Samsung Display confirms move to QD-OLED TVs
Rumours had been steadily growing that Samsung are set to pursue development of a QD-OLED TV. The Korea Herald has reported that the South Korean company is moving ahead with plans to invest in the technology.
According to the report, Samsung Display has committed to investing 13.1 trillion won ($10.9bn) into the manufacture of QD-OLED panels. That builds on past reports that indicated the South Korean company was exploring OLED technology, and looking at ways of producing a QD-OLED panel.
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It was initially thought that Samsung was leaning towards bringing micro-LED panels down to consumer TV levels (and at a much more affordable price). But with that technology still a way off, and with profit margins being squeezed in the LCD market due to aggressive pricing by Chinese manufacturers, Samsung has looked to QD-OLED to reassert itself in the global TV market.
The first manufacturing line for the QD-OLED displays will be at the company’s production site in Asan City, with a capacity of 30,000 sheets a month. The Korea Herald also says that operation will start in 2021, with displays of “65 inches or larger” manufactured there. The transition from LCD to QD-OLED production is expected to take four years, with staff re-trained or transferred to work on these lines.
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Lee Dong-hoon, CEO of the display firm said: “QDs, semiconductor particles that enable natural and precise color expression, is the new vision of the firm’s large-sized display business”.
What does that mean for QLED TVs? We assume they’ll still be around for a while yet, with Samsung introducing QD-OLED TVs in its more premium TV ranges while retaining QLED TVs for its mid-range and budget offerings.
We’ve enjoyed Samsung’s 2019 QLED range, with the premium Q90R getting closer to any LCD TV before it to “marrying the benefits of LCD and OLED in one package.”
Source: The Korea Herald