Japan Display

In 2022, Japan Display (JDI) announced that it has developed a "historic breakthrough in display technology" - a new OLED deposition process which they refer to as eLEAP, that is said to be cost effective and can be used to create freeform OLEDs that are brighter, more efficient, and longer lasting compared to OLEDs produced using mask evaporation (FMM).

JDI is building a small-scale 6-Gen eLEAP production line in Mobara, Japan, with plans to begin production before the end of 2024. The company is also planning to establish a 8.7-Gen eLEAP fab in Wuhu, Anhui Province, China, and in April 2024 it said it hopes to sign the agreement with Wuhu's Economic and Technical Development Zone (WEDZ) by October 2024. Now JDI has made a rather confusing announcement, saying that while it decided not to extend its current MOU with the WEDZ.

There's an interesting report in Korea that claims that Apple is developing an entry-level MR headset, and is looking to adopt TFT based AMOLED displays, as opposed to the currently-used OLED microdisplays. It is reported that both JDI and Samsung are in talks with Apple, and have been requested to develop lower-cost TFT AMOLEDs with a pixel density of 1,500 PPI (down from 3,400 PPI high-end Sony microdisplays used in the Vision Pro).

It is understood that JDI has already developed the technology and produced 1,500 PPI samples for Apple. Interestingly it is reported that the JDI displays uses Sony's technology, although it is not stated which technology exactly. Samsung meanwhile is also developing 1,500 PPI AMOLEDs at its A2 fab. Apple's target is to release the headset at around 2026-2027 and by then it is likely that more OLED producers (such as LG Display) will develop similar displays. 

Omdia says that it expects the global smartwatch display market to reach 359 million units in 2024 (up from 259 million units in 2022). OLEDs hold a 37% market share (132 million units).

Omdia says that the leading smartwatch OLED producers, in the first half of 2024, are LG Display (Apple's main supplier), Everdisplay and Tianma - which together hold a 53% market share. China-based wearable OLED production accounts to 64% of the total market.

In 2022, Japan Display (JDI) announced that it has developed a "historic breakthrough in display technology" - a new OLED deposition process which they refer to as eLEAP, that is said to be cost effective and can be used to create freeform OLEDs that are brighter, more efficient, and longer lasting compared to OLEDs produced using mask evaporation (FMM).

JDI is planning to establish a 8.7-Gen eLEAP fab in China, and it is also building a smaller-scale 6-Gen eLEAP production line in Mobara, Japan. The company announced that the 6-Gen Mobara fab is advancing ahead of schedule, and production of eLEAP panels will begin before the end of 2024. JDI developed 14" laptop panels that are three times brighter than other OLEDs (at 1,600 nits), and is also targeting smartwatches, smartphones and automotive displays. JDI is also looking into adopting a tandem structure, to increase brightness even further to 3,000 nits.

In 2022, Japan Display (JDI) announced that it has developed a "historic breakthrough in display technology" - a new OLED deposition process which they refer to as eLEAP, that is said to be cost effective and can be used to create freeform OLEDs that are brighter, more efficient, and longer lasting compared to OLEDs produced using mask evaporation (FMM).

Japan Display announced an agreement with China-based LCD maker HKC Corp to mass produce panels by 2025 in China, based on JDI's technology, but the plan was later cancelled, and JDI said it will establish its own factory in China. This project saw delays and was scaled-down in December 2023, and yesterday JDI announces that it again delays the project - now hoping to sign the agreement with the Wuhu Economic and Technological Development Zone by October 2024.

In 2022, Japan Display (JDI) announced that it has developed a "historic breakthrough in display technology" - a new OLED deposition process which they refer to as eLEAP, that is said to be cost effective and can be used to create freeform OLEDs that are brighter, more efficient, and longer lasting compared to OLEDs produced using mask evaporation (FMM).

Japan Display announced an agreement with China-based LCD maker HKC Corp to mass produce panels by 2025 in China, based on JDI's technology, but the plan was later cancelled, and JDI said it will establish its own factory in China. The company was negotiating with the Wuhu Economic and Technological Development Zone (in Anhui Province), aiming to establish two eLEAP AMOLED production lines by 2025. JDI hoped to sign the formal agreement before the end of 2023.

JDI now announced that it is scaling back its plans. Originally JDI aimed to establish two production lines: one 6-Gen (with a capacity of 10,000 monthly substrates) and one 8.7-Gen (30,000 monthly substrates). Now JDI decided to reduce its plans, to a single 8.7-Gen fab. In addition, it estimates it will sign the final contract in March 2024. The 8.7-Gen line will start mass production in December 2026.

In 2022, Japan Display (JDI) announced that it has developed a "historic breakthrough in display technology" - a new OLED deposition process which they refer to as eLEAP, that is said to be cost effective and can be used to create freeform OLEDs that are brighter, more efficient, and longer lasting compared to OLEDs produced using mask evaporation (FMM).

Japan Display announced an agreement with China-based LCD maker HKC Corp to mass produce panels by 2025 in China, based on JDI's technology, but the plan was later cancelled, and JDI said it will establish its own factory in China. The company now says that it is progressing with its negotiations with the Wuhu Economic and Technological Development Zone (in Anhui Province), and the hope is to reach a final agreement will be reached by the end of the year. Interestingly, JDI also says that it is considering building an eLEAP AMOLED fab in India, but we do not have more details.

A report from Korea's The Elec publication says that Samsung Display is highly interested in next-generation OLED deposition technologies, that are not based on a metal mask (FMM). Several companies are developing and commercialization such technologies. As these may enable higher-performance OLED production, Samsung Display is interested.

A few months ago we reported that SDC is interested in SEL's maskless production technology, and indeed the new The Elec report states that the two companies are in talks. SEL is one of the three companies we are aware of that have advanced maskless technologies, the other two being Visionox and Japan Display. Samsung Display is mostly interested in a technology that it can exclusively license as it does not want other companies to produce OLEDs using the same technology. Both Visionox and JDI are interested in using their technologies in-house, which is a problem for SDC.

In 2022, Japan Display (JDI) announced that it has developed a "historic breakthrough in display technology" - a new OLED deposition process which they refer to as eLEAP, that is said to be cost effective and can be used to create freeform OLEDs that are brighter, more efficient, and longer lasting compared to OLEDs produced using mask evaporation (FMM).

Japan Display announced an agreement with China-based LCD maker HKC Corp to mass produce panels by 2025 in China, based on JDI's technology. But now it is reported that this joint venture is canceled. The report suggests that the two companies could not agree on a license fee that HKC was to pay to JDI. There is speculation that the HKC's canceled IPO and the slowdown in China's economy are to blame.

Japan Display (JDI) plans to start producing medium-sized OLED displays, to be used in tablets and laptops. The company hopes to start producing the first panels (which will be around 14-inch in size) by 2025.

Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED (BOE panel)

Up until now, JDI focused on the production of wearable OLED displays, selling its panels for Apple's smartwatches since 2019. The company's production volume was limited, and so was its technology capabilities to increase production panel sizes. It will be interesting to see whether JDI hopes to also supply its future laptop/tablet panels to Apple.