LG Display developed a new OLED microdisplay (OLEDoS) that achieves a brightness of 10,000 nits. This development is presented at SID DisplayWeek 2024.
To achieve this high brightness, LG Display's research team used newly-developed high performance OLED materials, and also used a micro lens array (MLA) to expand the light output from the device.
In early 2019, LG launched the world's first rollable OLED device - a TV that rolls into its base. The 65" Signature OLED TV R had three viewing options - full view, line view and zero view, and was heralded as a radical new TV form factor. The OLED TV R had a high price tag (around $100,000) and obviously never attracted a large customer base.
LG Electronics now decided to stop selling the TV, and not release a new edition. It actually disbanded its small dedicated production line, and will now focus on other high-end premium TVs instead, such as the transparent Signature OLED T TV.
Omdia says that OLED monitor shipments rose 415% in 2023, and the trend will continue in 2024, with a 123% increase over 2023. Total shipments in 2024 will reach 1.84 million units, driven mostly by Samsung Electronics and LG Display.
The main market for OLED Monitors is high-end gaming, especially esports. The entire monitor market has seen a downturn in 2023 and 2023, but Omdia says the market is expected to recover slowly in 2024.
Yesterday Apple officially announced its 2024 iPad Pro devices, Apple's first tablets with AMOLED displays. There are two devices, a 11" model (1668x2420) and a 13" model (2064x2752). Both OLEDs offer 120Hz and 1600 nits peak brightness - and a tandem architecture. Apple brands these displays as Ultra Retina Tandem OLEDs.
The new iPad Pro 2024 devices will ship next week, starting at $999 for the 11" model. Some of the models offer a matte finish (nano-texture glass coating).
According to Sino Research, in the first quarter of 2024, small-to-medium AMOLED production in China surpassed the production in Korea, by shipments, for the first time. China's market share was 53.9%, an increase from 44.9% in Q4 2023.
The leading producer is still Samsung Display, with a 41% market share (down from 53.3% last year). BOE has a market share of 17%, Visionox 12%, CSoT 10%, Tianma 9% and LGD 6%. The mean reason for the rise in China production and a decline in Korea's is lower shipments to Apple and an increase in the adoption of OLEDs in Chinese smartphones.
LG Display announced that Korea's newly launched Great Train eXpress (GTX) subway service has installed the company's 55" transparent OLED displays in the cabin windows.
This is the first subway service in Korea to install transparent OLEDs (similar projects have already been deployed in China, Russia, and Japan). The idea is that the OLEDs create a "comfortable and smart on-board experience by displaying varied content". LGD initally installed 16 OLED displays on a single train with eight cars running on the inaugural GTX line between Suseo and Dongtan. Going forward, the GTX plans to install OLED panels in all of its trains.
Germany-based Loewe announced that it has established its own OLED TV assembly line, at its headquarters in Kronach, Germany. The new facility is said to be based on a 'radically designed' production process, and it is staffed by around 200 employees. The line will begin full-scale production by the end of May.
Loewe revealed that it is buying 'open-cell' WOLED panels from LG Display - and this is the first production line in Europe that can work with such panels (as opposed to complete OLED modules used in all other EU-based lines). Working with open-cell panels enables Loewe to have more control over the process and the design of its premium TVs.
LG Display announced that it has developed world's first OLED gaming monitor panel with a switchable refresh rate and resolution. The company already mass producing this panel and will now aim to accelerate its market adoption and expects the first product to use this panel to arrive soon from LG Electronics, and other global gaming brands.
The new panel is 31.5" in size, and allows users to choose between two modes - high refresh rate more (480Hz and FHD) and high resolution mode (4K, 240Hz). The high refresh mode is aimed towards games in which speed is particularly important, such as first-person shooter (FPS) or racing games. The higher-resolution mode is more suitable for watching movies or 4K content.
Sony announced its 2024 TV lineup, and interestingly, the top model (the Bravia 9) is a Mini-LED backlit QLED TV. The entry-level model (the Bravia 7) is also a QLED display, while the mid-range model, the Bravia 8, is based on LGD's WOLED panels.
The Bravia 8 offers 55-, 65- and 77 inch 4K WOLED panels, Sony's OLED Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system, an upgraded XR Processor, and the creator calibration picture settings. Sony's 2024 TVs will launch in the summer of 2024.
According to a new report in Korea, LG Display aims to increase its OLED TV panel shipments to Samsung Electronics in 2024, and to reach almost 1 million units.
Samsung has recently signed a five-year OLED TV panel supply agreement with LG Display, as the two Korean companies are increasing their collaboration to fend off competition from China.
