Samsung Display unveils new VR AMOLED displays at SID 2018
Samsung Display unveiled new OLED technologies and displays at SID 2018 - including some new and enhanced VR AMOLED prototype panels.
The first panel on display was a 3.5" 1440x1600 (616 PPI) 90Hz display, and the second was a 3.2" 1824x1824 (806 PPI) 90Hz display.
Samsung reports a strong Q1 2018, but warns of weaker smartphone and OLED demand
Samsung Electronics reported its financial results for Q1 2018. Net income increased to $10.7 billion - higher then analysts expected, as sales of memory chips surged. Samsung, however, warned of weaker demand of smartphones and flexible OLED displays.
Specifically regarding OLED displays, Samsung said that earnings were lower due to weak demand and rising competition between rigid OLEDs and LCDs. Looking forward to Q2, Samsung seeks to reduce costs and improving yields.
CINNO provides a short overview of the smartphone AMOLED IC driver market
Digitimes posted an interesting article that covers the AMOLED smartphone display driver ICs market, based on information from CINNO Research.
Samsung, according to CINNO, is sourcing driver ICs from two companies - Samsung SLI and MagnaChip. As Samsung's AMOLED market share is over 90%, it means that Samsung SLI and Magnachip are also leading this market. MagnaChip itself expects its OLED revenue to grow 50% in 2018.
Reports from Korea suggest that Samsung's first foldable phone will use three 3.5" displays and will fold inwards
A new report from the Korean The Bell claims that Samsung's first foldable AMOLED phone will feature three 3.5" OLED displays, and will be folded inwards. Samsung expects to start producing the device towards the end of 2018, which means it will start shipping in early 2019.
The Bell also says that this device will not be a mass market smartphone - Samsung is expected to produce between 500,000 to 2 million devices, which means that its first foldable phone (like its first flexible phone, the 2013 Galaxy Round) will be a sort of limited technology-demonstration phone.
WSJ: LGD won't be able to produce OLED displays for Apple's 6.5" 2018 iPhone
In January 2018 it was reported that LG Display is in the final stages of its discussions with Apple, and the Korean OLED maker expects to supply 15-16 million flexible OLEDs to Apple in 2018 (LGD will supply Apple with 6.5" AMOLEDs for its 2018 large iPhone OLED variant).
The Wall Street Journal now reports that LG Display may not be ready to produce these OLED displays in time for Apple - who may once again rely on Samsung Display to produce all of its OLED iPhone displays in 2018.
Samsung: no plans to release an OLED TV soon, but we are researching hybrid QD-OLEDs
In February it was reported that Samsung is developing a hybrid Quantum-Dots OLED technology for its future TVs. This report was soon denied by Samsung's Visual Display Business VP, Han Jong-hee, who said that Samsung is sticking to its two-track strategy for premium TVs, namely QD-LCDs and Micro-LEDs.
Samsung OLED TV (2013)
Today Samsung's Han Jong-hee again says that Samsung has no plans to produce an OLED TV any time soon - but he does confirm that the company is researching a way to combine QDs with OLEDs. According to our information, Samsung's main R&D initiative use blue OLED emitters and blue light to white light conversion using quantum-dots, combined with color filters (QDCFs) to add red and green colors.
Huawei aims to release the world's first foldable phone
Samsung Display is aiming to start producing foldable OLED displays by the end of 2018, and it is assumed that the company will supply its first such displays to Samsung Electronics (who is planning to release its first foldable phone/tablet by early 2019).
A new report from Korea suggests that Huawei is planning to beat Samsung Electronics to the market with a "truly" foldable phone. Huawei will unveil its first such phone in November - but the phone will take longer to actually ship. The phone will fold inside.
Apple in talks with Samsung, aiming to get a lower price for the iPhone Xs OLED
It seems that more and more analysts believe that Apple will eventually release two new OLED iPhone models in 2018. According to the latest report from Korea, Apple is now in talks with Samsung regarding the price of its flexible OLED panels for the smaller 5.8" iPhone Xs 2018 variant.
Samsung's OLED fab utilization rates are low as Apple cut its orders for the iPhone X displays in half. It seems that Apple now aims to take advantage of that and the iPhone maker is asking for a lower price for 2018 OLED panel. The reports suggest that Samsung will supply 100 million OLED panels to Apple in 2018 - 25 million for the 2017 iPhone X and 75 for the 2018 iPhone Xs. The larger (around 6.5") OLED iPhone (iPhone Xs Plus?) will use panels produced by LG Display.
Samsung delays its 6-Gen A4 flexible OLED line by 6 months
Samsung's next flexible OLED line, the 6-Gen A4 line was supposed to be ready by Q2 2018, but according to a new report from Korea Samsung decided to delay the operation in this fab by six months.
The reason, of course, is softer demand from smartphone makers in China and the lower shipments to Apple - which already resulted in the construction delay of Samsung's A5 line.
Samsung researchers study the degradation of blue PHOLED materials, offer new design strategies for longer lasting blue emitters
Researchers from Samsung Electronics and the Ewha Womans University in Korea collaborated in a new study of the degradation in blue phosphorescence OLED materials. This study demonstrate the importance of controlling exciton-induced electron transfer, and more importantly provides strategies for the design of longer-lasting blue PHOLED materials.
The researchers say that the study reveals the charge-neutral generation of polaron pairs (radical ion pairs) by electron transfer from the dopant to host excitons. According to the study, device lifetime correlates linearly with the rate constant for the annihilation of the radical ion pair.
