More QD/OLED
As we noted yesterday, the announcement of Sony’s (SNE) adoption of Samsung Display’s (pvt) QD/OLED TV panels, a positive for the technology, and the ‘non-announcement’ of same from SDC’s parent Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) was a bit confounding, given the close relationship between the two. The lack of such an announcement from Samsung prompted questions being posed to the head of Samsung’s DX division at presentations last night, which resulted in a statement that shed some light on the question. Simply put, it was stated that the quantity of QD/OLED displays available to Samsung was not enough for the company to make such an announcement, meaning that SDC’s yield still remains low, not an unusual circumstance for a new display technology, and something we mentioned as a possibility in a number of previous notes on QD/OLED. “It (QD/OLED set) will be revealed when the quantity is secured, “was the summary statement.
A bit more confusing was a statement concerning the rumored purchase of regular (WOLED) OLED TV panels from LG Display (LPL) by Samsung to fill out their TV line this year. Samsung stated that “We are reviewing the possibility”, leaving the deal open to continuing negotiations, but was viewed by some as a denial when paired with the comments on QD/.OLED. While price has been mentioned as a stumbling block to the negotiations between the two competitors, we expect SDC’s yield improvement timeline is really the gating factor, as Samsung wants to fill the OLED TV set gap with something this year. If SDC is able to deliver volume, there would be little need for Samsung to purchase LG’s OLED panels, unless they use them for a low-tier OLED TV product and the QD/OLED for the premium OLED offering. The head of LG Electronics (066570.KS) stated that the company would ‘welcome’ Samsung’s entry into the OLED TV market under the idea that it would serve to expand the OLED TV ecosystem, although LG would ‘maintain its superiority’ even with the new competition…
A bit more confusing was a statement concerning the rumored purchase of regular (WOLED) OLED TV panels from LG Display (LPL) by Samsung to fill out their TV line this year. Samsung stated that “We are reviewing the possibility”, leaving the deal open to continuing negotiations, but was viewed by some as a denial when paired with the comments on QD/.OLED. While price has been mentioned as a stumbling block to the negotiations between the two competitors, we expect SDC’s yield improvement timeline is really the gating factor, as Samsung wants to fill the OLED TV set gap with something this year. If SDC is able to deliver volume, there would be little need for Samsung to purchase LG’s OLED panels, unless they use them for a low-tier OLED TV product and the QD/OLED for the premium OLED offering. The head of LG Electronics (066570.KS) stated that the company would ‘welcome’ Samsung’s entry into the OLED TV market under the idea that it would serve to expand the OLED TV ecosystem, although LG would ‘maintain its superiority’ even with the new competition…
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