We’re just at the end of the ISE report so we’ve probably hit our peak workload for the year. We got our quarterly data out before and just after ISE and this weekend we’re be off to Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress – probably the main global mobile device event in the world. The work starts on Sunday with at least five significant press events, including major launches by Samsung and LG.
The confluence of CES, BETT, ISE and MWC into just a few weeks brings a real feeling that we are getting a very good perspective on the display world. What’s very clear is that panel and device makers are really completely focused on the edges of the display market in an attempt to try to drive revenues. The mainstream is stuck in an oversupply situation that looks unlikely to be eased in the near future. That means little or no profit from the vast majority of panels sold for mainstream TVs, volume smartphones, notebooks or monitors. Panel makers are interested in flexible OLEDs, high brightness panels, curved panels or really high resolution, all of which offer the opportunity for more value.
In addition, innovation in light sources is transforming the projector market and micro and small pitch LED is coming in as a new wave of completely new display solutions. New materials and technologies are bringing the quality of experience enjoyed in mobile devices to large collaboration displays.
Finally, big money is being put into VR with large investments going into Oculus, Magic Leap, Meta and others as big tech companies look for the next wave of applications after the big notebook, flat panel monitor, flat panel TV, smartphone and tablet waves. Oh, and wearables, too.
One of the points I made in my keynote at the Electronic Displays conference last February was that these applications have meant that there is now no “gap in the display market”. For any direct view indoor application, from smartwatches to stadiums, there is now a pretty good solution, or even a choice of solutions. The visual quality of the displays now offered would just a dream a few years ago, let alone the size, weight, low power etc.
Outdoor, however, there are still challenges. Direct LED can pump out a lot of light with high quality and large LCDs can have huge backlights to fight the sun. There remains a challenge in making small, mobile, low power displays that work really well in high ambient light conditions. In these days of video, electrophoretic (E Ink) just doesn’t cut it and electrowetting and mechanical displays/MEMs (e.g. Pixtronix, GLV and iMod/Mirasol) seem to have gone quiet (although Sharp was still talking about MEMs at SID last June) because of technology challenges.
Performance of LCDs and OLEDs has been improving in bright light and we have reported on system enhancements in the way data is presented to displays in high brightness. However, we’re still some way from having a display that works really well for long periods in sunlight. We’ll be looking for anything that helps with this at Mobile World. If you will be there and would like to meet, mail us at [email protected]
Bob
