From curved and slim to the new boundless design edge, Samsung offers stunning design with optimum viewing. The new KS9500 features an immersive ‘360’ design that is elegant and looks beautiful from every angle.

Samsung’s 2016 Smart Hub Interface takes simplicity to the next level.  The new Smart Hub Interface eliminates a lengthy setup process by automatically integrating set top boxes from cable providers like Time Warner, Comcast (coming soon), and satellite services such as DIRECTV (coming in June), as well as game consoles. Users can simply plug the STB into any HDMI port, and the TV will recognize the box and provider, as well as automatically set up the remote control to access and control the STB features – not just channel up and down, but DVR controls and other commonly used controls – without the user ever having to program or “teach” the remote. It’s the ultimate in simplicity.

The UBD-K8500 supports backward compatibility, upscaling existing 3D Blu Ray, Blu Ray to near-UHD quality. The player can also handle the next generation of home audio formats, including immersive, object-based sound formats like Dolby Atmos and multi-channel systems.

For 2016, Samsung offers breathtaking design and unparalleled excellence with its new line of TVs, including a series of five Curved SUHD TVs and a series of five UHD TVs that vary in display size from 49” to 88”. Ranging from the popular curved form to the traditional flat-panel, Samsung provides consumers with sleek appeal, the most exceptional picture quality and smartest TVs.

The Samsung KS9800 SUHD TV will be available in early June in a 65” model for $4,499, and an 88” model for $19,999. A 78” model will be available in early May for $9,999.

The Samsung KS9500 Curved SUHD TV is available now in a 55” model for $2,499 and a 65” model for $3,699. A 78” model will be available in early June for $7,999.

Samsung’s KS9000 4K SUHD TV is available now in a 55” model for $2,299, and a 65” model for $3,499. A 75” model will be available in early June for $6,499.

Samsung’s KS8500 4K SUHD Curved TV is now available now in a 55” model for $1,999 and 65” model for $2,999. A 49” model will be available in May for $1,699.

The Samsung KS8000 is now available in a 55” model for $1, 799, and in a 65” model for $2,799. Starting in May, it will be available in a 49” model for $1,499, and a 60” model for $2,299.

A Window that Turns into a Billboard…Samsung Display’s CTO “AMOLED, to Open New Era?”

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 Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

SDC’s CTO Sungchul Kim During Keynote Speech at FineTech Japan 2016

 

Samsung Display’s CTO, Sungchul Kim, displayed infinite potential of AMOLED’s new market creation ability, and emphasized that panel, manufacturing equipment, materials, and communication sectors need to grow together. He also suggested new life through AMOLED and technologies required for this.

On April 6, during the Technical Conference of FineTech Japan (April 6-8), Kim gave a keynote speech on the new market creating AMOLED’s next generation application and key technology.

As the market that AMOLED will newly open, Kim suggested mobile device, TV, VR and AR (virtual reality and augmented reality), automotive, PID (public information display), etc. According to Kim, these applications will be actualized through various forms of AMOLED such as foldable, rollable, stretchable, mirror, and transparent.

Explaining the utilization of mirror and transparent AMOLED, Kim emphasized that what is normally a wall or window can be turned into a PID that shows required information when needed. Kim explained that AMOLED is suitable for VR or AR that allows the user to realistically experience a particular environment or situation by combining the imaginary and reality. He added that when foldable and rollable displays are applied to mobile device, IT device, TV, etc., large screens can be produced while the device is small, and space utilization and mobility can be increased. Regarding automotive AMOLED, Kim explained that it will provide required information without disrupting driving, as well as improving the design of the vehicle.

Additionally, Kim suggested key technology required for actualization of each application. In the case of a window display, a technology that can simultaneously produce flexibility and hardness is required, and for automotive AMOLED, the technology for blue materials of phosphorescent materials needs to be improved. For transparent display that actualizes PID, transparency of each layer, substrate heat resistance, etc. have to be achieved.

Kim explained that in future, new life which is smart and connected through AMOLED will open. He further emphasized that for this to happen panel, manufacturing equipment, materials, and communication sectors need to grow together.

FineTech Japan 2016 (April 6-8) is a display technology related exhibition held in Tokyo Big Sight. The 26th annual event is participated by approximately 260 companies including Samsung Display, BOE, and Japan Display.

Foxconn to Actively Mass Produce phone OLED in 2018…7.2mn for TV in 2025

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Hyunjoo Kang /Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

Foxconn Headquarters, Source: Foxconn

With the forecast of gradually bolstered investment in OLED by Foxconn that recently bought Sharp for $ 3.5 billion, there is a possibility that this company could actively mass produce OLED panel for smartphone from 2018.

DigiTimes recently reported their research indicates that Foxconn will actively mass produce OLED panels for smartphone from 2018 and increase the OLED panel mass production in stages.

According to DigiTimes, Foxconn is planning to first mass produce small size OLED panel for smartphone and then begin medium size OLED for tablet, notebook, and TV. In 2021, It is expected to release 3 million units of OLED panel for tablet and notebook, and increase it to 10.4 million units in 2025. Hence, Foxconn is expected to occupy a quite significant amount of market share in future OLED panel market.

IT is estimated to begin releasing OLED panel for TV in 2021. It’s OLED shipment for TV in 2021 is expected to be 252,000 units, but it is estimated to gradually increase to record 7.2 million units per year in 2025.

 

◆ “IGZO Technology to be Applied to OLED”

 

In a recent press conference regarding the Sharp takeover, Hon Hai’s Chairman Terry Gou said that IGZO, which is LCD (liquid crystal display) technology of Japan’s Sharp, is better than OLED, Korea’s newest display technology. He further revealed that future Sharp display will utilize IGZO technology for approximately 60% of the panel and OLED for 40%.

IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) display is Sharp’s LCD. IGZO is known to have superior picture quality in comparison to the general LCD, with less power consumption. It is used in the majority of smartphone and tablet PC such as iPad.

As Foxconn’s Sharp is IGZO technology’s leading company, DigiTimes estimates that IT will apply the IGZO backplane technology on OLED panel.

UBI Research, an OLED specializing market research company, explained that as Sharp’s small size LCD process is LTPS based, and can be transformed to OLED line, it will be easier for Foxconn to achieve OLED mass production ability through Sharp. He added that this added Foxconn to the lineup of Samsung Display, LG Display, and Japan Display as the likely supplier for iPhone OLED panel for Apple. Furthermore, he analyzed that although Foxconn and Japan Display are both latecomers in OLED sector, Foxconn is in a more favorable position due to its solid relationship with Apple.

2015 OLED Emitting Materials Market, Dow Chem and LG Chem in Slump…Why?

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Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter /jjoo@olednet.com

 

 

In the midst of UDC`s domination of 2015 global materials market, with Japanese Idemitsu Kosan`s rapid growth and slump of emitting materials companied, there has been changes to the enviroment.

According to [2016 OLED Emitting Materials Annual Report] to be published by UBI Research in mid-April, the 2015 global emitting materials market recorded approximately a 17% growth compared to 2014

 

 

UDC’s revenue decreased from previous year, but remained at the top, the same as 2014. UDC was closely followed by Idemitsu Kosan despite its fourth place in 2014.

Such growth of Idemitsu Kosan is mainly due to its supply expansion in regards to Korean companies such as Samsung Display and LG Display. In 2015, Idemitsu Kosan began actively supplying Samsung Display with blue materials. Together with the increase in Idemitsu Kosan’s client LG Display’s OLED panel for TV mass production line’s operation rate, Idemitsu Kosan’s supply increased.

 

2015 Global OLED Emitting Materials Market Ranking
Source: UBI Research, 2016 OLED Emitting Materials Annual Report

◆ Samsung Display to Determine Up and Down of Companies

On the other hand, some OLED emitting materials companies that ranked high until 2014 showed poor performance. Dow Chem., that reached the second place in 2014 after UDC in revenue, fell to the fourth place in 2015 due to a big sales decrease. The third and fifth companies in 2014, LG Chem and Duksan Neolux respectively, fell below fifth place in 2015 due to the same reason.

Dow Chem. and Duksan Neolux are analyzed have recorded sales decrease in comparison to 2014 due to the supply chain changes of Samsung Display. In the case of LG Chem, the sales fell as the Samsung Display’s supply volume decreased.

However, Samsung SDI recorded sales increase, and entered within the top 5 in 2015. This company’s performance improved as it supplied Samsung Display with green host.

The company that recorded greatest growth is a Germany company Novaled that Samsung SDI, then Cheil Industries, took over. This company recorded approximately 150% revenue increase compared to previous year, and reached the third place in 2015 following UDC and Idemitsu Kosan. With the increase in OLED panel for TV mass production line’s operation rate, Novaled’s revenue greatly increased.

UBI Research estimated that in 2016, LG Display’s OLED TV mass production line operation rate and Galaxy Note series’ material structure, to be mass produced in the second half, will greatly affect revenue of OLED emitting materials companies.