Samsung Display's 'QD Confidence'... Accelerating Large Panel Market Strategy (Comprehensive)

Achievement of 80% Yield Early... Cost Reduction Raises Performance Expectations
Additional Monitor Clients Expected... Confidence in Direct Comparison with LG Display

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Yeju] Samsung Display is accelerating its push into the large panel market with QD-OLED (Quantum Dot Organic Light Emitting Diode). Thanks to the rapidly improved yield (the ratio of qualified products among finished products), manufacturing costs are expected to decrease, raising expectations for performance.

According to industry sources on the 11th, Samsung Display recently raised the yield of QD-OLED panels from just 50% last November to 85%.

QD-OLED is a next-generation panel that Samsung Display began mass-producing at the end of last year. Since selecting quantum dots as the next-generation material in 2012, Samsung Display has been dedicated to developing QD displays. The development accelerated after Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong identified QD displays as a next-generation growth engine in 2019, and it was first unveiled at the international electronics exhibition CES 2022 held in Las Vegas, USA, earlier this year.

Samsung Display’s achievement of raising QD-OLED yield to 85% within eight months is recognized as a significant accomplishment within the industry. Typically, the display industry considers a competitive yield benchmark to be 80%, calling it the "golden yield." It took 10 years to achieve golden yield in the past LCD market, and LG Display reached golden yield three years after the first mass production of W (White) OLED. Considering Samsung Display’s initial QD-OLED mass production yield was only 50%, it is regarded as a rapid stabilization in a short period.

As the yield increases, manufacturing costs are also expected to drop significantly. Market research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) predicted that Samsung Display’s QD-OLED manufacturing costs will decrease by 20-25% next year compared to this year.

Products equipped with Samsung Display’s QD-OLED have recently received favorable reviews, further raising expectations for a leap in the large panel market. Recently, Value Electronics, an electronics retailer in New York, USA, selected Sony’s A95K as the 4K TV of the year at the "TV Shootout 2022." Samsung Electronics’ "S98B QD-OLED" took second place. Both the first and second place products are equipped with Samsung Display’s QD-OLED panels.

At the time, Robert John, founder of Value Electronics, expressed gratitude to Samsung Display for showcasing the advanced technology of QD-OLED while awarding the 4K TV of the year, which attracted attention.

Based on the stabilized yield, Samsung Display is expected to gain momentum in securing additional QD-OLED customers in the second half of this year. It is known that Samsung Display is currently discussing panel supply with additional customers, including monitor manufacturers such as ASUS and MSI, as well as Samsung Electronics.

Accordingly, an improvement in the performance of Samsung Display’s large business division is also anticipated. Earlier, Samsung Display Vice President Choi Kwon-young mentioned during the Q2 conference call, "Several set brands are promoting the adoption of QD displays," adding, "Full-scale sales expansion is expected after the second half of the year, and profitability is expected to improve." He also said, "After launching new products adopting QD displays, we will actively promote the excellence of QD displays through joint promotions with customers and strive to lead the premium market."

Meanwhile, Samsung Display participated in the "K-Display 2022 Korea Display Industry Exhibition" starting on the 10th and unveiled QD-OLED for the first time in Korea. In the center of the exhibition hall, they displayed a large QD-OLED multi-vision composed of three 65-inch panels, four 55-inch panels, and four 34-inch panels connected together. Notably, at the event, Samsung Display showed confidence by exhibiting QD-OLED side by side with LG Display’s WOLED, attracting industry attention. Although the comparison TV nameplate was labeled "Conventional TV" (commercial TVs), when visitors asked the event staff, they answered, "(The comparison demonstration TV is) LG Display’s WOLED."

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