The OLED-Info newsletter, March 2019
Published: Tue, 03/05/19
Samsung and Huawei launch foldable smartphones
MWC 2019 brought us several exciting foldable OLED devices! Samsung and Huawei launched foldable smartphones, ZTE launched a smart bracelet and TCL teased its own foldable device. Staring with Samsung, the company finally officially launched the Galaxy Fold foldable smartphone device. The Galaxy Fold features a 7.3" 1536 x 2152 foldable Infinity Flex AMOLED display that folds inside, in addition to a secondary cover display - a 4.6" 840×1960 Super AMOLED. Samsung's Galaxy Fold will be available in April 2019 for $2000. Click here for more information on the Galaxy Fold.
Only a few days after Samsung, Mate X sometimes in Q2 2019, for around $2,600. For more information on the Mate X, click here.
China-TCL unveiled its own foldable OLED phone prototype at MWC 2019. The device uses a 7.2" 2048 x 1546 AMOLED display that folds inwardly (in a similar way to the Samsung Galaxy Fold). TCL's device, however, is a prototype and not a product. One of the key features of TCL's new device is the hinge system, which TCL brands as DragonHinge. According to an early review of a mockup device, the hinge system is rather impressive. In addition to the phone/tablet 7.2" AMOLED prototype, TCL also showed other concept devices, but these were all mechanical mockups.
TCL's Nubia brand demonstrated again its foldable OLED bracelet, the Nubia Alpha, with its long 4" AMOLED display. The Nubia Alpha will ship in April 2019, starting at $500 for the Bluetooth variant.
Samsung announces the Galaxy S10 and new OLED smartwaches
On February 20, Samsung announced a handful of new devices, all with OLED displays. We'll start with the company's 2019 flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S10. It includes four different variants -
- Galaxy S10 5G: 6.7" 3040x1440 flexible AMOLED
- Galaxy S10+: 6.4" 3040x1440 flexible AMOLED
- Galaxy S10: 6.1" 3040x1440 flexible AMOLED
- Galaxy S10e: 5.8" 2280x1080 AMOLED (rigid?)
The S10 phones use Samsung's latest AMOLEDs, that are now HDR10+ certified, include an under-the-OLED fingerprint sensor (Qualcomm ultra-sonic) and cut-outs for the selfie cameras. Samsung calls these displays "Dynamic AMOLED" (due to the HDR support, probably) and "Infinity-O Display" due to the camera cut-outs.
The Galaxy S10e is the 2019 "lite" flagship that comes with a flat (rigid?) 5.8" 2280x1080 Super AMOLED display that does not support HDR10+ and it does not have an under-the-display fingerprint sensor (it is placed on the side of the device)
The Galaxy S10 family of phones will start shipping on March 2019, starting at $749 for the GS10e, $899 for the GS10 and $999 for the S10+ (note: affiliate links to Amazon).
In addition to the new phones, Samsung also announced three new wearables. First up is the Galaxy Watch Active, Tizen-OS based smart watch and fitness tracker that targets fashion-forward consumers. The Galaxy Watch Active sports a 1.1" 360x360 AMOLED display, several sensors and a price tag of $199.99 (it will ship by March 8th).
Samsung's Galaxy Fit (Gen-3) are two fitness trackers that feature small displays - a 0.95" 120x240 color AMOLED on the Fit and a 0.74" monochrome white 64x128 PMOLED on the Fit e.
Panasonic announces its 2019 OLED TV lineup
Panasonic officially announced its complete 2019 OLED TV lineup - which includes four TVs. All of Panasonic's 2019 TVs are available in 55" and 65" and feature Panasonic's "ultra-powerful" HCX PRO Intelligent processor, HDR, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG, HLG photo and are fine tuned by Hollywood colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld.
The four models are the GZ950, GZ1000, GZ1500 and GZ2000. The GZ950 is the "entry-level" model, while the the GZ2000 is Panasonic's flagship TV which offers an "extremely high image quality and color accuracy" and very high end audio. Interestingly the GZ2000 uses a "bespoke Professional Edition 4K OLED panel exclusively customized by Panasonic R&D engineers". The panels are WRGB AMOLEDs made by LGD.
Will copper be the key to efficient blue OLEDs?
Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) led by Mark E. Thompson (who was the first to report on efficient phosphorescent OLEDs, later commercialized at UDC) developed a new copper-based phosphorescent OLED emitter compound, that could have several advantages to the currently-used iridium compounds.
The researchers say that copper-based emitters could be cheaper (as iridium is an expensive and rare element) - but more importantly could be the key to develop an efficient and long-lasting blue OLED emitter.
There has been attempts to develop copper-based emitters before (Germany-based Cynora started out trying to develop such materials, but later changed direction to TADF emitters), but these failed as the copper compounds had wear structures, and the materials suffered from very short lifetime. The new copper compounds now developed at USC have a more rigid molecular complex.
LG announces new OLED smartphones
LG announces three new smartphones that feature AMOLED displays. First up we have the G8 ThinQ, a high end smartphone that features a 6.1" 1440x3120 Crystal Sound OLED, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, a microSD slot and a triple camera setup.
LG also offers a variant called the G8s ThinQ which sports a slightly larger display (but with lower density) - a 6.2" 1080x2240 pOLED. Otherwise the specifications are quite similar. The idea is that a CSO display vibrates and turns into a diaphragm - to produce high quality sound. LG says that such a speaker improves the clarity compared to regular smartphone speakers. The G8 ThinQ will also use other audio technology, including DST-X 3D Surround Sound emulation, Hi-Fi Quad DAC, Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) and more.
The third phone is LG's first 5G smartphone - the V50 ThinQ 5G which sports a 6.4" 1440x3120 pOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a microSD slot and a triple camera setup.
OLED Market updates
DSCC has updated its OLED market forecast for 2019, and the company now expects OLED revenues to reach $28.6 billion (up from $26.5 billion in 2018 - but lower than DSCC's previous estimate). In terms of area shipments, 2019 will see a 25% increase compared to 2018, with strong growth in both the TV and smartphone market.
Other interesting OLED market updates:
LG launched 55-inch T-OLEDs for its commercial business unit, but it is not clear yet when these displays will actually ship - and at what price
Samsung's QD-OLED plans are not final yet - and the company will hold an investment review committee on April
According to a new report from Japan, a group of investors (including TPK and Silk Road Fund) will invest up to $700 million in JDI
LG's foldable OLED tech is ready - but the company decided to wait for the market reaction to the first-gen devices before launching its own.
The first Samsung foldable device uses a 7.3-inch 1536x2152 foldable Infinity Flex AMOLED in addition to a secondary 4.6-inch 840x1960 Super AMOLED
Samsung's flagship smartphone family for 2019 sport new flexible AMOLED displays
The world's first 4K smartphone AMOLED phone, the Sony Xperia 1 has a 21:9 6-inch AMOLED CinemaWide display
A light and thin tablet that sports a 10.5-inch 2560x1600 Super AMOLED display
A high-end smartphone with a 6.1-inch 1440x3120 Crystal-Sound OLED. LG will also ship a lower-end variant, the G8s with a larger 6.2-inch 1080x2240 AMOLED.
LG's first 5G smartphone sports a 6.4-inch 1440x3120 pOLED display
A photography-focused smartphone that features a 5.99-inch 1440x2880 LGD pOLED display and an under-the-display fingerprint sensor.
A flagship 2019 smartphone with a 6.39-inch 1080x2340 AMOLED display and an under-the-OLED fingerprint sensor
An android smartphone with a full-screen 6.39-inch 1080x2316 Super AMOLED display
Mid-range smartphones with 6.4-inch 1080x2340 Super AMOLED displays.
A high-end foveated VR headset that uses AMOLED displays in addition to OLED microdisplays
The Panasonic S1 and S1R are full-frame digital camera with EVFs based on Sony's 0.5-inch 1600x1200 120Hz OLED microdisplays
An outdoor rugged smartphone with a 6.21-inch 1920x1080 AMOLED display
Sony Wena are Smart watch bands that transfer regular watches into smart ones, using a small white PMOLED display
The new Nikon high-end lens adopt a small white PMOLED display to show key settings
A compact point-and-shoot camera with a high speed XGA OLED viewfinder.
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