October was a landmark month for flexible OLEDs. Both Samsung and LG started mass producing plastic based panels and both companies also launched the first mobile phones to use those panels.

First up was Samsung. On October 9th the company unveiled the Galaxy Round. This Android (v4.3) smartphone is very similar to the Galaxy Note 3 - but it uses a 5.7" Full-HD flexible Super AMOLED display. The OLED is curved (400 mm radius) from left to right. This phone is currently available in Korea only, and some reports suggest Samsung will not release it elsewhere.

According to the experts from DisplayMate, the curvature is not just a gimick - it cuts down on reflections from ambient light and substantially improves screen readability, image contrast, color accuracy, and overall picture quality. Samsung's curved panel is most likely based on a plastic substrate, but it is covered with glass. Samsung does not brand this as a YOUM display and it is breakable. The panel is 0.12 mm thin and it weighs only 5.2 grams. Samsung Display is producing those OLEDs at their 5.5-Gen line. They currently have a capacity of about 8,000 sheets per month - which means they can only make a few hundred thousands a month (depends on yields and whether the line is also used for R&D).

LG also started mass producing flexible OLEDs. LG's panel is 6" in size and offers a resolution of 720p. It's 0.44 mm thick and weighs 7.2 grams. LG confirmed that these OLEDs are based on a plastic substrate. LG also launched the G Flex phone that is the first one to use this panel. The G Flex is curved from top to bottom. LG does not call it an unbreakable phone - perhaps they too are using a cover glass. The phone uses LG Chem's curved battery.

LGD updated OLED-Info that the current flexible OLED production capacity in their 4.5-Gen line is 6,000 substrates a month. This means almost 400,000 6" panels - assuming 100% yields. Those OLEDs use an LTPS backplane on a plastic substrate and a direct-emission (RGB) sub-pixel architecture.

DisplayMate got their hands on a pre-release Galaxy Note 3 production unit, with its 5.7" Full-HD Super AMOLED display (386 PPI, PenTile). After extensive testing, they say that this is the best performing OLED display ever and it beats LCDs across the board!

The most notable advancement in this new panel is the high brightness. It can achieve 660 cd/m² in high ambient light. It's not just 55% brighter than the Note 2, it's actually the brightest display ever tested at DisplayMate. They say that this new OLED now exceeds the performance of the best LCDs in every aspect except price.

StoreDot is an Israeli startup company that was established in 2011 to develop and commercialize new peptide-based technology originally discovered in Tel Aviv University. Storedot's technology allows them to synthesize new nano materials ("inspired by nature") that can be used in a wide variety of application - displays (via both photo-luminescence and electro-luminescence), batteries, memory and more.

Storedot completed a $6 million financing round, including from a large Asian display maker and they are currently focused on developing a QD based display. They term this Bio-LEDs and say that the technology enables them to use a simple process and those QDs do not need an encapsulation as the materials do not oxidize.

Read our complete article here, explaining StoreDot's technology and future applications.

Back in December 2012, rumors started to circulate about an upcoming Apple smartwatch called the iWatch. At first it was reported that Apple will use a 1.5" touch PMOLED made by RitDisplay. In early October, Korea's Chosun Ilbo claims that Apple decided to use a plastic flexible OLED panel. According to the reports, Apple is developing three models, with 1.3", 1.4" and 1.5" displays. They already produced a prototype 1.5" device. Chosun is quoting "industry sources" in their short article.

A week later DisplaySearch posted an article stating that Apple's iWatch will indeed use a 320x320 flexible OLED panel sized 1.3" or possibly 1.63". The Korea Herald later claimed that LG is on the verge of signing a supply deal with Apple for those flexible OLEDs. According to the Herald, other candidates are RiTDisplay and Japan Display. These two seem highly unlikely as they far behind Samsung and LG in flexible AMOLED technology.

DisplaySearch estimates that Apple will release this phone towards the end of 2014. If Apple will indeed use a flexible OLED, this makes sense because currently LG's production capacity is very limited (6,000 monthly 4.5-Gen substrates) and it's not likely it will be enough for Apple.

According to our sources, and later confirmed by AUO's president, the company finally started AMOLED mass production in their AFPD subsidiary in Singapore. AFPD has a Gen-4.5 LTPS fab that was converted for AMOLED production. The fab has a monthly capacity of 45,000 substrates but it's not clear whether all the lines were converted to AMOLED and how many OLED panels are currently produced there.

I'm not sure which panels are being produced there at the moment, but it's likely that AUO is producing the panels they have recently unveiled at trade shows - 4.4" 1900x600 (413 PPI) panel, 5" Full-HD (443 PPI) panel and their newest 5" HD720 AMOLED panels. Earlier reports suggested that HTC and Sony are waiting to integrate AUO's AMOLEDs in their mobile devices.

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