The next big thing in the smartphone industry after 5G is no doubt foldable phones. TCL showed us back in February some prototypes of the foldable models it was working on and promised to go commercial a foldable model. The Chinese company has now hinted that it would start production of the flexible OLED panels that would be on the phone. TCL Foldable phones

The company reportedly acquired LTPS equipment from Japan and South Korea for its plant in Wuhan, China, the production of AMOLED panels is expected to commence in Q4 2019. The production will be done through its display division called Huaxing Optoelectronics. The flexible OLED panels will also likely be shipped to other OEMs.

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TCL is confident its display division Huaxing can attain double-digit growth both in annual sales and profit. The LTPS-LCD production for Q1 2019 reached $27.2 million, ranking third in the world among companies with a single plant. The tech giant also disclosed that it has reached an agreement with some top-class phone manufacturers for flexible OLED orders.

TCL’s flexible OLED panels may likely also feature on smart TV and not just on smartphones. Recall that Huawei is said to be working on its own smart TV. The report has it that Huaxing will produce the 65-inch panels for the Huawei TV, while the 55-inch model would be manufactured by BOE.

 

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(source)