The OLED-Info newsletter, November 2016
Published: Tue, 12/06/16
BOE to supply OLED TV panels to Skyworth
Skyworth introduced a new OLED TV that uses (for the first time ever) OLED panels produced by BOE Display. According to reports, Skyworth will start shipping these TVs in China and Europe (under the Metz brand) in 2017.
In the past Skyworth used LGD panels for its OLED TVs. In December 2015 the company launched its latest OLED and OLED HDR TVs , and back then Skyworth said it aims to sell 30,000 OLED TVs by the end of March 2016 (the company's FY2015) - and hopes to sell 200,000 OLED TVs by the end of March 2017. Skyworth said its main problem with those OLEDs is that LG Display cannot supply them with enough panels, especially the 65" ones - so now it seems Skyworth found its answer with BOE Display.
BOE Display has a pilot Gen-8 OLED TV line, which it used to produce 55" 4K OLED TV samples as early as 2014. It is likely that the panels that Skyworth uses were produced in that pilot line. The company is also looking into building a $1 billion Gen-8 fab, and the company received a $20 million grant from the local government towards that fab.
Chinese phone makers look to form an alliance to ensure OLED capacity
According to reports from China, several mobile phone makers, including Huawei, Oppo and Vivo (BKK) are worried about the tight AMOLED supply, especially as Apple's appetite for AMOLED displays may end up taking up all existing and future capacity in the near future.
The reports suggest that the three phone makers are discussing the forming of a new alliance that will secure AMOLED supply. The alliance will make investment into flexible OLED production by Chinese display makers, and secure capacity - in a similar fashion to what Apple is doing with Samsung and has done before with LCD makers.
The reports further say that flexible OLED and VR developer Royole, who recently raised $80 million in a $3 billion valuation(!!) will also join the alliance, and will construct a fleixlbe OLED fab in Shenzhen, China. Royole's fab will be a 5.5-Gen flexible and rigid AMOLED one, with a monthly capacity of 45,000 substrates.
BKK Communication (owners of the Vivo brand) will also begin AMOLED display production via a new subsidiary called MGV. MGV will start investments towards the new fab in 2017.
Hands-on review of LG's 65" OLEDB6 TV
When the nice guys from LG's Israeli public relations office reach out and offer to send an OLED TV for a review - you say yes. Naturally, I graciously accepted and received a new 65" OLEDB6 TV. The OLEDB6 was launched in early 2016, and is actually LG's entry-level OLED TV for 2016, alongside the curved OLEDC6. The B6 features a flat 4K WRGB (WOLED-CF) OLED panel, LG's latest WebOS 3.0 operation system, HDR support and LG's Color Prime Pro technology.
Read our hands-on review of LG's new TV here.
Truly starts AMOLED mass production
Hong Kong-based Truly Semiconductors started working on its AMOLED fab in 2014, and in May 2015 estimated that production will begin in Q1 2016. The fab was delayed, and a few months later it was estimated that production will begin in September 2016.
Truly have finally announced that the fab is now online, and the company is starting AMOLED mass production. Truly published the (rather overdone and weird) video you can see here - and according to the video the company is targeting smartphones, wearables, VR and automotive applications.
Truly's fab is a 4.5-Gen AMOLED fab with a monthly capacity of 30,000 substrates per month. The company's first AMOLED display will be a 5.7" FHD (338) one.
Sunic Systems achieves 1,500 PPI using plane source evaporation
Sunic System recently unveiled a new evaporation-FMM based AMOLED system that enables high resolution deposition - Sunic says it will enable PPI up to 2,250 PPI. Sunic's new technology makes use of a plane source for evaporating OLED materials, as opposed to the currently-used linear source. Sunic System now announced that it succeeded in implementing 1.1um shadow distance by using the new plane source evaporation and 100um shadow mask. Such a small shadow distance can achieve 1,000 to 1,500 PPI resolutions.
Such high resolution displays will be very useful for VR applications. Read more about Sunic's new technology here.
Will LG release wallpaper OLED TVs in 2017?
LG's upcoming 2017 OLED TV model numbers have been revealed by posts from the Wi-Fi Alliance, and it seems that LG will keep its OLED TV series from 2016, with an updated OLEDB7, C7, E7 and G7.
The only TV that seems new is the W7 series - the OLED65W7 and OLED77W7. It may mean anything, but FlatPanelHD speculates that this may be LG's Wallpaper OLED TVs. In May 2015 LG Display demonstrated those 0.97 mm thick 55" OLED panels that stick to the wall using magnets. The entire 55" OLED panel weighs only 1.9 Kg.
Is the QD-LED market heating up?
In early November, we reported that Samsung is set to acquire quantum-dot developer QDvision, for around $70 million. This deal is not confirmed officially yet. Samsung is accelerating its quantum dot technology development, and according to some reports aims to produce QLED TVs by 2019. For more information on QDVision's technology, hop over to the company's presentation on the OLED Auditorium.
Using quantum-dots as emitters in emissive displays is a challenging task. Towards the end of November, Nanoco, a UK-based cadmium-free quantum-dot developer, announced that it acquired a group of QD patents from Kodak. These patents are connected to the use of quantum dots in Q-LED displays.
OLED-Info's market reports updated to November 2016
A few weeks ago we published new versions of our market reports - that cover the transparent, automotive, microdisplay, VR/AR and flexible OLED markets. OLED-Info provides comprehensive niche OLED market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the OLED industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry. The reports are now updated to November 2016.
Our updated report list:
Our premium article analyzes the future prospects of TADF OLED emitters
The German government did not approve this deal, citing security concerns.
eMagin's new BlazeTorch uses an SXGA microdisplay, while the $299.99 BlazeSpark adds night-vision capabilities to your smartphone
Each lighting module in Audi's TT RS sports four patterned OLED panels produced by OSRAM with a brightness of 1000 cd/m2
In Apple's recent financial filings, the company details a $4 billion purchase order with more than a year duration, and analysts say that this is likely an AMOLED order for SDC
Pulse News reports that SDC target is to produce 400 million OLEDs in 2016 and 550 million in 2017.
According to our sources, Samsung will pay $70 million to buy QDvision. Other reports suggest that Samsung aims to produce Q-LED TVs by 2019.
Both Merck and Idemitsu hope that this will enable both companies to develop higher-performance OLED material
According to reports from Japan, JOLED aims to starts 21.6" UHD panel production in the second half of 2017, targeting medical monitor makers and other commercial applications
Taiwan-based PMOLED maker Wisechip demonstrated its upcoming transparent and flexible displays
Japan-based Futaba demonstrated transparent segmented OLED displays, and will start shipping these before the end of the year
Evaporation-processed WOLED TVs will still be the market leader with a 85% market share (of the total OLED TVs) in 2021.
A high-end clamshell android smartphone with dual 4.2-inch FHD Super AMOLEDs and a $3,000 price tag
A China-bound smartphone with a 6-inch FHD Super AMOLED
A high-end Android handset that features a 5.5" 1440x2560 AMOLED display
Do you have a friend or a colleague that might be interested in OLED technology? Forward this mail to update him on the world of OLED.
If you received this email from a friend, subscribe to this newsletter here!
