IHS says that the demand for flexible AMOLED is rising dramatically (following the success of Samsung's Galaxy Edge series and the Apple Watch), and display makers are aggressively investing in expanded production capacity and flexible OLED technologies.

In 2014, flexible OLED shipments were only 2% of all AMOLED panel shipments. In 2015 57 million flexible AMOLED were produced, to grab a 20% share of the total AMOLED market (285 million panels, according to IHS). By 2020, flexible AMOLEDs will represent 40% of the total AMOLED market. Of course rigid AMOLED production will rise too - but the growth rate for flexible OLEDs is expected to be much higher than for rigid ones.

According to reports, Samsung is gearing up to introduce their first foldable OLED smartphone device by the end of 2016, as Samsung's mobile phone unit is under pressure to innovate and recapture its lost market share.

According to an interesting report from Korea, Samsung has been collaborating with a KAIST spin-off called Solip Technology that developed a foldable glass that will be used in Samsung's upcoming foldable OLEDs. Samsung is considering placing a strategic investment in Solip as this material is a key technology for Samsung.

A few weeks ago Samsung Display confirmed that it is still developing large-sized OLED panels, and today there's a report from Korea that states that Samsung is discussing a large investment (around $3 billion US) into a new OLED TV panel fab.

According to the Korea Display Industry Association, SDC aims to build a Gen-8 (2200x2500 mm) fab, with orders starting in September 2016. Samsung will convert an existing LCD line to OLED production.

During an event in Europe, Philips announced it plans to launch their first OLED TV in Europe later this year. The company said that the first model will probably be a flat 55" model - although this hasn't been decided yet.

Philips' TV brand is now being handled by TP Vision, which actually made the demonstration in Brussels. TPV demonstrated an OLED panel prototype next to an LCD to show how the OLED image quality surpasses the LCD panel.

According to a report from Korea, LG Display acquired an OLED CVD deposition system from Korea's Sunic System. The new Gen-6 system will be deployed at LGD's upcoming E5 flexible OLED fab in Gumi.

Interestingly, the Korean report says that LGD's first choice for OLED deposition system was Cannon-Tokki, but the Japanese company could not supply the system in time as it has a "rush of orders" from Samsung Display. LGD is hurrying to build the new fab as they aim to start production in the first half of 2017.

Researchers from Queen's University Human Media Lab developed a prototype flexible OLED smartphone that uses active haptic feedback - or bend input - to control the device. As you can see in the video below, you can play games or flip through comic books by bending the device.

The prototype device use a 6" 720p Flexible OLED display produced by LG Display - that's the same kind of display that was used in LG's G Flex phone in 2013. The device runs Android 4.4 and includes haptic feedback motors and bend sensors.

In September 2015 Panasonic unveiled its first OLED TV, the 65" curved 4K TX-65CZ950. The TV uses LG's panel and features Panasonic's 4K Pro tech which includes advanced gradation controls and 3D color look tables, HDR and THX.

Panasonic said that this TV outperforms LG's 65" 4K OLEDs (even though the OLED panel is made by LGD and is the same one used in LG's own TVs), and it was expected to cost more than LG's OLED TVs. However, today Amazon.co.uk started offering this TV, with the price set at £2,800 - about $4,000. This seems too low, and it's possible that this is not actually a correct listing.

Sumitomo Chemical announced it will exhibit its latest PLED lighting panels at the Light+Building 2016 event next month. Sumitomo's booth's director is the world-renowned Japanese lighting designer Motoko Ishii.

Sumitomo OLEDs, 2014 L+B

Sumitomo will show a large OLED installation (five by five meters in size, and 3.6 meters high) that symbolises a garden in the sky and is named OLED JARDIN.

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is a UK based R&D institute that helps companies develop and scale manufacturing processes. The CPI, in collaboration with Heidelberg Instruments have developed a new high-resolution high-speed roll-to-roll (R2R) digital lithography tool for the manufacture of flexible organic thin film transistors (OTFTs).

The machine is already installed at the CPI's National Printable Electronics Facility in County Durham, UK. The new tool provides the ability to continuously manufacture OTFTs directly onto rolls of plastic film at rates approaching 0.1 m²/min.

In October 2015, LG Chem announced that it has sold its OLED lighting business to LG Display, for $135 million USD, and the deal was finalized towards the end of 2015.

LG decided to consolidate all OLED production under LG Display - which will hopefully enable LG to advance OLED lighting more quickly - and at a lower cost. LG Chem has been discussing a Gen-5 OLED lighting production line since 2012, and the before the merger the company had plans to construct a new $185 million production line for OLED lighting by 2017.