Samsung Display To Convert LCD TV Lines Into OLED Phone Lines
Leading OLED maker Samsung Display plans to convert its liquid crystal display (LCD) TV panel production lines to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) smartphone panel fabs, as the company is ramping up the production capacity to meet market demands.
The company will dismantle LCD TV panel lines at its Tangjeong L7-1 fab and renovate the space with the target to produce 20 million OLED panels for smartphones a month.
Switching over to OLED from 40-inch LCD TV panels would be more profitable for Samsung Display, as the TV market is saturated.
Samsung Display supplies most of its OLED panels produced at the facility to its largest customer Samsung Electronics and Chinese smartphone makers.
Previously, the display maker had sold its outaded LCD panel lines to to mainly Chinese panel manufacturers.
The company has invested 5.83 trillion won ($4.93 billion) in an existing TV and small- and mid- sized OLED panel-making facility over the first nine months of this year, and plans to spend another 5 trillion won or more to ramp up capacity in OLED display lines in the fourth quarter. The company also plans to expand its investment in high-value added products including the dual-edge display used for Samsung?s Galaxy S7 series to bolster its profitability.
Samsung Display commands over 95 percent of the global market for small and medium OLED panels as Samsung Electronics has long been installing OLED screens on its high-end phones.
The world?s largest smartphone market have been rushing to opt for OLED for their phone screens following Apple's decision to release iPhones with OLED displays next year.