We can’t help but love Chinese companies and their technological exploits. They can replicate the latest technological products and deliver to us at far cheaper prices. If not for Chinese manufacturers, OLED panels may still be out of reach since Samsung and LG basically dominate that aspect. But Chinese manufacturers like BOE technology and Tianma are rapidly closing in on the Koreans.
In order to remain ahead of the pack, Samsung Display has hinted that it will invest 13.1 trillion won ($11 billion) by 2025 to produce and further develop quantum dot display panels. This is in a bid to stay ahead of Chinese rivals who have already caught up in earlier display technologies.
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QLED or Quantum Dot OLED panel is Samsung’s recent invention and is used on the company’s latest 8K TV. Apart from Samsung, TCL also uses QLED technology on its recent 8K TV but we doubt if it was supplied by Samsung.
Samsung disclosed on Thursday that it will use the investment to shift its production of large format panels away from cheaper liquid crystal displays to the more advanced Quantum Dot technology, which is based on the organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, technology. The company also disclosed that the new 8.5-generation QD lines will produce 30,000 panels per month from 2021, which will be used for making super-large QD displays of 65 inches or more. To accelerate this project, the company will gradually transform its 8th-generation LCD lines into QD lines.
The announcement comes as LCD prices have plunged in recent years due to Chinese makers, backed by generous state subsidies, aggressively expanding production capacity. The prices were also affected by sluggish demand for large TV sets amid a global economic slowdown coupled with the U.S.-China trade war.
South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Samsung will invest 10 trillion won in Quantum Dot facilities, while the remaining 3.1 trillion won will be used for developing the technology.
