[Agile Electronics Story] Even Kakao's Kim Beom-su Watches... Year-End Micro LED TV Popularization Expected

▲Han Jong-hee, President of Samsung Electronics' Visual Display Business, is introducing 'The Wall' featuring Micro LED technology at the 'Samsung First Look 2018' event unveiling new TV products and technologies on the 7th (local time) at the Enclave Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA. (Provided by Samsung Electronics)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] ‘Agile Electronics Stories’ is a column that keenly examines small details about electronic and mechanical products and devices. From hot new products frequently appearing in advertisements and news, to nostalgic items, and puzzling product and industry terms and news, we will kindly cover them with the heart of a beginner.

Kim Beom-su, chairman of Kakao, who recently rose to become the 4th richest stockholder in Korea, is reported to have purchased Samsung Electronics’ micro LED display brand product, 'The Wall'. According to the home appliance industry, corporate heads, celebrities, and IT companies like Kim are increasingly seeking micro LED displays these days.

Micro LED display technology involves densely attaching ultra-small LEDs measured in micrometers (㎛) onto a substrate. Like OLED, it functions as a self-emitting light source, so unlike traditional LCD or LED TVs, it does not require a backlight. The size and design can also be modified depending on the LED arrangement. Micro LED displays are characterized by vivid and bright image quality, wide viewing angles, and fast response times. For these reasons, it is regarded as a new technology succeeding LCD and OLED.

Samsung Electronics leads the micro LED display market. At CES2018, the international IT and home appliance exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA, Samsung first unveiled the 146-inch The Wall TV applying micro LED technology. At that time, the product was priced at $400,000 (approximately 480 million KRW). The price is enormous, right? The high cost is due to the expensive micro LED components, the need to densely arrange tiny LEDs, and the complex manufacturing process, making it much pricier than conventional display products.

Samsung Electronics’ The Wall currently offers large-sized products for signage (commercial displays) and home theaters. Why are only large-sized products available? Presently, premium OLED or QLED TVs support 8K resolution (7680x4320, 33 million pixels). Since micro LEDs are self-emitting, each LED can be considered as one pixel. Therefore, to realize the existing 8K resolution with micro LEDs, 33 million micro LEDs are required.

An industry insider in the video display sector stated, "It is understood that consumers purchasing The Wall do not buy just one unit but two or more," adding, "Despite the high price, demand is increasing, and sales in the first half of this year have roughly doubled compared to the first half of last year." The sales ratio of The Wall for signage and home theater use is reported to be 65% and 35%, respectively.

The market also holds high expectations for micro LED displays. According to industry and market research firms, it is forecasted that over 3 million micro LED TVs will be shipped by 2027. There is also anticipation that micro LED displays could be used for wearable electronic devices or small monitors, prompting related industries beyond Samsung Electronics to focus on research. Consequently, the industry expects to reduce size by making LED elements smaller or lowering the pixel count. Since micro LEDs are self-emitting without backlights, the industry believes that even with fewer pixels, image quality comparable to existing TVs can be achieved.

At CES2020 held earlier this year, Samsung Electronics introduced home-use micro LED products sized 75-inch, 88-inch, 93-inch, and 110-inch, moving beyond the existing 146-inch, 219-inch, and 292-inch B2B (business-to-business) ultra-large micro LED products. Samsung continues research to maintain high image quality while reducing product size and price, and it is expected to launch home-use micro LED TVs by the end of this year. There is also a possibility of releasing small-sized products under 75 inches. At CES2020, Han Jong-hee, President of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business, hinted at ongoing technology development by saying, "We are also considering small monitors."

LG Electronics, which early on designated OLED and rollable displays as its main and next-generation display technologies, is also researching micro LED display technology. Moreover, overseas display companies from the US, including Apple, as well as from China, Taiwan, and Japan, have embarked on micro LED development. Foreign media reported that Apple is investing 10 billion New Taiwan dollars (approximately 410 billion KRW) to build mini LED and micro LED production lines in Taiwan. There are also reports that Chinese display companies are making trillion-won scale investments to enter the micro LED business.

The Korean government is also contributing to the commercialization of micro LED displays. In May, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy partially amended the 'Energy Efficiency Management Equipment Operation Regulations (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Notice No. 2020-55)' to exclude micro LED TVs from mandatory energy efficiency rating requirements. This is interpreted as an intention to reduce regulations until commercialization is achieved, given that it is still an emerging field. Earlier, in March last year, the government agreed with the European Union (EU) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Technical Barriers (TBT) Committee regular meeting to postpone the implementation of energy efficiency regulations for micro LED TVs to 2023.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.