The OLED-Info newsletter - November 2018
Published: Mon, 11/05/18
Samsung's QD-OLED TVs - production coming in 2019?
Samsung Display is developing hybrid QD-OLED TV technology - which will use blue OLED emitters and ink-jet printed quantum dots that will covert the blue light into red, green and blue. Samsung still has some technical challenges to overcome - but it seems that development is picking up and Samsung is gearing up towards mass production in 2019.
DSCC estimates that Samsung will indeed begin pilot production of QD-OLEDs in 2019, with a capacity of 5,000 monthly 8.5-Gen substrates. If this is successful, Samsung will double the capacity in 2020 and add a further 30,000 yearly substrates in 2021 and again in 2022. Material revenues for Samsung's QD-OLED TVs will reach $56 million in 2022. DSCC admits, though, that its forecast could be way off - Samsung could still cancel the project - or proceed at a much faster rate.
According to a different report, if Samsung's initial QD-OLED development is successful, it plans to convert an existing LCD line (SDC's 8-Gen L8-1 line) to QD-OLED production in 2020. Samsung's projected investment in its QD-OLED production will exceed $8.8 billion between 2019 and 2021. Taiwan's Digitimes gives even more details regarding Samsung's technologies and vendors for the pilot production line.
Royole launches the world's first foldable device
US and China based Royole launched the world's first foldable OLED device - the FlexPai phone/tablet. The FlexPai has a 7.8" 1920x1440 (308 PPI) AMOLED display, when unfolded, The display folds outwards, and when folded the device has three different displays (front, back and spine).
Royole is now accepting pre-orders for the "Developer Mode" device, starting at $1318 for the 128GB model. The first devices will ship in late December 2018. The company said the device has passed bending, twisting and tension tests over 200,000 times, and the display is much more durable compared to current displays (as it is not covered by glass). Here's more information on the FlexPai and Royole's OLED production.
Where are the transparent OLEDs?
Transparent displays are of great interest, and many envision a plethora of possible applications that use transparent screens in the retail, commercial and consumer markets. There are many exciting applications - but none with real and immediate demand. Many OLED makers are developing transparent OLEDs, and in the past we've seen several producers that introduced such displays to the market - only to halt production a few months later. Device makers are on the lookout for such displays, and are still disappointed even though the technology is ready.
Our recent article discusses the current market situation for transparent OLEDs.
Are OLED smartphones better for your eyes?
Researchers from Taiwan's National Tsing-Hua University, led by Prof. J.H. Jou, have been advocates of candle-light OLED lighting for a long time, as part of their fight against the hazards of LEDs and white light. In 2015, the researchers published a call out to consumers to be aware of the hazards of LEDs and to governments to enact new rules to enforce light-based products to show the light spectrum.
Smartphone makers have been discussing and showing "healthier" OLED displays for a while now, but what exactly is the risk with smartphone displays? We set out to find out and talked to NTHU's Prof. Jou. The research group at NTHU developed its own patented methodology to quantify the threat of light on melatonin generation at night - one of the major problems with blue light. These tests can be performed on any display - from TVs to smartphones - and NTHU recently tested the OLED and LCD iPhones... Read more here.
Where are the 2 to 4 inch AMOLED displays?
All AMOLED makers are currently focused on two major markets - smartphone displays and wearable displays. This leaves out an important part of the market - displays that are between 1.5" and 5" in size, and device makers that want to adopt AMOLED displays in this size segment find it impossible to find the displays they want.
OLED market updates
According to Korea's ETNews, SDC's rigid OLED production level has recovered fully in Q3 2018 and is now even higher than the production level in Q3 2017. Most of the new demand comes from China-based smartphone producers. ETNews says that SDC's A2 factory's utilization rates were over 90% in Q3 2018 (up from about 80% in Q3 2017). ETNews estimates seem to be inline with DSCC's estimates as well, regarding a recovery in AMOLED production - and SDC's utilization rates.
DSCC has updated its OLED material market forecast, saying that it expects the market to grow from $829 million in 2017 to $2.04 billion in 2022 (a 20% annual CAGR). DSCC also states that following the launch of the first foldable OLED devices in 2019, the market is expected to experience a very fast growth - by 2022 the market will reach 63 million units, up from 3 million in 2019 (a CAGR of 173%). In terms of revenues, the market will reach $8.9 billion by 2022 (151% CAGR).
The OLED Crowdfunding Arena
OLED-Info is happy to launch The OLED Crowdfunding Arena, a new platform that connects investors with OLED companies seeking funds. Crowdfunding can work as an alternative to, or in tandem with, angel or venture/strategic financing, allowing businesses to obtain a diverse range of value-added capital.
Are you an OLED-related company looking to raise funds? or an investor looking for OLED opportunities? Contact us for more details!
OLED-Info updates its OLED market report
In October we published new versions of our market reports - that cover the flexible, VR/AR, microdisplays, automotive, PMOLED and graphene OLED markets. OLED-Info provides comprehensive niche OLED market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the OLED industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry. The reports are now updated to October 2018.
Our market reports come with one year of free upgrades. If you bought your report within the year, contact us (or just reply to this mail) to get your new edition. Older customers are entitled for an upgrade discount, please contact us for more information.
Sharp started to produce flexible OLED displays in June 2018 and the company now launched its first phone to sport its own panels - the Aquos Zero smartphone - that has a notch-type 6.2-inch 1440x2992 display.
According to reports from Korea, Samsung Electronics is in talks with BOE regarding a possible OLED supply agreement for Samsung's Galaxy Watch
Some customers say that the blue tint is stronger compared to previous generation Watch devices - and also stronger than the tint on the iPhone X and LG OLED TVs
Researchers from Korea's KAIST research institute developed a high-efficiency OLED architecture that uses external scattering medium to achieve an EQE greater than 50%
Kuntech establishes an OLED R&D center in Xi'an to develop high-end OLED technologies - with plans to build a $6 billion 6-Gen flexible OLED line by 2021
Known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that in 2019 Apple will continue to use an LCD display in its entry-level smartphone. The 2019 range will include 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch OLED iPhones and a 6.1-inch LCD model
LG Display announced that its OLED TV business has finally turned profitable. LGD started producing OLED TVs in 2013 and it has been incurring losses for a long time
According to reports from China, Taiwan-based AU Optronics decided to establish an inkjet OLED production line that will be used to produce OLED monitor displays and OLEDs for automotive applications
The new line will have a monthly capacity of 30,000 1500x1850 mm substrates (6-Gen), similar to the company's first line in Hebei
The South Korean government announced a seven-year project to establish an OLED R&D and manufacturing facility in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province
Lee Min-Cheol, Samsung Electronic's PC Marketing VP says that Samsung is collaborating with display makers to develop OLED laptops with foldable displays
The OLED-Info team will attend next year's OLED Korea event, which will take place in Seoul, Korea in March 6-7, 2019. If you plan to attend this event, do contact us to schedule a meeting!
We're happy to announce that The OLED Marketplace is now listing OLED Microdisplays, in addition to the current wide offering of PMOLED and AMOLED displays
A high-end large smartphone with a 6.4-inch 1440x3120 notch-type pOLED display
A large smartphone with a 6.3-inch 1080x2220 Super AMOLED display
Google's 3rd generation Pixel device sports a 5.5-inch 1080x2160 (443 PPI) notch-type flexible AMOLED display, and a 6.3-inch 1440x2960 on the Pixel 3 XL - made by SDC
A large smartphone with 7.2-inch 1080x2244 AMOLED display and a graphene thermal management film
A high-end smartphone with a 6.39-inch 1440x3120 AMOLED display (made by BOE)
A smartwatch with a 1.39-inch 454x454 round AMOLED (likely produced by AU Optronics)
A Windows Mixed Reality headset that features a dual 3-5 inch 1440x1600 OLED displays
A gaming smartphone that features a 6.01-inch 1080x2160 AMOLED display
A dual-screen smartphone with a 6.1-inch 2160×1080 AMOLED display on the front and a 5.6-inch touch E Ink screen on the back
A large smartphone that features a 6.41-inch 1080x2340 notch-type Optic AMOLED
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