The OLED-Info Newsletter, Janaury 2020
Published: Thu, 01/02/20
BOE plans a new OLED microdisplay fab in a $470 million investment
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
Once complete, BOE's fab will have the largest capacity in the industry - but this is not enough for BOE. Yesterday it was reported in Chinese media that BOE plans to build a second, larger OLED microdisplay fab in Yunnan. BOE will invest $257 million while a state-owned development group will invest $28 million. BOE will also raise $200 million from external sources. Total investment in the new fab will total $486 million.
The first line in the new fab will begin production in 2021. BOE is planning to total of three phases or lines. The first microdisplays will be 0.9" and 1.31" in size - BOE is expecting demand from the AR and VR markets - which require large displays with high resolutions. The new fab will produce the microdisplays on 12" wafers (BOE's current fab uses 8" wafers) and will have a capacity of 10,000 wafers for the first line.
BOE is shipping the first OLED microdisplay from its new Kunming, Yunnan fab - 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.
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. If you want to learn more about the OLED Microdisplay market, check out our market report, updated quarterly.
TADF OLED emitter technology - industry status
TADF, or Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence, is a relatively new class of OLED emitter materials that promise efficient and long-lifetime performance without any heavy metals. TADF research started at around 2012, originally at Kyushu University in Japan and today many academic groups and several commercial companies are developing TADF materials.
Our new article details the current status of the TADF/HF industry, with the recent updates from Kyulux, Cynora, Idemitsu Kosan and others.
LG and Samsung delay new OLED TV fabs
According to reports, both LG Display and Samsung Display are experiencing delays with their new OLED TV fabs. First up we have LGD's new OLED TV fab in Guangzhou, China, that was supposed to be in mass production back in October. A new report from Korea suggests that LGD still did not manage to stabilize the new fab, and mass production is now delayed to after the first quarter of 2020. LGD's original plans were to produce around 5.5 million OLED in 2020 , but that plan assumed the Guangzhou fab will be in full production rate by the end of 2019. LGD already lowered its 2019 OLED TV production capacity due to the Guangzhou delay.
LG Display is also reportedly delaying its P10 10.5-Gen OLED TV fab. The company's original plan was to start mass production (with 30,000 monthly substrate) in H1 2022, but the date now shifted to 2023.
Samsung Display, meanwhile, is reportedly delaying its initial investment in its upcoming QD-OLED TV R&D and production lines. SDC was supposed to start the plan in 2019, but equipment makers did not yet receive orders for the new fab. Samsung is apparently undergoing an organizational change and decided to delay its investment plans to after things calm down.
RiTDisplay sees lower PMOLED sales, shifts focus to micro LED displays
Taiwan-based PMOLED display maker RiTDisplay's CEO says that the company's PMOLED sales has been affected by e-cigarette bans in the US, and the company is now shifting its focus to develop micro LED displays (and also mini-LED ones). RiTDisplay's revenues in 2019 to date, $47.1 million USD, decreased 32.4% compared to last year.
In May 2019 RiTDisplay announced a strategic partnership and share swap with Taiwan-based MicroLED developer PlayNitride. As part of the partnership, RiTDisplay gained access to PlayNitride's technology and is able to produce and sell micro-LED panel based on this technology and IP. RiTDisplay aims to initiate passive-matrix micro-LED display production in 2020, in both rigid and flexible forms. In June 2019 it was reported that a US-based smartwatch brand will start a design process in Q3 2019 using RiTDisplay's micro-LED displays . There were some conflicting reports, but some suggest that this customer could be no other than Apple .
MicroLED offer higher brightness and efficiency compared to OLED displays - and while there are still some technical challenges to overcome, initial production could begin for relatively simple passive-matrix wearable displays. Click here for our PMOLED Market Report - to learn more about this market.
Cadillac's 2021 Escalade to sport a 38-inch flexible OLED
Cadillac announced that its 2021 Escalade, to be unveiled on February 2020, will sport a 38-inch curved OLED display. According to a report from Korea, the producer of this display is LG Display.
LG is pushing its automotive OLED displays, and will also supply OLED displays to Mercedes-Benz's 2020 E-Class car. LG is not alone as many display makers are developing and producing automotive OLED displays and aiming to take a part of this important market. To learn more about OLEDs for the automotive market, click here.
Is this Samsung's second foldable smartphone?
New images were leaked on Chinese media, showing a new foldable phone design - that is reportedly made by Samsung. This could be the company's upcoming second foldable phone (the Galaxy Fold 2 perhaps?).
The design looks somewhat similar to the clamshell Motorola Razr 2019 - but in Samsung's design (if this is indeed a Samsung phone) there is only a very small external display for notifications - which looks to be a white PMOLED.
OLED market updates
Here are the latest OLED market updates:
- UBI: high demand for rigid OLEDs may result in conversion of flexible OLED lines to rigid ones
- LG Electronics shipped over 5 million OLED TVs since launching its first one in 2013
- Counterpoint: 600 million OLED smartphone displays to ship in 2020
- Samsung Display expects 5G networks to drive up OLED smartphone sales
- IHS - the Automotive OLED market is set to grow from $20 million in 2019 to over $4.5 billion in 2026
- IHS: rigid AMOLED displays increase their lead in the smartwatch display market
- IHS: smartphone AMOLED shipments reached a record high of 146 million units in Q3 2019
Happy new year!
I want to take this opportunity and wish our readers and the entire OLED industry a happy new year! We hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays, and that 2020 will be a bright, good and fruitful year!
Last week we posted our annual best OLED stories of the year report, ranked by popularity.
Xiaomi is showcasing the upcoming $2,800 Mi Mix Alpha with its 7.92-inch 2088x2250 fold-around Visionox AMOLED display
The two companies now aim to commercialize their new material
These are high-end 6.18" 1440x2992 flexible AMOLED displays with on-cell touch, and we have 15,000 such panels available at a great price
Coca Cola has embedded flexible OLED lighting panels (provided by Inuru) in 8,000 bottles in Singapore, as part of a new Star Wars promotion campaign.
During its annual IPC conference, BOE showcased a 55-inch 400-nits 8K (160-PPI) inkjet-printed OLED display
Asus finally started shipping its ProArt PQ22UC monitor in the US, for $3,950. The monitor is based on a 21.6" 3840x2160 (204 PPI, produced by JOLED) printed OLED monitor.
A mid-range smartphone with a 6.5-inch 1080x2400 punch-hole Super AMOLED display
A large mid-range smartphone with a 6.7-inch 1080x2400 Super AMOLED display
The X30 Pro smartphone uses a 6.44-inch 1080x2400 Super AMOLED HDR display
The A91 is an Android smartphone that sports a 6.4-inch notch-type 1080x2400 AMOLED display
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