Omdia: OLED monitor shipments to rise 123% in 2024, following a 415% jump in 2023
Omdia says that OLED monitor shipments rose 415% in 2023, and the trend will continue in 2024, with a 123% increase over 2023. Total shipments in 2024 will reach 1.84 million units, driven mostly by Samsung Electronics and LG Display.
The main market for OLED Monitors is high-end gaming, especially esports. The entire monitor market has seen a downturn in 2023 and 2023, but Omdia says the market is expected to recover slowly in 2024.
Apple announces its 2024 iPad Pro devices, with tandem AMOLED displays
Yesterday Apple officially announced its 2024 iPad Pro devices, Apple's first tablets with AMOLED displays. There are two devices, a 11" model (1668x2420) and a 13" model (2064x2752). Both OLEDs offer 120Hz and 1600 nits peak brightness - and a tandem architecture. Apple brands these displays as Ultra Retina Tandem OLEDs.
The new iPad Pro 2024 devices will ship next week, starting at $999 for the 11" model. Some of the models offer a matte finish (nano-texture glass coating).
Samsung Display established a dedicated research team to develop OLED products for Apple
According to reports from China, Samsung Display established a new R&D team dedicated to develop OLED products for Apple. The so-called "A Team" is part of the Giheung Research Institute in Yongin, Korea.
This is an interesting move by SDC. Apple is an extremely important customer for Samsung Display, of course, and up until recently SDC has been the leading supplier of OLED displays for Apple - winning the majority of orders for iPhone AMOLEDs. But now that Apple is starting to adopt OLEDs in IT products (starting with tablets) things are changing.
China's small-to-medium OLED production surpasses Korea's for the first time
According to Sino Research, in the first quarter of 2024, small-to-medium AMOLED production in China surpassed the production in Korea, by shipments, for the first time. China's market share was 53.9%, an increase from 44.9% in Q4 2023.
The leading producer is still Samsung Display, with a 41% market share (down from 53.3% last year). BOE has a market share of 17%, Visionox 12%, CSoT 10%, Tianma 9% and LGD 6%. The mean reason for the rise in China production and a decline in Korea's is lower shipments to Apple and an increase in the adoption of OLEDs in Chinese smartphones.
Reports suggest that Nintendo has already finished developing the OLED version of the Switch 2 gaming console
In October 2021, Nintendo launched its first OLED gaming console, the Nintendo Switch OLED. The new OLED device is popular - eight months after the launch Nintendo announced it shipped over 5.8 million devices, and earlier this month the company announced it has sold over 7 million Nintendo Switch OLED devices in Japan alone.
In early 2024, we heard that Nintendo is working on its next-generation console that will replace the Switch and Switch OLED devices, which will utilize an 8" LCD display (produced by Sharp). This was a disappointment - especially as people seem to love the OLED display. But according to a new report, Nintendo has already finished the development of a Switch 2 OLED device, that will released shortly after the LCD model is launched (perhaps even still in 2024). The OLED, as in the original Switch OLED device, will be produced by Samsung Display.
Samsung said to adopt Sony OLED microdisplays in its upcoming VR headset
Samsung Electronics is developing a new high-end VR headset, likely aiming to release it by the end of 2024. According to reports, Samsung will integrate OLED microdisplays produced by Sony, similar 1.4" 4K displays that are used by Apple in its Vision Pro headset.
Samsung Display is developing its own OLED microdisplays, and the company is looking to bring such displays to market soon - in fact initial production will begin by the end of 2024, and full mass production will be achieved in 2026. It is not clear whether this new Sony design win means that Samsung Electronics prefers the Sony displays over SDC's, or whether it's simply a matter of Samsung Display not ready in time for mass production.
The Elec: UDC's blue PHOLED material is still unstable, may delay market introduction
Universal Display Corporation has announced several times that it is progressing with its blue PHOLED material development, and it is on track to release the first commercial material by the end of 2024. In November 2023 we reported that UBI estimates that Samsung has delayed the adoption of a blue PHOLED to the second half of 2025.
Now there's a new report in Korea that claims that UDC's blue PHOLED project is facing technical challenges, and UDC is still not able to achieve a long-lasting blue emitter at the right color point. It will be interesting to know whether UDC addresses this issue in its next investor conference call (May 2nd).
LG Display to increase its WOLED panel shipments to Samsung, will reach almost 1 million units in 2024
According to a new report in Korea, LG Display aims to increase its OLED TV panel shipments to Samsung Electronics in 2024, and to reach almost 1 million units.
Samsung has recently signed a five-year OLED TV panel supply agreement with LG Display, as the two Korean companies are increasing their collaboration to fend off competition from China.
Nintendo sold over 7 million Switch OLED consoles in Japan alone, over 20 million units globally
In October 2021, Nintendo launched its first OLED gaming console, the Nintendo Switch OLED. The new OLED device is popular - eight months after the launch Nintendo announced it shipped over 5.8 million devices, and now the company announced it has sold over 7 million Nintendo Switch OLED devices in Japan alone. Nintendo is now selling around 2.5 million units per quarter, and this means that global sales are likely over 20 million.
The Nintendo Switch is a popular device - total lifetime sales across all variants are over 130 million units. The OLED model was the clear preference for people buying a Switch recently. The Nintendo Switch OLED model is an upgrade to the original Switch with a 7-inch 1280x720 OLED display (produced by Samsung Display). The Nintendo Switch OLED model is now shipping globally for $349.
Will Samsung decide to abandon its QD-OLED technology?
In 2019 Samsung Display announced its decision to invest $10.85 billion in QD-OLED TV R&D and production lines. A few years later, SDC started to produce panels in its first fab, mass producing TV and monitor QD-OLEDs. The company attracted several customers (Sony and Samsung Electronics for TV panels, and several companies for its monitors), and these displays have been very well received by the market.
Since 2022, Samsung has increased its production yields, and increased its production capacity, and today it produces around 40,000 substrates a month in its 8.5-Gen production line. Reviews of QD-OLED gaming monitors and TVs are very positive, with many analysts seeing QD-OLED as improving over LGD's WOLED panels in terms of image quality.
But the reality at Samsung Display's QD-OLED division, is likely not so rosy. It seems that the technology is facing both market challenges and technology challenges - which may lead to a decision by Samsung to abandon it altogether.
