Another Round of TV War between Samsung and LG
Samsung Electronics will unveil its first OLED TVs at CES 2022, the world's largest IT fair to be held in January next year. The company will use Samsung Display's Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED) displays, not LG Display's White OLED (WOLED) displays which currently monopolize the OLED TV market, to differentiate its products from competitors.
Samsung Electronics is planning to take the wraps off its OLED TVs first at Samsung First Look, an unpack event for TVs which is to be held prior to CES 2022.
Samsung Electronics’ launch of OLED TVs is worth noting because it is its second bid. In 2012, it sought to mass produce OLED TVs using Samsung Display’s 55-inch OLED panels, but gave up the project due to a yield problem.
LG Display managed to mass produce OLED panels for TVs, and the size of the global OLED TV market has gradually grown. There was only one global TV maker that released OLED TV models in 2013, but the number grew to 20 in 2021. LG Display is virtually monopolizing the large OLED panel market as it is currently the only large OLED panel maker in the world.
Samsung Electronics has been selling TVs loaded with LCD panels since its withdrawal from its OLED TV business. It has repeatedly stressed that it has no intention of entering the OLED TV market, which is led by LG Electronics.
At first glance, Samsung Electronics seems to be doing an about-face, but Han Jong-hee, president of Samsung Electronics, said that the company will not enter the OLED TV market at the current OLED display technology level. Analysts say that Han made it clear that his company will not to use LG Display's WOLED panels. Samsung is highly likely to differentiate its new OLED TVs based on QD displays from current OLED TVs.
In fact, experts say that there is a technological difference between OLED panels from Samsung Display and LG Display. Both panels consist of OLED light-emitting sources and color filters, but the two are different in using light-emitting sources and applying QD materials.
A QD-OLED panel from Samsung Display creates colors by using a blue OLED layer as the light emitting source and placing color filters and red and green quantum dot materials on top of it. LG Display's WOLED panels create white by vertically stacking blue, yellow and green OLEDs and uses it as the light source.
Experts say it is premature to determine which is better between the two panels. Samsung Display has yet to release its QD-OLED panels. In particular, in the case of TVs, not only panels but also TV manufacturers' capabilities affect their performances, including image quality.
Analysts say that yields will hold the key to winning the TV race between Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. QD-OLED panels are to roll out from Q1 Line of Samsung’s Asan Plant, which has a monthly production capacity of 30,000 sheets based on 8.5th-generation substrates. An 8.5th-generation plant can usually produce six 55-inch panels or three 65-inch panels with one substrate. Up to 1 million units of 65-inch panels can be produced annually at the plant. However, analysts say that the initial yield of QD-OLED panels will be around one-third of the level.