OLED-Info newsletter

New OLED Microdisplays hit the market

In March 2017 OLED maker BOE Technology and OLED microdisplay maker OLiGHTEK announced a new $170 million joint-venture to produce OLED microdisplays for the consumer VR and AR markets. BOE now finally started shipping its first OLED microdisplay - a 0.39" Full-HD (1920x1080, 5644 PPI) one.

We are happy to report that this new high-quality display is already listed at the OLED Marketplace, and we have access to this display at a relatively low cost. Contact us if you are interested in this display.

Last month Sony also announced two new high-brightness OLED microdisplays, the ECX336C and ECX335S. Both new microdisplays offer up a brightness of up to 3,000 cd/m² - these are Sony's most bright OLED microdisplays ever (the previous ones were up to 1,000 cd/m²). The ECX336C is a 0.23" nHD+ (640x400) microdisplay while the ECX335S is a new model of Sony's 0.7" Full-HD (1920x1080) display. Both will enter mass production in Q1 2020.

If you want to learn more about the OLED Microdisplay market, be sure to check out our OLED Microdisplays Market Report. We cover all global OLED microdisplay makers, discuss the advantages and challenges of OLED microdisplays and list all available displays and new emerging technologies.

Samsung to invest $10.85 billion in QD-OLED TV production

Business Korea says that Samsung Display has finalized its QD-OLED TV production plans. SDC will invest $10.85 billion to convert its L8 LCD production line in Tangjeong to QD-OLED production.

According to the report, SDC's investment will be the single largest investment in Korea's display industry ever. The L8-1-1 LCD line will be shut down immediately, and converted to QD-OLED production. SDC will also shut down its second line (L8-2-1) and in total the two fabs will be able to produce 200,000 8-Gen glass substrates each month (down from the current 360,000 substrates in LCD production today). Mass production of QD-OLED panels will begin in 2022.

Following the shut-down of the L8 LCD line, SDC will have only one single large-area LCD line remaining, in Suzhou, China.

According to DSCC, Samsung's QD-OLEDs will offer several advantages compared to LG's current WRGB (four subpixels + color filters) system. Samsung will be able to use three sub pixels and only two emitting layers (LGD uses four), and so its stack will include 13 layers compared to 22 layers in LGD's TVs - which means fewer deposition stages, improved yields and lower material costs.

In fact, DSCC estimates that a square meter of QD-OLED production will require materials that cost around $26 - compared to almost $95 in a meter of WOLED production.

You can see DSCC's QD-OLED revenue forecast here - although they admit that as Samsung faces several technical challenges before it could launch commercial QD-OLED TVs, its forecast could be way off.

The two main challenges for QD-OLEDs, according to DSCC, are efficient blue OLED emitters (first-gen will likely use fluorescent emitters) and a good quantum-dot color converter (QDCC). Light management in this architecture is also a serious challenge.

Samsung's foldable OLED saga continues

In April 2019, after early reviewers reported that that the foldable screen in their Galaxy Fold devices broke down after a day or so, Samsung decided to delay the release of its foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold. The company finally started shipping the foldable phone in early September in Korea - and then started shipping it in more countries and announced that it is seeing unexpected demand.

It took Samsung around three months to re-design the phone and fix all the issues. Samsung updated the design and also upgraded the construction to better protect the device from external particles. Samsung also took the time to improve the user interface of its new, and optimized more apps and services for its unique foldable UX.

But it seems that Samsung's problems with the foldable AMOLED are not over yet. TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater got a review unit, and the screen got damaged within one day (27 hours, to be precise) of normal use - see photo above - there's a large defect at the center of the photo. Brian said he took good care of the device - just as Samsung suggests. Ironically, when Samsung launched the phone in April, Brian got a unit that worked okay for a few days (until Samsung collected the device back).

Last week we reported that the popular JerryRigEverything posted a review saying that the Galaxy Fold display, covered in plastic, is still highly prone to scratching - and even a fingerprint can cause permanent damage.

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. The Galaxy Fold costs $2,000.

The latest OLED TV news

Here are the latest OLED TV news from September 2019:

• LG launches its 88" 8K OLEDZ9 in the US, priced at $29,999
• LGD aims to increase its OLED TV panel sales in China to 2 million units by 2021
• IHS: OLED TV display revenues to reach $7.5 billion in 2025
• https://www.oled-info.com/lg-delays-launch-its-rollable-oled-tv
• Will Panasonic launch its transparent OLED displays in 2020?
• LG ordered to compensate two Australian consumers due to OLED TV burn-in
• Here is Skyworth's 88" 8K OLED TV prototype
• Philips launches its 2019/2020 Ambilight OLED TV range

Apple announces its 2019 iPhone and Watch lineup

Apple announced its 2019 iPhone and Watch Lineup - with all the devices but one with OLED displays. We'll start with the iPhone 11 Pro which uses a 5.8" notch-type 2436x1125 (458 PPI) AMOLED display and features Apple's latest A13 Bionic chip, 64/256/512GB of storage, a triple camera setup, HDR, FaceID - and is water and dust resistant.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max is quite similar, but it offers a bigger display - a 6.5" 2688x1242 AMOLED (same PPI - 458). Both phones will ship on September 20. The iPhone 11 Pro starts at $999 while the iPhone 11 Pro Max starts at $1,099. Apple's 2019 entry-level iPhone 11 offers a 6.1" LCD, and starts at $699. It is reported that Apple will switch to an all-OLED lineup next year.

Apple also announced its latest smartwatch - the Watch Series 5 that features a 324x394 1000-nits always-on LTPO AMOLED display (368x448 on the 44m model), an S5 dual-core chipset, 32GB of storage, GPS, Cellular connectivity (optional), an optical heart sensor and electrical heart sensor. The Watch Series 5 will ship by the end of September 2019 starting at $399 (GPS only) or $499 (GPS + Cellular).

As expected, display measurement experts at DisplayMate tested the iPhone 11 Pro Max display - and found that this is a top-notch display, with several improvements over the display used in the 2018 iPhone XS Max.

DSCC: OLED to overtake LCD production capacity for mobile applications in 2020

DSCC says that OLED mobile display production capacity will overtake LCD capacity in 2020, and will reach a 65% market share in 2025.

Looking at the entire display market (mobile and TV and others), DSCC sees OLED production capacity rising at a 20% CAGR till 2025, and OLED's market share will rise from 5% in 2019 to 14% in 2025. Looking at OLED production capacity per country, DSCC says that Korea will remain the leading country, but from 2018 to 2012 there will be a massive increase in China's market share - and Korea's share will drop from 90% to 56%. China's share will reach 43% in 2025, on 51% CAGR. The world's OLED production will remain almost exclusively in China and Korea until 2025.

Xiaomi is teasing a new smartphone design, with a concept model it calls the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha. The phone uses a flexible OLED produced by Visionox that is wrapped around the device.

IHS Markit estimates that OLED TV displays revenues will grow from $2.9 billion in 2019 to $7.5 billion in 2025.

We have added a new AMOLED panel to the OLED Marketplace: a 6.01-inch 1080x2160 AMOLED display with on-cell touch - produced by Visionox in China.

The company hasn't been able to improve its financials as LCD prices are under pressure, and following a recent managerial shuffle, it is now reported that LGD is considering shutting down its E2 line.

IHS reports that Samsung is still leading the market with a 82% market share - followed by BOE (12%).

Our sister site E-Ink-Info.com published a short video that introduces e-paper display technology and the current market status

The Harvest Group was supposed to provide most of the funds for JDI which could put the Japanese display maker in a difficult position.

The EU decided that the OLED lighting pilot line services will continue to be funded, under the lead of the Fraunhofer FEP

The new Apple iPhone smartphone uses a 5.8-inch notch-type 2436x1125 AMOLED

The larger Apple iPhone model uses a 6.5-inch 2688x1242 AMOLED

Apple's latest smartwatch uses a 324x394 1000-nits always-on LTPO AMOLED

High-end smartphones with 6.62-inch 1080x2340 AMOLED display (6.53-inch, 1176x2400 on the Mate 30 Pro)

A TV developed in collaboration with Amazon, based on LGD's 55-inch and 65-inch WRGB 4K OLED panels

Philips 2019 range of OLED TVs, that use LG's WRGB OLED panels

A high-end smartphone with a 21:9 6.1-inch 1080x2520 AMOLED HDR display

A high-end gaming smartphone with a quasi-240Hz 6.4-inh 2340x1080 AMOLED

A high-end smartphone with a 6.4-inch 1080x2340 CSO pOLED display

A high-end smartphone with a full-screen edge-type 6.89-inch 1080x2256 Super AMOLED display

A high-end smartphone with a 6.44-inch 1080x2440 Super AMOLED full-screen display

A smartwatch based on Huawei's own wearable platform, with a 1.39-inch 454x454 AMOLED or a 1.2-inch 390x390 in the smaller model

A smart fitness band with a 0.95-inch 120x240 AMOLED display

These new Access smartwatches use 1.28-inch AMOLED displays (the MKGO uses a 1.19-inch AMOLED)

A fitness smartwatch that features a 1.2" 390x390 AMOLED display

A health and fitness smartwatch with a square 1000-nits AMOLED