I thought only Samsung and LG are producing OLED panels right now? Prices are getting affordable, so IPS/VA is going to be more of a obsolete tech in a few years.
Yes. But they are still in the 10-15% range today for OLED market share, and their access to external markets is limited due to their IP infringement on Samsung.
The recent ruling Samsung got from the US ITC is similar to litigation they are conducting globally against BOE.
How? OLED is still the gold standard while MiniLED is a rebrand of full array local dimming LCDs where the zone count is somewhat higher than past models. MicroLED is the true replacement for both. I do not see how MiniLED is on track to outpace anything.
I'm just referring to smaller and smaller LEDs, I don't really care about the marketing terms really. Whatever technology you want to call sufficiently small LEDs, how you market it isn't relevant to me. Pixel-LEDs are the goal.
OLEDs have many drawbacks that make them a no-go. They're dim, have bad text rendering, use a lot of power, and get permanent burn in on static UIs.
In return you get "deep blacks". But photographers have been raising black levels since forever because it turns out it makes pictures more pleasant. So, uh.
I have never seen bad text rendering on an OLED. Which ones have you seen that have bad text rendering? I recently replaced a Sony X900E with a LG C4. Text is crisp and power usage dropped going to the OLED.
Permanent burn-in will happen with static images, but it happened on CRTs too and those once dominated the world. As long as it is infrequent, it is probably not much of an issue. Newer OLEDs, such as Apple’s tandem OLEDs, minimize the issue.
I am not sure what you think your point about black levels contributes to the discussion. Higher black levels would only favor OLEDs thanks to their inky blacks.
OLED displays don't inherently have poor text rendering, but they tend to use more exotic subpixel layouts than LCD displays [0]. It's possible to render text well with alternative subpixel layouts (for example, every iPhone), but if you use the standard RGB/BGR algorithm with PenTile displays, you're going to get bad results (but with a high enough resolution, it doesn't really make much of a difference).
Yes, OLEDs are notably dim compared to eg the cheaper mini-led displays. That's why OLED displays aren't recommended for environments with ambient light like windows or mandatory lighting.
Do you need displays in your life? If so, how do you feel about the prospect of not being able to purchase them in case of prolonged conflict over IC factories in Taiwan?
A Taiwan conflict wouldn't have an impact on the Display fab industry.
Display Fabs have primarily been located in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore for decades.
The economics of display fabs are even worse than those of IC Fabs, because of how displays have been viewed as commodified for decades, and because they are not viewed as a "critical" or "dual use" technology, so the same level of industrial policy for this never existed.
Both India and Vietnam recently tried to subsidize Display Fab investments, but the PLI never got significant takers because aside from OLED, the rest of the display fab market is heavily commodified, and Samsung+LG largely finished capacity investments 2-5 years ago, and commodified vendors like Sharp can't justify the capex given that Displays are not treated as a critical technology.
The majority of non-Chinese fabricated displays are fabricated by basically 3 companies:
1. Samsung Displays - which primarily invests in SK and ASEAN
2. LG Displays - which primarily invests in SK and ASEAN
3. Japan Displays Inc - they are JV of Sony/Hitachi/Toshiba, and primarily Japan and ASEAN
The China related data does make sense given BOE and HKC's execution, but the Taiwanese data feels like an extrapolation of AUO and Innolux's market share. If they are including Innolux's production (which includes Pioneer in Japan), then it might be overindexing Taiwanese production.
I thought only Samsung and LG are producing OLED panels right now? Prices are getting affordable, so IPS/VA is going to be more of a obsolete tech in a few years.
LCDs (IPS and VA) still represent over 70% of the global display market. Cars, refrigerators, toys, etc all still use LCD displays.
OLED is still overwhelmingly Samsung and LG, but OLED demand only represents around 5-7% of total display demand.
>OLED is still overwhelmingly Samsung and LG
Have you heard of BOE?
Yes. But they are still in the 10-15% range today for OLED market share, and their access to external markets is limited due to their IP infringement on Samsung.
The recent ruling Samsung got from the US ITC is similar to litigation they are conducting globally against BOE.
Mini-led technology is quickly outpacing OLED technology. It's going the way of plasma in a decade or less.
How? OLED is still the gold standard while MiniLED is a rebrand of full array local dimming LCDs where the zone count is somewhat higher than past models. MicroLED is the true replacement for both. I do not see how MiniLED is on track to outpace anything.
I'm just referring to smaller and smaller LEDs, I don't really care about the marketing terms really. Whatever technology you want to call sufficiently small LEDs, how you market it isn't relevant to me. Pixel-LEDs are the goal.
micro-led monitors are going by 5 figures right now, thats definetly not a consumer or even enthuasist market by 2028.
OLEDs have many drawbacks that make them a no-go. They're dim, have bad text rendering, use a lot of power, and get permanent burn in on static UIs.
In return you get "deep blacks". But photographers have been raising black levels since forever because it turns out it makes pictures more pleasant. So, uh.
I have never seen bad text rendering on an OLED. Which ones have you seen that have bad text rendering? I recently replaced a Sony X900E with a LG C4. Text is crisp and power usage dropped going to the OLED.
Permanent burn-in will happen with static images, but it happened on CRTs too and those once dominated the world. As long as it is infrequent, it is probably not much of an issue. Newer OLEDs, such as Apple’s tandem OLEDs, minimize the issue.
I am not sure what you think your point about black levels contributes to the discussion. Higher black levels would only favor OLEDs thanks to their inky blacks.
OLED displays don't inherently have poor text rendering, but they tend to use more exotic subpixel layouts than LCD displays [0]. It's possible to render text well with alternative subpixel layouts (for example, every iPhone), but if you use the standard RGB/BGR algorithm with PenTile displays, you're going to get bad results (but with a high enough resolution, it doesn't really make much of a difference).
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family
I mean you can just google this. It's common knowledge, I'm not dropping some hot new research here.
Dim?? I'm getting a sunburn from my OLED at the moment.
Yes, OLEDs are notably dim compared to eg the cheaper mini-led displays. That's why OLED displays aren't recommended for environments with ambient light like windows or mandatory lighting.
Can someone share what's the potential ramification of this?
Do you need displays in your life? If so, how do you feel about the prospect of not being able to purchase them in case of prolonged conflict over IC factories in Taiwan?
A Taiwan conflict wouldn't have an impact on the Display fab industry.
Display Fabs have primarily been located in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore for decades.
The economics of display fabs are even worse than those of IC Fabs, because of how displays have been viewed as commodified for decades, and because they are not viewed as a "critical" or "dual use" technology, so the same level of industrial policy for this never existed.
Both India and Vietnam recently tried to subsidize Display Fab investments, but the PLI never got significant takers because aside from OLED, the rest of the display fab market is heavily commodified, and Samsung+LG largely finished capacity investments 2-5 years ago, and commodified vendors like Sharp can't justify the capex given that Displays are not treated as a critical technology.
This article is entirely about where displays are produced, so no need for “from the gut” stats.
According to TFA, about 95% are made in China and Taiwan.
The majority of non-Chinese fabricated displays are fabricated by basically 3 companies:
1. Samsung Displays - which primarily invests in SK and ASEAN
2. LG Displays - which primarily invests in SK and ASEAN
3. Japan Displays Inc - they are JV of Sony/Hitachi/Toshiba, and primarily Japan and ASEAN
The China related data does make sense given BOE and HKC's execution, but the Taiwanese data feels like an extrapolation of AUO and Innolux's market share. If they are including Innolux's production (which includes Pioneer in Japan), then it might be overindexing Taiwanese production.
[dead]
This isn't nearly as big of a deal as semiconductors.