LG confirms it aims to start adopting OLEDs in smartphones in 2017

LG's mobile division Chief, Cho Juno, said that LG has big hopes for the new G5 smartphone, and hopes to sell at least 10 million G5 phones by the end of the year - which will be a new record for LG.

The G5 uses an LCD display, but Cho says that LG could start using OLED displays for its flagship phones by the second half of 2017. LG will not purchase panels from Samsung Display, but it is waiting for LG Display to start producing OLEDs for mobile phones.



LG Display already produces OLED displays, in fact, but in a very limited capacity. LGD has a Gen-4.5 fab (14,000 monthly substrates) that produces flexible (plastic-based) OLEDs. LG currently mostly makes small flexible OLEDs for wearables (such as Apple's Watch and LG's own Watch Urbane 2). LG makes a single handset flexible OLED, the curved 5.5" FHD panel adopted in the company's own G Flex 2 - but this was never really a mass produced device.

LGD announced plans to build a Gen-6 (1500x1850 mm) flexible OLED fab in a $900 million investment. The new E5 line will be located at LGD's Gumi Plant and will have a capacity of 7,500 monthly substrates - or 1.5 million 5.5" panels. The new fab is scheduled to begin mass production in the first half of 2017. Cho probably considers the new Gen-6 fab when he aims to release phones later in 2017 that use these OLEDs.

Earlier reports suggested that LG Display indeed aims to enter the mobile phone market with its flexible OLEDs, and actually hopes to do so in 2016 - but in that case the company will have to start with lower-volume phones (reportedly LGD is in talks with Chinese phone makers Vivo and Oppo)

Source: 
Posted: Feb 29,2016 by Ron Mertens

Comments

Let's hope LG doesn't start using PWM brightness control like Samsung does on their smartphone oleds.

Currently LG Flex2 is the only oled smartphone that doesn't use PWM that I know of. 

PWM is a harmful way to control brightness in displays,you will get eye pain and migraines after longer usages. The best way to control brightness is DC driven like Apple does on it's Iphone.

A very bad article about Flicker-free(PWM-free) displays:

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/the-truth-about-anti-flicker-lcd-technology-1205231#article...

And some comments for this article:

**

What a badly written article. I suffer within 10 minutes from flickering lights/screens (can't leave my house) in form of a long duration migraine. Had to find myself a new laptop that didn't flicker so parents dropped $3k on the 15 inch Retina MBP and all is well :)

I'd be interested in hearing what others think”

**

Wow, what a trolling article.

I am another who struggles with headaches and disorientation when using a pwm controlled illumination source in a laptop. I am sick of people who say "the human eye cannot detect the modulation". This short sighted view (pardon the pun) ignores the fact that the human eye can change direction at 900 °/second. Guess how images persist on the retina when that is going on? For some, (like me) it is unbearable.

There should be a health warning on these dodgy flickering displays.

Edit: Since finding that PWM displays have been a source of trauma, I will *always* check any laptop, phone, monitor for dodgy PWM illumination and will never buy one for myself or my family that uses it.”

This information is great. I need to find this phone. I use a Samsung S2 because I couldn't find a flicker free device that doesn't cause me eyestrain. The S2 is OLED and gives me no eye pain. I find even the BENQ flicker free monitor's doesn't help. I had two that were of the TN variety. I was thinking of trying a 144hz flicker free seeing if that helps. Plasma TV is my favourite right now. I have to hook my computer up to it because I can't find a monitor to use that doesn't cause me eye pain. I watched a YouTube video yesterday about a review on an HP monitor 2035 I think it's from 2010 that uses CCFL but is flicker free S-IPS. I might buy one and see if that works. Anyways when flicker free OLED becomes a thing all of us who are suffering should be good. Hopefully!

@Jason. Did the 144hz flicker free help? And if so what monitor?

What plasma tv do you have?

Did the HP monitor work for you if you tried it?

What phones help? Model number?

what Benq monitors did you try?

Thank you. 

I am using Dell U2414H for years now without any issues. I use it on “Paper” monitor profile at about 40% brightness but I also use F.lux with the day setting to about 4500K color temperature.

This is an IPS LED monitor with a DC driver used for the backlight.

If you have more issues let me know.