In the past month we heard several conflicting reports regarding LG's OLED TV sales. In early April, an LG Display official was quoted by CNet saying that the company "cannot meet the demand for OLED TVs" - he said the company cannot build OLED TVs fast enough. But reports from Korea suggest that LG's Full-HD OLED sales are lower than expected - and that the company lowered their production goal to 500,000 units in 2015.

During LGD's quarterly conference call, LG's investor relations chief clearly said that they still aim to produce 600,000 OLED panels in 2015 - and that number will only be lower if they change the product mix towards more large-sized panels.

LGD's current capacity is 14,000 monthly Gen-8 substrates. LGD will expand their capacity to 34,000 monthly substrates by the end of 2015, which will enable them to produce around 1.5 million panels in 2016.

LG currently offers several OLED TV models. The 2013-model 55" Full-HD panel is now on sale for $1,999 (the lowerst price ever for an OLED TV). The 2014 65" 4K OLEDs are available for $7,999 - $9,999 (prices fluctuates) and the 2015 4K models (55" and 65") will ship within 3-5 weeks ($4,500 for the 55" and $8,999 for the 65").

Earlier this year Philips announced its intention to spin-off its OLED activity, and the company started searching for a buyer for its whole OLED business activity. Today it was announced that US-based OLEDWorks will buy the key parts of Philips OLED lighting business - including the production facility and relevant IP.

This is a very interesting development - OLEDWorks is a relatively small company, and it is strange that they can take over Philips' relatively large OLED operation - which is probably still not profitable. OLEDWorks' last financing round was in 2013 - and that probably was not a large round (round A). It's possible that following this acquisition we'll soon hear that OLEDWorks raised more money or attracted a large partner.

OLEDWorks was established in July 2010 by former Kodak OLED business experts and is the only US-based OLED lighting producer. The company developed a proprietary low-cost production process and received three DoE grants (see here,here and here) to further develop is OLED technology. In July 2014, Acuity Brands unveiled new applications for its Marker OLED luminaire, which uses Amber OLED panels made by OLEDWorks. OLEDWorks is also cooperating with Corning to develop flexible glass based OLEDs.

Samsung started to ship the company's newest flagship phone, the Galaxy S6 and its curved-display variant the Galaxy S6 Edge. The reviews state that this may be Samsung's best phone ever - and the new 5.1" 2560x1440 (577 PPI) Super AMOLED displays are terrific. Samsung's mobile phone sales are picking up - mostly probably due to the GS6. In fact the company expects record shipments for the GS6.

Even more exciting is the fact that the GS6 is more popular than expected. In fact about 50% of the GS6 customers want to buy the GS6 Edge - even though it costs $100 and offers the same features (except the curved display). Samsung Display may not be able to produce enough flexible OLEDs - and some reports suggest that Samsung already started to produce flexible OLEDs in its new A3 fab - sooner than planned. Samsung is also getting ready to release a new Gear wearable - and it's going to be round, and probably based on a new flexible AMOLED display. We posted out own hands-on review of the Galaxy Note Edge - and we love the curved OLED, it looks fantastic.

While small and flexible AMOLEDs are doing great at Samsung, this isn't the case for TVs. In the past few weeks we heard reports that Samsung Display decided to re-enter the OLED TV market - and some reports even suggested that Samsung aims to use LG's WRGB architecture. During the company's quarterly conference call, a Samsung Display official said that there are no plans to re-enter the OLED TV market in the near future as "OLED TVs are not in sight for the time being".

Apple finally started shipping their first wearable device, the Watch. DisplayMate already posted a review of the display - and they say that the OLED display is excellent, even though the Sapphire cover reduces the performance under ambient light. We especially like this quote: "there is absolutely no question that for smart watches, OLED is the only way to go for a great display".

It seems that Apple is facing some production issues with the Watch, with the main bottlenecks being the haptic vibrator and LGD's flexible plastic-based AMOLED display. Analysts expect Apple to ship 15-30 million Watch devices in 2015.

And we cannot write a story about Apple without throwing in a good wild rumor. According to ETNews, Apple has contacted JOLED to produce OLED displays for next-gen iPad tablets. And ETNews further says that JOLED will begin mass production for Apple by the end of 2016. This is very aggresive considering that JOLED was just recently established. According to ETNews, JOLED will construct a 6-Gen (1500x1800 mm) LTPS AMOLED fab, with a monthly capacity of 60,000 substrates. This translates into 5.5 million 9.7" tablet displays (at 100% yields). While it's highly likely that Apple will adopt OLED displays for future iPhone and iPad devices in the future, the end of 2016 seems a bit too early...

Finding your way through the fragmented OLED market can be challenging. Several producers offer many types of displays: from simple character PMOLEDs to large flexible AMOLED panels and from small transparent displays to circular full-color smartwatch displays.

Device makers who are looking to adopt OLED displays in their future products may find our new display brokerage service useful. We help find the best OLED display and best production partner. We’ll work together to define the parameters of the desired OLED display, identify currently available OLEDs on the market, choose the best OLED display and help reach the right production partner and secure the best price.

We'll be happy to work together, contact us now (or simply reply to this mail) for all of your OLED needs.

Taiwan's AU Optronics started to produce a new 5.46" Full-HD AMOLED panel, and the company also announced it developed a new 1.4" circular AMOLED, aimed for smart watches, that will ship in Q2 2015. It seems that AUO is shifting its OLED focus to wearable devices. The company has been struggling with AMOLED production for years, but finally in August 2014 the company started mass production. The company currently offers four panels. Please reply to this mail (or contact us here) if you wish to help you find a supplier for AUO's AMOLEDs:

• 1.63" 320x320 (square) panel for wearable devices (smart watches)
• 4.3" 480x272
• 4.97" 1280x720
• 5.46" Full-HD

AU Optronics is producing those new panels at their AFPD Gen-4.5 LTPS fab in Singapore that has been converted to AMOLED production. The company's production capacity is quite limited still.

I'm happy to announce the fifth edition of The OLED Handbook, the most comprehensive resource on OLED technology, industry and market - now updated for 2015. The OLED industry grows and changes very fast, and the new edition include new details on OLED TVs, flexible OLEDs, the wearable market and more.

Reading this book, you'll learn all about:

• OLED technology and materials and production processes
• How OLEDs compare to LCD displays
• OLED TVs, flexible OLEDs and transparent OLEDs
• The OLED lighting industry
• The future of OLED displays and lighting and the challenges ahead

The book also provides:

• A history of OLED development
• A guide to OLED investment
• A comprehensive list of OLED companies
• A list of existing and planned AMOLED fabs
• OLED lighting roadmaps
• An in-depth look into flexible OLEDs and OLED encapsulation

What's new in the 2015 edition?

• Updated OLED gadgets, panels, fabs and roadmaps
• In-depth info on LG's OLED TV drive
• Update sections on Samsung's and LG's flexible OLED programs
• New OLED lighting panels and displays released in the past year
• Refreshed company index
• And much more!

The OLED handbook has been read by hundreds of display engineers, business developers, researchers, equipment vendors, OLED material companies, private investors and others who wished to learn more about OLEDs today and in the future. I truly believe that it is the best introduction to OLED displays and lighting.