OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is a display technology that is brighter, more efficient, thinner and feature better refresh rates and contrast than an LCD display. OLEDs deliver the best picture quality ever and OLED displays have been used in smartphones, wearables and TVs.
Why are OLED displays better than LCDs?
- In OLED displays, each pixel emits light independently (in LCDs, there is a white backlight).
- The contrast ratio of OLEDs is much better than in LCD, so are the refresh rates and the viewing angles.
- OLEDs are thinner and lighter than LCDs, and can be made flexible, foldable, rollable and transparent.
- OLEDs are more efficient, as only lit pixels draw energy. A smart user interface can result in very power efficient OLED displays!
2019 - OLED laptops finally arrive
OLEDs are already very successful in smartphone displays (over 500 million panels produced annually, adopted in smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Sony and others), OLED TVs and wearables. While in early 2016 several laptop makers announced the first OLED laptops (such as the Lenovo X1 Yoga with its 14" 2550x1440 AMOLED and the HP Spectre X360 with its 13.3" 2560x1600 AMOLED display), these laptops were produced in small quantities and quickly discontinued.
In early 2019, Samsung finally announced it start mass producing OLED displays for laptops. Since then we have seen many laptops from HP, Dell, Asus, Gigabyte, Lenovo and others adopt OLED displays, first at premium models and slowly in medium-range laptops as well. Click here for our complete list of laptops with OLED displays. Samsung, and other display makers, are expanding OLED laptop production capacity as demand for IT in general is rising and consumers prefer OLED displays.
Image retention (burn-in)?
One of the major drawbacks of an OLED display is that because each pixel is driven independently and because the lifetime of an OLED emitter is limited, OLED panels suffer from image retention (known as burn-in). A much-used pixel is less bright than a pixel that hasn't been driven a lot (for a more technical explanation, click here).
In computer user interface this is a problem - as some UI elements are quite fixed (toolbars, icons, etc). There are some technologies to handle this problem - for example by measurement and compensation, by using a tandem architecture to extend lifetime, and more. The situation has improved much in recent years, to the point where OLEDs are very much suitable as laptops displays.
Further reading
The latest OLED Laptop news:
ETNews: Apple signs contracts to develop tablet and laptop OLEDs, gets ready for the first OLED iPad in 2024
Korea-based ETNews reports that Apple has finally committed to adopt OLED displays in future tablets and laptops, and the company has signed a contact with a "local OLED developer" (which means either Samsung Display or LG Dispaly) to develop four different OLED displays.
According to the report, Apple decided to adopt a 10.86" and 12.9" AMOLED displays for future iPad devices, and 14" and 16" displays for future MacBooks. The first OLED iPad will be released in 2024, while the first OLED MacBook will come later in 2026.
Coherent launches a new 150 W infrared industrial femtosecond laser for large OLED display glass cutting
Coherent has launched a new Monaco infrared industrial femtosecond laser configuration with 150 W of output power. The company says that the new laser is ideal for cutting of large OLED display glass.
The OLED industry is now entering the IT display market (tablets, laptops and monitors) and this accelerates the demand for laser tools with higher output power that can process larger glass sheets than those currently used in smartphones and wearables. Coherent says that the new Monaco 1035-150-150 outputs more than double the power and pulse energy of existing configurations, enabling high-precision cutting of large glass panels in very high volumes to produce large OLED screens with perfect assembly fit in next-generation IT devices. Coherent says that its new laser is the smallest femtosecond laser of its kind on the market and the easiest to integrate into laser tools.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple plans to release its first OLED laptop in 2024
Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that according to his sources, Apple is aiming to release an OLED MacBook in 2024.
Apple is already using OLED displays in its smartphones and wearables, and it used to have MacBook Pro powered by an OLED touchbar back in 2016. We know that Apple is aiming to move to OLED displays in its tablets and laptops, so this 'rumor' is not a surprise, but it remains to be seen if Apple's OLED laptops will indeed come as soon as next year.
Report: Samsung and HP to launch foldable OLED laptops in 2023, low demand for current such devices
The Elec reports that Samsung Electronics is set to launch a foldable OLED laptop next year, using a 17.3" AMOLED display produced by Samsung Display. HP is also gearing up to release its first foldabl OLED, with a 17-inch display produced by LG Display.
Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED
Foldable OLED laptops are exciting, but current prices are very high, and so demand is low. The Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED for example, which uses a 17.3-inch display made by BOE, costs $3,500 - a very high price for a laptop. It is reported that Asus only ordered 10,000 displays from BOE as it understand it cannot ship many units at this price, and HP also not planning for many sales of their own first-gen foldable laptops, and have ordered a similar number of displays.
UBI Research: medium and large OLED shipments to grow from 26.1 million units in 2022 to almost 70 million in 2027
UBI Research says that shipments of medium and large area OLED panels (which the company defines as 10 inches and up) will reach 26.1 million units in 2022. The market is set for fast growth, and shipments will reach 69.5 million units by 2027.
The main application by revenue will be TV panels, over the whole projected period, and OLED TV panel shipments will reach 14.8 million units in 2027, and generate $9.18 billion in sales.
Reports suggest Apple is developing a 20" foldable MacBook laptop
According to reports from Korea, Apple is designing a new foldable MacBook laptop, that will adopt a large 20.25 foldable OLED display. Apple is collaborating with Samsung or LG Display on this project, the report does not detail that.
The reports also suggest that Apple is looking into smaller foldable display - including a foldable iPhone and a foldable iPad Mini (10-inch when open) - but these projects aren't confirmed yet.
MagnaChip announces its first power management IC designed for OLED IT displays
OLED driver IC developer MagnaChip has launched its first power management integrated circuit (PMIC) specifically designed for IT devices with OLED displays.
A PMIC supplies power to electronic devices, and it is an important component in mobile devices to optimize power consumption. The newly-designed PMIC communicates with a system by using an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) interface and can control functions such as output voltage control, ON/OFF block, output voltage sequence management, and more. It supports variable refresh rate OLED displays, from 60Hz to 240Hz.
UBI: the OLED for IT market is set to grow from 9.5 million units in 2022 to 48.8 million units in 2027
UBI Research estimates hat shipments of OLED panels for IT applications (tablets, monitors and laptops) will reach 48.8 million units by 2027, growing from around 9.5 million units in 2022 (a CAGR of 39%).
In 2022-2024, the main application for OLED panels is in laptops, but this will change from 2025 and onwards as tablets will also become a dominant applications (as Apple will start adoping OLEDs in its high-end iPads).
Lenovo and Motorola show new rollable device prototypes
During Lenovo's Tech World 2022 event, the company and its Motorola subsidiary showed new device prototypes, including two interesting rollable OLED devices.
In the video above, you can see a new laptop prototype that has a rollable OLED display, that opens up to increase the screen size. There's also a smartphone that opens from a 4-inch display to a 6.5-inch one using a rollable display.
Intel and Samsung Display show a rollable 17-inch AMOLED display prototype
During Intel's Innovation Day 2022, Samsung Display's CEO shows a prototype rollable AMOLED laptop display that opens up from 13-inch to 17-inch:
Over the years, Intel has been working with display makers to showcase innovative new display technologies. In early 2020 the company showed a foldable 17-inch laptop device.
