What They Say
I reported a few days ago on a new monitor from LG Electronics, announced at CES that uses a 31.5″ UltraHD OLED (LG Electronics Moves OLEDs into Monitors). That was one of the more interesting items from the CES rush of news. However, it became even more interesting this morning, when we got a press release from JOLED that said that it the monitor is based on an inkjet OLED created using technology from JOLED who described the monitor as using ‘JOLED’s advanced display’.
What We Think
This is interesting from a couple of points of view. First, it suggests that JOLED may have a bit more capacity for good quality production than before. Up to now, a Sony medical monitor and extremely expensive monitors from Asus and Eizo were the only products. It would be surprising to see LG Electronics adopt the panel if the volume was extremely limited, although we haven’t seen the pricing yet, so it could be limited by a very high price. Going to a supplier outside the LG group makes sense for a relatively low volume application like this as LG Display needs to focus at the moment on making TV panels at as low cost as possible, and it could be a distraction to make a small volume of smaller panels.
Second, we’re assuming that the wording means that JOLED makes the panel, with LGE making the monitor. We have reached out to JOLED to try to check that. The reason for the need to clarify is that JOLED has made it clear that it is open to licensing its technology and know-how, which would allow the company to develop without having to raise capital for its own new production facilities. (We have reporting that for a while (TCL and JOLED Connect to Make IJP OLED TV Panels) We also know that LG Display has been working to develop and test inkjet OLED production.
In digging around this topic, we did spot something we hadn’t noticed last week and that is that the JOLED/Aerq development in aviation OLEDs in December (AERQ and JOLED Collaborate on Integrating Medium-Sized OLED Displays in Aircraft Cabins) also relates to LG as Aerq is a J/V between LG and Lufthansa. (BR)
Addendum! JOLED got back to us very quickly to confirm that it is the supplier of the panels to LG and that CSOT remains its only technology licensing partner.
