OLED TV: Introduction and Industry News - Page 38

LG Display announced that it sold over 1.3 million OLED TV panels in the first half of 2018 - more than double the number of OLED TV panels sold in the first half of 2017 (0.6 million). LG Display says it aims to improve it production efficiency and sell more than 1.6 million OLED TV panels in the second half of 2018.

LG Display started producing OLED TVs in 2013 - when it sold 200,000 units. In 2017 it sold 1.7 million panels. LGD aims to finally turn its OLED TV business into profitability in 2018.

DSCC says that OLED area shipments grew 30% in the first half of 2018, mostly driven by strong growth in OLED TV shipments (a 98% increase from last year in term of area shipments). Smartphone OLED shipments stagnated in the first half, but growth will resume in the second half of the year - area shipments will grow 47% compared to H2 2017.

DSCC estimates that OLED TV panel revenues in the first half of 2018 grew 80% compared to the first half of 2017. Modern price declines were offset by a rise in unit shipments.

Japan-based OLED maker JOLED has always focused on medium-sized displays - for monitors, tablets and laptop displays. At a recent conference, JOLED revealed that in the future also aims to produce large displays - for TVs and signage applications

Towards the end of 2017, JOLED started commercial production of its 21.6" 4K OLED panels at its low volume production pilot 4.5-Gen line. JOLED's mass production line will be established in Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, with a capacity of 20,000 monthly 5.5-Gen (1300x1500 mm) substrates. JOLED plans to begin mass production in 2020 at the new fab - and to produce 10- to 32-inch OLED displays for automotive displays, high-end monitors and more.

LG Display reported its financial results for Q2 2018, with revenues decreasing 1% from the previous quarter and 15% compared to Q2 2017. The company's operating loss increased to $200 million USD. LGD's lower revenues were the result of softer LCD TV panel prices and lower display shipments for smartphones and other devices.

LG Display says that it will cut it 2018-2020 CAPEX by $2.7 billion as a result of these market conditions. This expenditure cut, however, will not effect its shift towards OLED technologies, so it will probably be centered on LCD technologies.

Samsung Electronics says that it plans to release its first consumer Micro-LED TV next year. The Wall Luxury will be a high-end module, but "will not be priced as high as people think".

Samsung 146-inch Wall Professional TV

The Wall Luxury will be a consumer version of The Wall Professional - which was launched last month and is now available for pre-orders. Samsung disclosed that the Wall Luxury will be thinner than the professional version at 30 mm (The Wall Professional is 80 mm thick). This is still very thick compared to current OLEDs which are less than 5 mm thick.

In July 2017 LG Display announced that it has decided to build a 8.5-Gen (2200x2500) OLED TV production line in Guangzhou. At the end of 2017 LGD got the approval for its new OLED TV fab from the Korean government, and yesterday LG Display announced that the new plant and JV has been approved by the Chinese government.

LG Display is also planning a larger fab than what it planned initially - it now says that maximum capacity will be 90,000 monthly 8.5-Gen substrates (2200x2500 mm). Mass production is planned for the second half of 2019, and initial capacity will be 60,000 monthly substrates.

US-based Aura is a new semi-private boutique airline. Aura announced its new aircraft design, and two different classes - first and wave. The wave class includes OLED displays in the windows (Aura says these will be transparent OLEDs).

The wave class will also include a large tiled OLED display on the ceiling (as you can see in the image above), which will simulate the sky. These look like LG's commercial OLED TV installation.

The OLEDB8 is LG's entry-level OLED TV series for 2018, and it is finally shipping, starting at $2,099 for the 55" model

The OLEDB8 4K TVs support Google's Assistant for natural language control, Dolby Atmos, HDR and 4K HFR. The TV is based on a "slightly scaled down" version of its new a9 intelligent processor.

In July 2017 LG Display announced that it has decided to build a 8.5-Gen (2200x2500) OLED TV production line in Guangzhou. The Korean government hesitated whether to approve this plan, as it sees OLED as a strategic technology Korea' economy, but by the end of 2017 LGD got the approval for its new OLED TV fab.

LGD is still waiting for an approval from the Chinese authorities, and according to today's Korea Times report, the Chinese government is expected to approve LG's plans. Apparently China hesitated as it aims to help the country's own OLED industry, but it hopes that local companies will benefit with a close partnership with LGD.

Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) says that in Q1 2018 OLED revenues dropped 33% compared to Q4 2017 (but grew 39% compared to Q1 2017) and amounted to $5.9 billion. DSCC says that OLED revenues will decline further in Q2 2018 but will recover in the second half of 2018. Full-year revenues are expected to reach $26.95 billion, while the market will reach $57.2 billion by 2022.

Samsung Electronics was the top OLED customer in the first quarter, and together with Apple (#2) the two companies consumer 79% of all OLED panels by revenue.