In 2019 Samsung Display formally announced its decision to invest $10.85 billion in QD-OLED TV R&D and production lines. The company is already starting to produce prototypes, and is on track to start mass production in Q3 2021. Reports in 2020 suggested that Samsung Electronics was hesitant about the adoption of QD-OLED panels.
This may have changed now, as we hear that Samsung Electronics has decided to cooperate with SDC and release its first QD-OLED TV next year (2022).
In November 2020 we reported that Samsung Display started trial runs at its QD-OLED 8.5-Gen production line next month (December 2020). SDC will brand these displays as QD Displays. The first generation ones will adopt SDC's current hybrid QD-OLED architecture, but later ones may adopt QNED (quantum-rods) emitters.
SDC's plan is to start mass production by the end of 2021, in the first line (15,000 monthly substrates). SDC is also planning a second line to follow the first, to arrive at a total of 30,000 monthly 8.5-Gen substrates.
In late 2020 it was supposed that SDC's further QD-OLED investment decisions will wait for around May 2021, as the company wanted to first stabilize production yields and start approaching customers to secure design wins. If Samsung Electronics indeed committed to QD Displays, this could accelerate SDC's project. SDC already shipped samples, meanwhile, to Sony and Panasonic.
According to earlier reports, in addition to QD-OLED TV panels (55-, 65-, 78- and 82-inch) SDC may also use the technology to produce 27-inch and 32-inch 8K gaming monitors. By adopting MMG technology, it will be able to produce two 82-inch and three 32-inch panels on the same 8.5-Gen substrate, or two 78-inch and six 27-inch panels.
