China-based OLED microdisplay developer Lakeside Optoelectronics (also known as Lakeside Lightning Semiconductor) announced that it is progressing with its 12-inch OLED microdisplay production line project in Yixing (Wuxi). The building itself is nearly complete, with the last floor concrete poured in. 

The new fab will have a capacity of 7,000 monthly 12-inch substrates, and should enter production in October 2025. The company also plans a 2nd phase which will double its capacity and enable it to produce around 10 million OLED microdisplays per year. 

Sony is demonstrating an early-stage MR headset, based on dual 1.3" 4K OLED microdisplays (or at least this is what is assumed, as Sony did not exactly detail the displays). The headset, which isn't yet a product, uses Qualcomm's XR2+ Gen 2 processor, includes passthrough video (soft-AR), and unique controllers.  Sony said its headset is "primarily designed for professionals who work with 3D".

It is likely that this headset uses Sony's ECX344A displays - which are actually 1.41" 4K (3552x3840) OLED microdisplays, announced in August 2023. These same displays are used by Apple in its Vision Pro headset.

OLED microdisplay maker Sidtek announced that it is starting to install production equipment at its 12-inch production line in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. The company says the first production line in the project is on track to start production in 2024.

Sidtek is currently producing its OLED microdisplays on a 8-inch production line, also in Wuhu. The first phase of its 12-inch fab will have a monthly capacity of 6,000 substrates, and the company is planning an expansion to 18,000 substrate. The total investment in the 12-inch fab (including the 2nd stage) is estimated at 6 billion Yuan (around $840 million USD).

In 2022, OLED microdisplay developer BCDTEK announced its plans to construct a 12-inch OLED microdisplay production site in Huainan, China. The new fab, at full capacity, will have a production capacity of 20,000 monthly substrates, and a total investment of 6.5 billion Yuan ($970 million USD).

The first phase of this fab (the K2 line), is now in construction, and the company announced that the building itself is now complete. The total investment in the first phase, which will have a monthly capacity of 4,000 wafers, will cost 1.5 billion Yuan ($210 million USD). 

In 2022, Samsung Display confirmed it is developing OLED microdisplays, and the company has since stepped up its efforts to bring OLED microdisplay to the market. The company is also developing microLED microdisplays.

It is now reported in Korea that Samsung Electronics decided that from now on, Samsung Display will handle all OLED microdisplay projects, while Samsung Semiconductor (SSI, or specifically, the Compound Semiconductor Solutions team) will handle all microLED microdisplay development.

IPValue Management announced that it has acquired around 200 OLED patents from Seiko Epson. We do not know the nature of these patents, and whether IPValue bought all of Seiko Epson's OLED IP portfolio or just a part of it. IPValue says that the patents will be owned by its subsidiary Lumitek Display Technology.

Seiko Epson has been working on OLED technologies for many years - and it has been involved mostly with soluble OLED materials, ink-jet printing and OLED microdisplays. In 2013 Samsung Display bought several OLED patents from Seiko Epson. 

Last week we posted the following article, but it turns out that our information was not correct. We mentioned that this was a strange report - and indeed it turns out that Trendforce analysis was misquoted, and the company did not say that Apple will stop using Sony's OLED microdisplays. We are sorry for posting this!

Apple first VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, will use dual 1.3" 4K OLED microdisplays. Apple has been working with Sony, that produced the first OLED microdisplays, but later reports suggested that Apple is looking to replace Sony with Seeya and BOE as its suppliers to reduce costs (and also likely to increase potential supply as Sony has limited capacity). 

According to a new report by TrendForce, Apple has made some changes to its Vision Pro supply chain and has decided to already stop using Sony's OLED microdisplays - and indeed go with Seeya and BOE.

According to reports, Samsung Electronics is working on a new VR headset that it plans to release in the second half of 2024.

The new headset will be based on OLED microdisplays, apparently produced by Samsung Display. The reports suggest the the microdisplays will be similar to the 1.41" 4K Sony OLED microdisplays used by Apple in its Vision Pro headset.

The New York State Attorney has arrested a Russian citizen called Maxim Marchenko, and two other co-conspirators, accusing them of buying $1.6 million worth of military-grade OLED microdisplays and smuggling these to Russia. The US export control laws forbid the sale of such components to Russian companies.

According to the prosecutors Marchenko hid the fact that these displays were going to Russia, and claimed that these will be used by Chinese companies for use in electron microscope for medical research. Marchenko was charged with seven criminal counts including wire fraud, smuggling, money laundering and four conspiracy counts.

LG Display has been developing OLED microdisplay technologies for several years (branding these as OLEDoS), and last year it was reported that LGD is planning to build its first production line, as hoping to supply OLED Microdisplay to Apple in the future. LG is reportedly started ordering deposition equipment from Korea-based OLED equipment maker Sunic System.

According to the Korean publication The Elec, LGD has decided not to build an OLED microdisplay production line, at least for now. The company will continue its R&D project, though.