Samsung is considering purchasing OLED panels from LG
Samsung has come close to ordering millions of OLED TV panels from LG Display, according to new reports from more than one South Korean news outlet.
Reportedly, officials met recently to approve the deal, which will see one million panels shipped to Samsung in the second half of this year, and rise to 4 million panels next year.
If the deal is sealed, it will be the first time that Samsung has purchased OLED panels from its South Korean competitor and market leader.
TVs with LG OLED panels are among the best in professional reviews.
Samsung exited the OLED TV market more than half a decade ago, and today LG Display provides OLED panels to a variety of TV manufacturers, including Sony, Vizio, Hisense, and LG.
- Last year, LG Display announced an expansion of its OLED product lines, and market research firm TrendForce says its production capacity is set to increase in the second quarter of this year.
- According to a report, the total production capacity of LG Display OLED TVs is about 8 million units this year.
- The new reports are the latest indication that Samsung is moving away from LCD panels, which it is currently using across its lineup for television, and even QLED devices use LCD panels behind the quantum dot layer.
- Last year, Samsung Display announced that it was halting LCD panels in the face of stiff price competition from Chinese competitors, but delayed the move after the pandemic boosted demand.
While lower LCD prices are believed to be behind the move last year, reports say the trend is reversing this year, and LCD panels are said to be getting more expensive, prompting Samsung to explore alternatives.
While Samsung plans to purchase panels from LG Display, the screen division is believed to work on QD-OLED TV panels.
Samsung Display is currently working on developing a prototype TV that uses QD-OLED technology, and it is reported that samples sent to Samsung in January were rejected due to its low brightness.
QD-OLED is not the only new technology on Samsung's horizon, as the company recently marketed Micro LED technology, which uses an array of small self-emitting LEDs to produce the image.
Although Samsung has released this technology through a series of state-of-the-art TVs, it is believed to be years away from being affordable enough for mass-market devices.
There are also reports that the company is working on self-emitting quantum dot televisions.