BOE Touts Capacity While LG and Samsung Look for More Traditional Competitive Advantages

The Elec, reporting on a K-Display business conference held in Seoul, says Samsung Display and LG Display are charging ahead with innovative display technologies to enable next-generation devices. Samsung Display revealed it is developing a zero bezel concept smartphone that eliminates nearly all borders around the screen. This design would allow phone makers like Apple to create nearly all-screen devices. However, Samsung admitted challenges remain like improving under-display cameras and controlling edge brightness.

Meanwhile LG Display aims to bring transparent OLED displays into more environments. LG plans a 30-inch transparent model this year and will mass produce a 77-inch version by end of 2023. LG increased transparency rates to 45% and will further improve visibility. LG Display has also confirmed it will soon be offering 32, 34, and 39-inch OLED panels, likely for use in monitors, but the 32-inch may also be used in the TV market. This could put LG Display’s WOLED displays up against Samsung Display’s 34-inch QD-OLED.

LG’s representative at the event talked about the stagnation of the TV market for premium, $1000+ markets, and the general difficulties facing the TV industry. So, while the company has often touted the strength of premium TV sales as a winner in its ambitions to become profitable after six quarters of losses, it is the medium TV market and transparent displays that are now seeing focus. The professional AV market has already stirred somewhat on news of LG’s smaller to medium-sized offerings being confirmed however, that won’t be stopping LG from pushing ahead with its third generation of MLA tech on its 77-inch OLED to maintain its technological edge.

Both Korean display giants are pushing boundaries, but Chinese rival BOE was there to claim to be the world’s top display maker, and the company’s founder’s King’s Law, a sort of Moore’s Law homage or riff, that says display prices fall 50% every year so, performance has to double. BOE is also teaming up with local Chengdu partners to construct an advanced 8.6th generation OLED production facility targeting the medium-sized display market for laptops, tablets and other electronics. The new line will have a substantial production capacity of 32,000 glass substrates monthly when full operational. BOE’s hoping that its vast capacity and efficiencies of scale will help it beat out the big-next-gen-concept LG and Samsung approach.