Monthly Archive, June 2020 - Page 1

LG starts shipping its 48" OLED TVs in Europe

LG Electronics finally started shipping the world's first 48-inch OLED TV. The OLED48CX is now shipping in Europe. The price is relatively high (1,999 GBP in the UK) but hopefully this will come down in price soon.

LG OLED CX photo

LG's CX OLED TVs, LG's entry-level OLEDs for 2020, feature LG's latest 3^rd-Gen Alpha 9 processor, which offers better HDR tone mapping and deep learning algorithms to improve picture quality. The TVs also offer NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility for gamers. The TVs are available in 48-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch.

Will the Samsung Galaxy M41 use a CSoT flexible AMOLED panel?

In 2019, it was reported that Samsung Electronics is in early talks with China's CSoT for flexible OLED supply for low-end and mid-tier smartphones. According to a new report from Korea, Samsung Electronics has decided to adopt a CSoT flexible OLED panel for its upcoming budget Galaxy M41 smartphone.

Motorola Edge photo

Motorola Edge

If true, this is the first time that Samsung Electronics will adopt an OLED that wasn't produced by Samsung Display. The M41 will use a 6.67-inch 1080x2340 AMOLED, the same panel used in Xiaomi's Mi 10 and Motorola's Edge.

Korean researchers develop a highly-efficient deep-blue phosphorescent OLED emitter

Researchers from Korea's Pusan National University have developed an efficient deep-blue phosphorescent OLED emitter. The researcher say that their new materials has an EQE of 24% while the color point is CIE (0.149, 0.085).

According to the Korean press, the main achievement in this research was the adjustment of the doping concentration of a novel dopant (mer ‐Ir1) to optimize the balance of electron and holes in the light emitting layer.

Panasonic HZ980

Panasonic's HZ980, available in 55-inch and 65-inch, are the company's entry-level 2020 OLED TVs. The 4K TVs feature HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG and Dolby Atmos. The TVs are based on Panasonic's HCX Intelligent Pro processor and has a Netflix-calibrated mode.

Panasonic HZ980 photo

The HZ980 will start shipping in Europe in July 2020.

DDaily: BOE failed to pass Samsung's and Apple's OLED quality tests

Earlier this year, reports from Korea suggested that Samsung Electronics is looking to order some OLED panels from China's BOE - including for its flagship S21 smartphone to be announced later this year.

Samsung Galaxy S20 lineup

A new report from Korea's DDaily suggests that BOE failed to pass Samsung's display quality test. Samsung Electronics is likely to retain Samsung Display (partly owned by SE) as an exclusive AMOLED supplier for its 2020-2021 smartphones.

The US awards eMagin with $5.5 million to improve its OLED microdisplays production capabilities

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin announced that the company received a $5.5 million award from the US Department of Defense to improve eMagin’s OLED microdisplay manufacturing capabilities.

F-35 helmet HMD photo

The award was granted under the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program for OLED Supply Chain Assurance. These funds will be used for procurement and installation of capital equipment in eMagin’s NY-based manufacturing facility.

LG Display to lead a major R&D project in Korea to develop stretchable displays

LG Display announced that it has been selected by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to lead a national large-scale project to develop stretchable displays. LGD says that this project is a major part of the MOTIE's drive to help Korea's next-generation display industry.

SDC Stretchable AMOLED prototype (SID 2017)

A 9.1" stretchable OLED (Samsung Display)

LGD says that the goal of this project is to develop stretchable display products with a 20% elongation rate by 2024. The company believes such displays can vastly widen the scope of applications that displays can be applied to. 21 companies, universities and research institutes will take part in this government-supported project.

LG Chem sells its LCD polarizer business, to focus on its OLED polarizers

LG Chem announced that it has sold most of its LCD polarizer business to China’s Ningbo Shanshan, in a $1.1 billion deal. LG Chem will retain its automotive LCD polarizer business, and aims to focus on "strengthening its competitiveness in tech materials, especially OLED and nurture its OLED polarizer business".
OLED circular polarizer market (2016-2022, DSCC) In 2018 DSCC estimated that the OLED circular polarizer market will grow from $428 million in 2017 to $1.27 billion in 2022. The market is still dominated by mobile displays. In 2018 the OLED circular polarizer market was led by Sumitomo Chemical and Nitto Denko, with LG Chem increasing its market share in OLED TVs polarizers.

CLSA says SDC faced a sharp decline in OLED demand in Q1 2020, sees meaningful growth in Q3

CLSA says that Samsung Display saw a decline in demand for OLED panels in Q1 2020, and its flexible OLED fab utilization rate dropped to 40%.

Samsung Galaxy S20 lineup

In April demand from Chinese smartphone maker recovered and CLSA expects meaningful growth in OLED smartphone demand with Samsung's utilization rates exceeding 90% in Q3.