According to the micro-web news, although the sales status of iPhone X has not reached market expectation, Samsung has revised down the production rate of OLED production lines, making the supply of OLED panels not as tight as in the past two years. However, according to the latest WitView Research Center (WitsView) Observing that this wave of OLED panels brought up by Apple has taken shape, it is estimated that by 2021 the penetration rate of smartphones using OLED panels will reach 46%. And OLED's advantages in terms of technology maturity and production cost will be short-term. It is difficult for Mini LED to play a role in the smart phone market.
WitsView pointed out that after Samsung's OLED panel resources were divided up by Apple's iPhone and its own high-end smart phones, while other panel makers have yet to get rid of the low yield rate of OLED production, mobile phone makers are also trying to find alternatives for their flagship models. Alternative technology. The Mini LED has become a powerful candidate because it has high color saturation and high contrast comparable to OLED in the specification, and it can support HDR function.
OLED does not need backlight, can be thin and light, can be bent
In addition to high color saturation, high contrast, and fast response time, OLEDs have the biggest advantage of self-luminous and bendable characteristics, allowing handset manufacturers to be more flexible both in thickness and shape design. Mini LED is Micro LED. Mass production before the lead technology, under the premise of the original LCD structure unchanged, the LED chip size is reduced to 100 ~ 300 microns, through the matrix arrangement method in the backlight module covered with LED. Take a 5.5-inch FHD screen as an example The number of LEDs used is as high as 2,000 to 10,000 stars. When the number of LEDs is small, a long optical distance will be required, which will increase the thickness of the whole machine. Although a large number of LEDs can shorten the optical distance required for backlighting, the uniformity can be improved. Good, but it will lead to heat problems and make the cost increase substantially. How to achieve balance is the bottleneck that the current manufacturers still have to overcome.
Mini LED should target niche market
From the perspective of cost, the advantages of OLEDs are obvious at this stage. Taking a 5.5-inch hard OLED panel as an example, the cost will probably be about 17-18 dollars; if the same size, the same resolution is replaced with Mini LED backlight, the panel cost Estimated to fall about 35 to 40 US dollars. With the OLED production capacity is no longer tight, coupled with the pressure from the LTPS panel price reduction, WitsView that OLED smart phone panel quotes in the long term is still relatively weak. Therefore, if the Mini LED can not reduce costs, It will be difficult to compete with OLEDs for the high-end smartphone market.
The cost of Mini LED mobile phone backlight depends on the number of LED chips used and the efficiency of chip transfer. Therefore, many LED manufacturers still try to reduce costs through different technical solutions, such as reducing the number of LED chips used by optical adjustment, or Improve the transfer efficiency of the solid crystal machine to reduce the cost of the parts.
In the niche market with higher profits, because the gross profit of product sales is high, the cost is not a priority. Therefore, the chance of introducing the Mini LED is much larger. From the 10.1-inch car display screen released at the CES in the beginning of the year, it was only a few days ago. AUO’s display of e-sports using 27-inch LCD monitors, 15.6-inch notebooks, 2-inch VR and other related devices all show that Mini LED technology still has room to play in the niche-type market.
2. LGD OLED pass first into Huawei's mobile phone supply chain;
The OLED panel produced by South Korea's panel maker LG Display (LGD for short) has been favored by Huawei. LGD will supply OLED panel to Huawei for the first time. Previously, LGD's OLED panel has begun to supply Xiaomi.
South Korea’s technology media ETnews quoted the Informed Personnel Newsletter. Huawei’s just-released Mate RS phone will use an OLED soft board manufactured by LGD. The Mate RS is a high-end mobile phone equipped with a six-inch screen with a resolution of 2880 x 1440.
Mate RS has added fingerprint recognition function to the screen, that is, there is a fingerprint sensor under the screen. The LGD is also responsible for integrating the two into a module.
LGD has recently entered the market for OLED panels. Currently, the market lags far behind Samsung. However, Huawei is the world's third-largest smart phone manufacturer. After LGD takes this order, can it take the opportunity to break Samsung's situation? , To win more orders remains to be seen.
3. Chinese PV panel companies do not rely on the U.S. market;
As the Trump administration of the United States has imposed emergency import restrictions on photovoltaic panels, the global PV companies have begun to show a posture that is not rigidly adhered to the US market. This is because the demand in emerging market countries is growing rapidly. Many companies believe that if they will The US shifts to emerging market countries to sustain growth. Various photovoltaic panel companies oppose US tariff measures and believe that regulation will have a negative impact on the development of renewable energy in the United States.
Large-scale photovoltaic power plants adopting photovoltaic panels of Chinese enterprises grasp the largest share of the world's largest share in photovoltaic panels, and Qian Jing, vice president of China Jinko Solar, receives interviews with the Japanese Economic News (Chinese version: Nikkei Chinese website) At that time, it emphasized the idea of reducing dependence on the United States and pointed out that the United States is only one of the buyers.
In the global photovoltaic panel market, U.S. demand accounts for about 20%. According to analysis, about 20% of Jinko Energy's shipments are exported to the United States. However, photovoltaic power generation, which is popular in developed countries, is infiltrating into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Kec Energy will seize the needs of emerging market countries and plan to produce 13.5 million kilowatts of photovoltaic panels in 2018, an increase of 30% from the same period last year.
The United States suddenly launched emergency import restrictions. On January 22, after announcing a 30% tariff on photovoltaic panels under Article 201 of the US Trade Act, it was signed by the President on the 23rd. Although the tax rate will decline by 5 percentage points annually, However, the restrictive measures will continue for four years. If the US measures to protect its own industries promote the price increase of PV panels produced in China, it will probably constitute the first solar energy company in the world (First Solar).
In the general photovoltaic panel market, the larger the company, the more it has an advantage in terms of price. Yan Xiaokai criticized that only high-priced panels can be used. The United States has suffered losses (emergency import restrictions) is not a constructive decision. Industry groups estimate that, due to import restrictions, construction of domestic power stations will begin to be reduced, and 23,000 jobs will be lost. Large-scale photovoltaic panel companies will confirm the U.S. government’s attitude toward photovoltaic power generation and advance from the US market. Chinese website
4. Research and adjustment: Insufficient kinetic energy of TV panel shipments in the first quarter;
According to the micro-network news, the research organization Quzhi Consultation Report pointed out that in the first quarter of the global TV panel market, the demand was weak, the panel prices dropped, and the shipment momentum was insufficient. Inventory increased.
Quzhi Consulting survey, the first quarter of the global LCD TV panel shipments 64.5 million, compared with the fourth quarter of last year, a decrease of 10.2%, the first quarter of TV panel shipments fell 10.5% over the fourth quarter of last year.
QuZen said that compared with last year's 4th quarter, TV brands actively stocked. In the first quarter of this year, due to the high North American market access inventory, the unsatisfactory sales in the Chinese mainland market, and the decline in panel prices, TV makers' stocking rhythm was significant. Slowdown, TV panel shipments were weak.
Quzhi Consultation pointed out that emerging markets started to stock up in response to the demand for TV in the World Cup. In the first quarter, shipments of 32-inch TV panels were better, and shipments of 39-50-inch TV panels were weak. Affected by North American clearance inventory, 65 The shipment performance of large-sized TV panels was not as expected.
5. Academician Ding Wenhua: The next five years will be the golden period for China's 4K development;
6. Korea Electronic Communication Research Institute develops transparent graphene electrode flexible OLED;
The researchers produced a 'completely operable' 40 x 40mm OLED panel with pixelated graphene film as the electrode.
Graphene based rigid OLED prototype (ETRI 2017)
Last year, ETRI researchers showed a 370×470mm rigid OLED panel with a graphene electrode (this panel is actually composed of 12 independent OLED panels).
7. Sharp and Thailand signed MOU, 8K to build sightseeing money;
Sharp today (2) held a press conference at Thailand's Tourism Administration and announced the signing of the Amazing Thailand, Amazing 8K's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Thailand Tourism Bureau. The two-year cooperation started in April and included the ultimate beauty of Thailand through 8K technology. , And through the official channel of the Thai Tourism Bureau to publish, display the results, expect to create a win-win situation in the ASEAN ASEAN market.
The signing ceremony was signed by the general manager of Thai Sharp, Wu Baixun, and Thailand Tourism Authority Yuthasak Supasorn, who signed a memorandum of cooperation. Sharp was represented by President Shige Hiroshi, Dai Zhengwu, and Tanes Petsuwarn, deputy director of the Thailand Tourism Bureau and Tanes Petsuwarn. witness.
Sharp said that the two-year 'Amazing Thailand, Amazing 8K' cooperation project is an important first step for the Thai Tourism Administration and Sharp cooperation. This cooperation hopes to use the world's first true 8K photography equipment and the latest technology, and Sharp AQUOS. 8K panel co-promote Thai tourism.
The cooperation activities will start from the Thai New Year Water Festival on April 13th to 15th. A professional team from Taiwan will use SHARP SHARP 8K camera to record every moment of Songkran Festival and include Thailand's famous tourist attractions, traditional culture and festivals. Then through the world's first real 8K monitor (7680×4320 pixels), to show the world the beauty of Thailand.
Yuthasak Supasorn stated that the promotion of tourism development through 8K technology that is consistent with the government- promoted THAILAND 4.0 policy is an important step for cooperation between the government and private institutions. Hope this is a way to help us improve the beauty of Thailand and let the world know that Amazing Thailand .
Hashimoto also said that Sharp has been established for nearly 90 years. It is Sharp's first outstanding overseas branch company. The Thai Tourism Bureau and Thai Sharp will use the world’s first true 8K photography equipment and latest technology, and the Sharp AQUOS 8K panel. Co-promotion of Thailand's tourism industry, the promotion of Thai hairdressing to the world, and more look forward to further cooperation through 8K technology.