What Display Daily thinks: This is obviously a we are open for OLED laptop display panel orders for 2025. Assuming that full production in 2025 doesn’t have any of the known issues experienced by JDI in previous OLED productions, it might be a little late to the game for the company.
JDI has been consistently losing money for some time. It has, however, increased capital expenditures and seems to be investing in playing catch-up on OLED. However, that is going to be challenging considering the level of investment by erstwhile competitors. Also, Japan just doesn’t have the industrial infrastructure for its display industry that JDI’s Chinese partners, and its Korean competitors, have for OLED manufacturing. For a company that was brokered by government edict and three Japanese consumer electronics giants – Hitachi, Sony, and Toshiba – after the damage done to the country’s LCD industry, you would expect some sense of caution.
So, pushing into the OLED market in this way may be a bold statement in and by itself. It just doesn’t feel like it is enough of a swing.
JDI Makes a Pitch for Laptop OLED Panels for 2025
In a report first seen in Nikkei, Japan Display Inc (JDI) is said to be planning to enter the 14-inch OLED panel market for tablets and personal computers, targeting mass production by around 2025. Previously, the company had been limited to producing 1.4-inch OLEDs for smartwatches due to issues with uneven screen brightness in larger panels. JDI’s new eLEAP OLED panels, unveiled at an exhibition in Shanghai, offer twice the brightness and triple the lifespan compared to conventional OLEDs, according to the company. The panels can also be produced more cost-effectively.
JDI aims to secure orders from IT companies and device manufacturers in the US and Asia, focusing on two-in-one devices and in-vehicle system. Formed in 2012 by Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi, JDI initially supplied LCD panels for Apple iPhones but faced challenges when Apple switched to OLED. The company is exploring mass production options in Japan and China and has licensing agreements with Chinese firms HKC and CSOT.
