Loewe started shipping the 77" model of its first OLED series, the Bild 7. The price of this large OLED TV is €15,000 (or about $16,700). The 55" model costs €4,990 while the 65" model is available for €6,990.

The Bild 7 use flat-panel 4K OLED panels (produced by LG Display) and feature Loewe's own image processing software (VantaVision) and a slim and powerful soundbar (that is revealed only when the TV is on, as the panel automatically slides upwards when activated). The Bild 7 is 7 mm thick and was designed to look good even from behind (with fabric concealing the connector and cables) so to enable all installation options. The TV is delivered with a wall bracket and Loewe also offers a range of specially-designed stands.

According to the Korea Herald, Samsung Display has signed an agreement with Apple to supply flexible OLEDs for Apple's iPhone 9, due out in late 2018. The Korea Herald says that Apple will launch two iPhone 9 OLED models - with display sizes of 5.28" and 6.46". Of course the final display size is subject to change as the design of the iPhone 9 is not final yet.

SDC's total OLED shipments to Apple in 2018 will reach 180 million units, and Samsung will dedicate one of its upcoming flexible OLED fabs exclusively for Apple's displays.

Hyperfluoresence and TADF OLED emitter developer Kyulux and quantum-dot developer Nanoco announced that the two companies will co-develop a future-generation hybrid OLED / QLED display technology that combines Kyulux's hyperflourescent emitters and Nanoco's heavy metal free quantum dots (CDQDs).

Kyulux and Nanoco say that future displays based on this technology will have superior qualities compared to existing displays - high degree of brightness, energy efficiency, color purity and low cost.

Towards the end of 2015 LG Display announced that it plans to build a new OLED fab (P10) in Paju in a $8.7 billion investment to produce both mid-sized flexible OLED and large-sized OLED TV panels. Production was planned for the first half of 2018.

According to a new report from Korea, LGD decided to scrap these plans and use the P10 fab to produce LCD panels and not OLEDs. LGD will establish a 10.5-Gen production line and will start making large-area LCDs (mostly 75" TV panels) towards the end of 2018.

Leading simulation and measurement tool provider Fluxim and OLED-Info have teamed up to offer a 20% discount on Fluxim's large-area OLED simulation software LAOSS.

LAOSS is a software tool that simulates large area semiconductor devices (OLED and PV), taking into account the voltage drop in the electrodes due to important resistive effects when the size of the device increases. LAOSS facilitates electrode layout optimization and material choice, which can save substantial time and resources. Both OLED lighting panel design and study of AMOLED pixel cross-talk is just a click away.

Germany-based blue-TADF OLED emitter developer Cynora announced that it achieved a new performance record with its latest blue emitter material - which the company believes is the best overall performance of a high-efficiency blue emitter ever.

Cynora's new blue achieves a 15% EQE at 1000 cd/m² with an emission peak at 90 hours (at 700 cd/m²) on a device level. Cynora says that it is very confident that it can commercialize its first highly efficient blue emitter by the end of this year, as planned.

Samsung Display is set to demonstrate a 9.1-inch stretchable AMOLED prototype during SID 2017. This display can stretch up to 12 mm when pressed, and still maintain its high resolution (which SDC did not specify).

This is an exciting development - but we're all waiting for Samsung to first commercialize its foldable OLEDs, and only then can we expect to see commercial rollable and stretchable displays.

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin announced that it is set to raise $6.6 million in an underwritten offering. eMagin will sell shares and warrants to a single institutional investor and to Stillwater LLC. The shares are priced at $2 and the warrants have an exercise price of $2.45 (the current eMagin share price is $2.5).

eMagin is currently losing money, and at the end of the previous quarter had only $3.8 million in cash and equivalents. eMagin is looking to increase production capacity as it enters the consumer display market and is seeking a production partner.

According to reports from Taiwan, Asus may have decided to stop developing its ZenWatch line of smartwatches, due to poor market performance. The reports suggest that Asus managed to sell only about 5,000 to 6,000 watches each month.

Asus first ZenWatch was launched in 2014. The latest model, the ZenWatch 3, started shipping in November 2016 for $225. The ZenWatch 3 is an Android Wear smartwatch that features a 1.39" 400x400 (287 PPI) AMOLED display, a SnapDragon Wear 2100 CPU, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage.

IHS says that OLED TV shipments will reach 10 million units in 2023, up from about 1.5 million in 2017. The OLED TV market will grow at a CAGR of 42% from 2017, but the growth will decelerate as can be seen in the chart below.

The high costs of producing OLED TV panels will remain a challenge and will be the main reason why production of OLED TV panels won't accelerate in the near future. Producers are looking into ink-jet printing as a way to lower production costs but the soluble emitting materials are still under performing and also the production yields are still low. IHS says that OLED makers are aiming to start mass printing OLED TV panels by 2019.