The OLED-Info Newsletter, July 2019
Published: Tue, 07/02/19
OLED Market updates
In the past month several companies posted OLED market estimates and forecasts:
- UBI: 110 million AMOLED panels shipped in Q1 2019, slightly lower than Q1 2018
- DSCC: Samsung, Apple and Huawei are the world's top flexible AMOLED smartphone customers
- DSCC updates its display fab utilization rates report
- DSCC: OLED equipment spending will rebound in 2020
- UBI: OLED production capacity to double by 2023
- China-based JD.com: sales of the OnePlus 7 Pro in China are far surpassing Samsung's GS10+ sales
IHS: OLED Ink-Jet printing comes of age
IHS says that ink-jet printing of OLED displays is finally ready to enter mass production in 2020. Production will begin at a rate of around 105,000 yearly substrates (209,000 sqm) in 2020, but will grow 12-fold within 4 years to reach 1.3 million yearly substrates in 2024 (or 7.3 million sqm).
The first producer to begin mass production using ink-jet printing will be JOLED who will enter mass production in 2020 (it already produces panels but at very low volume). OLED makers in China will quickly follow JOLED with mass production investments starting in 2020 or 2021.
Ink-Jet printing has a potential to lower the production cost of OLED panels - and is mostly suited for medium and large-area panels. IHS estimates that a 65" 4K OLED TV currently costs around $585 to produce (LGD's OLED, using a 10-Gen line). Using an ink-jet printing process, this cost can be reduced to $441 (an almost 25% reduction).
Pioneer withdraws from the OLED lighting market
In March 2017 Konica Minolta and Pioneer announced that the two companies are set to merge their OLED business unit, and on June 2017 the new 50:50 joint venture, called Konica Minolta Pioneer OLED, was officially established.
Pioneer was recently acquired by Hong Kong private equity firm Bearing Private Equity for $904 million, and the company is now trying to focus its business, and we learned that it has decided to quite the OLED lighting market. KMPO has been closed and all assets and employees were moved to Konica Minolta. This is quite sad news regarding Pioneer who's been active with OLED lighting for many years.
LG starts to install 10.5-Gen equipment at the P10 OLED fab
In March 2019 we reported that LG Display has delayed its plans for its $10 billion P10 10.5-Gen OLED TV fab in Paju, as the new larger deposition process was a larger challenge than expected.
According to a new report from Korea, LG display has actually started to install some of the Oxide-TFT deposition equipment (supplied by Applied Materials and Jusung Engineering) earlier than it first planned. LGD's original plan was to install this equipment in early 2020. The mass production at the P10 fab is expected to begin in 2021.
Will Apple adopt SDC's OLED in future laptops and iPads?
According to a report from Korea, when Apple secured its flexible AMOLED supply from Samsung for the iPhone X (and later XS and XS Plus) it committed to a minimum order quantity. As sales of the iPhones were slower than expected, the company did not reach its MOQ, and is now facing penalties of hundreds of millions of dollars.
It seems as if Apple is reluctant to pay the penalty (which isn't a big surprise) and is offering some alternative routes for Samsung - including the option of ordering OLED displays for future iPads or laptops (this coincides with a report from Korea last month).
LG to start making 48-inch OLED TVs in 2020
In March 2019 we reported that LG Display has a 48" OLED TV panel in its roadmap - but we did not have any information regarding LGD's actual production plans.
It is now reported in China that LG Display confirmed it is developing a 48" OLED TV panel and plans to start producing these in 2020 - which could mean that the TV themselves will hit the stores in 2020 - but this could also mean that they will arrive only in 2021.
OLED laptop updates
p>The laptop industry is finally embracing OLED displays, with SDC's 15.6" 3840x2160 OLED panels. The Verge posted one of the first reviews of an OLED laptop (HP's 2019 Spectre x360 15) - and the reviewer loves the OLED display: "The Spectre x360 15’s display is tremendous, and I see no reason why someone would pick an LCD over this OLED, given the option. It’s absolutely worth the higher cost (Ed: around $400)". HP's Spectre x360 15 laptops are now shipping, the OLED models start at $2,299.
In June Lenovo announced a new OLED laptop, the 2019 Series P laptops - with three models (P1 Gen 2, P53 and P73) all with optional AMOLED displays.
Gigabyte's AERO 15 OLED, the world's first Microsoft Azure AI laptop which sports also sports Samsung's 15.6" AMOLED display is set to ship on July 5th - and has a price tag starting at $1,699 for the i7-9750H|8GB|256GB model.
Asus meanwhile demonstrated a dual-display laptop, the ZenBook Pro Duo which actually features two screens - an SDC 15.6" 4K AMOLED main display and another, smaller 14" LCD that is placed above the keyboard. This is just a prototype, but according to reports this seems like a finished product, and it could reach the markets soon. Asus also demonstrated an OLED gaming laptop but the company still has concerns over the shorter lifespan of OLED displays, image retention (burn-in) and long-term color accuracy.
Xiaomi and Oppo unveiled smartphone prototypes with selfie cameras under the OLED display, but both companies did not unveil any technical details or any more information regarding the readiness of this technology.
TADF and HF developer Kyulux finalized its Series B round, raising $31.8 million to further accelerate its product development and strengthen its IP.
According to a report from Korea, LG Display has halted production at one of its production lines at its E6 production fab, LG's 6-Gen flexible OLED line that commenced production at the end of 2018.
LG Electronics will start accepting pre-orders for the OLED88Z9K in Korea in June. The regular price of the TV is around $42,000 in Korea, but pre-orders will enjoy a discount to $34,000.
Planar's new OLEDs, likely based on LGD panels, feature a brightness of 150 cd/m2 (peak white brightness of 400 cd/m2) and a transparency of 38% and a color gamut of 120% NTSC
A video from SID DisplayWeek 2019 shows BOE's new flexible, foldable, rollable and automotive AMOLED displays
Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that he expects Apple to switch to an all-OLED iPhone lineup in 2020 - with a high-end 6.7" and 5.4" models and a lower-end 6.1" one.
CSoT demonstrated the first public QD-OLED display, during SID 2019 - a 6.6-inch 384x300 panel with a brightness of 50 nits.
Japan Display is not yet able to secure its bailout deal, Apple may waive its debt, guarantee display orders and invest directly in JDI
Amidst reports about technical challenges, BK reports that Samsung will make its final decision on QD-OLED TVs by early July
We offer various marketing options and tools, from sponsored posts and email blasts, through banners and newsletter promotions, to bespoke content creation and additional custom solutions. Read more here!
A high-end smartphone that features a 6.39-inch full-screen 1080x2340 Super AMOLED display
A fitness tracker with a BOE 0.95-inch 240x120 AMOLED and a $25 price tag in China
Portable workstations, the 2019 ThinkPad P1, P523 and P73 all come with optional 15.6" 4K SDC AMOLED displays
Lenovo's Motorola Moto Z4 features a 6.4-inch 1080x2340 notch-type OLED display
A mid-range smartphone with a 6.2-inch 1080x2232 Super AMOLED display
A mid-range smartphone that features a large 6.4-inch 1080x2340 AMOLED display
The Nova 5 and Nova 5 Pro are smartphones with large 6.39-inch 1080x2340 AMOLED displays
Do you have a friend or a colleague that might be interested in OLED technology? Forward this mail to update him on the world of OLED.
If you received this email from a friend, subscribe to this newsletter here!
