Set micro-network news, panel display technology emerges endlessly, the popular flexible OLED can achieve mass production and push to industrial application, in addition to its own technical advantages, more importantly, it has a supporting industrial base, and terminal manufacturers have a strong intention to import.
According to supply chain manufacturers, Apple's three new iPhones released this year, two are flexible OLED screens, one is LTPS LCD screen, three new iPhones are 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch flexible OLED version and 6.1-inch LTPS LCD version; Huawei's Huawei Mate 20 Pro will also be released with a flexible OLED screen.
Although the demand for flexible OLED panels is strong, due to current limited production capacity and several times the price of high-end LTPS LCDs, LTPS LCD is still the mainstream choice for terminal manufacturers. Sun Yongmao, general manager of Tianma Microelectronics, was interviewed by Jiwei.com. It is said that the growth trend and penetration of smartphones are close to saturation, but there are structural changes in products. The growth of the entire smartphone market is more in emerging markets such as India.
However, this year, LTPS LCD panels have been affected by the market's multiple effects, and they continue to 'kill' and have the capacity to 'excess'. Huaxing Optoelectronics revealed to Jiji.com that it has been affected by the traditional market off-season and OLED capacity rampage signals since the beginning of this year. The price of mid- to high-end LTPS LCD panels continued to decline, with a decline of around 10-15%. With the arrival of the traditional peak season of the mobile phone market in the second half of the year, the price of LTPS LCD panels has stabilized.
OLED capacity climbs, flexible screen is at least $60
For a long time, small and medium-sized OLED panels have long been monopolized by Samsung. Until the mass production of the sixth generation of flexible AMOLEDs in Chengdu in October last year, the monopoly pattern was officially broken. Then, domestic panel makers such as Rouyu, Tianma Microelectronics, and Huiguang, etc. It is reported that the 6th generation flexible AMOLED production line has begun to light up shipments. It is reported that the Visionox GRU AM6OLED production line is expected to be mass-produced in the fourth quarter. The Huaxing Optoelectronics Wuhan 6th generation flexible AMOLED production line will be shipped after the end of the year.
It can be seen that more and more OLED panel manufacturers in China are accelerating the mass production progress of the 6th generation flexible OLED production line, hoping to meet the needs of more terminal manufacturers. However, the industrial environment of OLED is very different from that of the year, when China was When entering the LCD field, LCD technology is relatively mature, LCD technology experience and trade secrets are in the hands of materials and equipment manufacturers, but OLED is currently in the development stage, related mass production experience is blocked by Samsung, and domestic panel manufacturers are rapidly improving their yield. Keep an elbow.
Insiders pointed out that the 6-generation line that goes into mass production only needs 100 million yuan per OLED material cost per month, and the utilization rate of the evaporation process material is low, which may further increase the cost of the OLED panel. If the G6 OLED production line yield Can not be quickly upgraded, the cost of climbing the previous capacity will be very high.
Fortunately, the yield of the domestic 6-generation flexible AMOLED production line is constantly improving. At the end of last month, BOE revealed that the company's sixth-generation flexible AMOLED production line is climbing, and the comprehensive yield has reached more than 70%. However, objectively speaking, this There is still a gap with Samsung.
According to industry sources, Samsung's OLED products are now very mature, and the yield is also high. Among them, the OLED hard screen yield is over 90%, and the flexible OLED yield is 80%. This means that Samsung does not have to be like a domestic panel manufacturer. To consider the problem of yield loss, for Samsung, the mass production of OLED screens are basically finished products.
At present, the overall capacity of domestic OLED panels has not been fully released, and it is still in the climbing stage. Most of the domestic terminal manufacturers introduce flexible OLEDs are supplied by Samsung. The industry insiders said that OPPO, vivo and other flagship machines are priced at least 2,500. Samsung's OLED panel will be used above, and Samsung's 6.01-inch OLED screen will cost around US$25. Samsung's 6.28-inch (with bangs) OLED screen will cost around US$30. Of course, this is OLED hard screen. price.
In contrast, the price of flexible OLED screen is much more expensive than OLED hard screen. The above-mentioned insiders revealed that the price of flexible OLED screen is at least 60 US dollars. Of course, depending on the specifications and materials of the product, the flexible OLED used by Apple. The screen price will be higher.
Since the iPhone X and other screens support 3D Touch pressure sensing operation, support HDR display, etc., the price of the OLED screen is high. It is reported that the price of the OLED panel purchased by Apple last year from Samsung is 110 US dollars. However, this year, Apple purchased the flexible OLED screen. The unit price has been reduced.
LCD continues to kill, currently tends to stabilize about $20
iPhone X did not meet Apple's expected sales, and weak demand led Apple to re-examine the AMOLED panel procurement plan. Although flexible AMOLED can bring a better overall screen experience, Apple has not given up on the purchase of LTPS LCD panel in terms of cost and other aspects. Plan, this year's new iPhone also has imported LTPS LCD screen.
In the domestic mobile phone market, most of the new mobile phone manufacturers represented by 'Hua Mi OV' also use LTPS LCD panels. However, this year, with the LTPS LCD production line continuously loaded, the domestic major panel manufacturers have surrounded LTPS LCD is 'selling', especially in the off-season of the first half of the year, 'selling price' has become a big way to grab orders.
According to the above-mentioned insiders, the price of high-end LTPS LCD has dropped from around US$26 this year. The price of mid-end LTPS LCD has dropped from around US$20, and the overall decline is around 10-15%.
Huaxing Optoelectronics also revealed to Jiji.com that due to the market's traditional off-season and OLED production line capacity climbing signals, the price of mid- to high-end LTPS LCD panels has continued to decline since the beginning of this year, with a decline of around 10-15%. Half a year of the traditional peak season, mobile phone manufacturers began to pull goods, the current high-end LTPS LCD panel prices tend to stabilize at around 20 US dollars.
Sun Yongmao also revealed that the price of the entire LCD panel is lower, and the local time point is excessive. However, the situation of each terminal customer in the mobile phone industry is different, and the specific price depends on the specific situation.
In contrast, the price of LTPS LCD is much cheaper than the flexible OLED of not less than 60 US dollars, the cost is more dominant, coupled with the rapid change of the low-end mobile phone market, the response speed is faster; and the LCD product process of domestic panel manufacturers. Quality, mass production capacity are relatively mature, product development time and cooperation with customers are more closely, mobile phone manufacturers do not have to use OLED screen.
Sun Yongmao said that OLED has not yet formed a complete competition for LTPS LCD technology from the whole cost and yield. The terminal market is still dominated by LTPS LCD. Although the overall panel market price is lower, the overall industry may lower the gross profit. But there will still be manufacturers that stand out from the competition.
Another industry insider revealed that Samsung has deliberately suppressed the price of OLEDs in some ways, which has put pressure on these gradual heavy-duty panel manufacturers in China, but the results are not effective, because the initiative is in the hands of mobile phone manufacturers in the first-line brand mobile phone manufacturers. There will be more choices.
Of course, it is necessary to ask whether OLED will have an impact on the LCD, and it depends on the technical advantages of OLED. Huaxing Optoelectronics said that if the mobile phone has to use the fingerprint under the screen, then OLED must be used, because the current screen fingerprint Still depends on the screen characteristics of the OLED, whether it is OLED hard screen or flexible screen, can achieve the screen fingerprint, but the LTPS LCD screen is still difficult to do.
Micro LED does not have to be preached, industrialization will take time
In addition to LCD and OLED, the panel display technology is being promoted by Taiwanese manufacturers such as Hon Hai, Innolux, and AUO. They are regarded as a new generation of display technology. Apple is also planning to acquire Micro LED industrial chain enterprises, but the industry. The road to change will take time.
Micro LED is a high-density micro-sized LED array integrated on the chip. Each pixel is addressed, driven separately, and has self-illumination characteristics. Compared with current display technologies, mainstream OLEDs and LCDs, Micro LED structure is simpler and has performance advantages. More obvious, it can be widely used in many fields of panel display.
Even so, Micro LED is currently difficult to impact OLED and LCD. Visionox said that Micro LED has its advantages as a display technology route, but the huge transfer technology has yet to be matured. Overall, the distance There is still a long way to go before mass production and industrialization.
In view of the far-reaching application of Micro LED products, many Taiwanese manufacturers began to regard Mini LEDs as a transitional product of Micro LEDs, and used LTPS technology to improve the performance of display products. 'At present, the industrial difficulty of Mini LEDs is still very large. The cost is relatively high, and the application amount will be relatively small. 'Sun Yongmao revealed that if the Mini LED is applied to the mobile phone, estimated by 5.5 inches and 6 inches, the backlight may increase the cost by 5 to 10 dollars, so the short-term If the Mini LED does not have much progress in cost, it is difficult to achieve good results in large-scale applications. In addition, Samsung showed more than 100-inch TVs based on Mini LED technology at the beginning of the year, using 2,400 batteries. The cost is estimated to be 670,000 yuan, and the possibility of product popularization is not high.
Display technologies are emerging one after another. It is no accident that OLEDs have been mass-produced and industrialized. It is based on its industrial base. OLEDs have established their development trend as a new generation of display technology with their self-illumination and flexible folding. Micro LED has its application advantages, but it does not have the supporting industrial base and mass production capacity.
In summary, flexible OLED panels have been recognized by the industry as a new generation of display technology. The penetration rate of OLED screens in the mobile phone market is still increasing, but LTPS LCD is still the main force in the current mobile phone market. In the future, flexible OLEDs will increase with the maturity of the industry. With the release of production capacity, the price will gradually decline, and the scope of application will be wider. There will be more new products. The current end products have not yet played their true foldable advantages, and there will be more possibilities for future mobile terminal form innovation.