A new report from The Korea Herald says that LG and Samsung are pumping up their flexible OLED displays after the LCD earnings declined. Samsung claims that OLED technology is the only one that they expect a growth in next year but they have much bigger plans for this type of display. LCD panels brought a $131.4 billion in sales last year whereas in 2015 they are forecasting to deliver $129 billion. With this number quickly declining, the two South Korean magnates have to take action.
The move towards OLED displays can be seen if you take a look at Samsung's previous announcements. For instance, they announced that they'll start mass producing Mirror OLED displays this year for their Smart TVs, as well as deliver flexible OLED displays for the Apple Watch. The tech company is the biggest innovator in this department and there has long been speculation that they're working on flexible displays. According to Samsung, OLED display revenues are estimated to reach $11.8 billion this year which is a 36% increase from 2014.
One potential downside of mass producing OLED displays is the fact that they're more difficult to manufacture than traditional LCDs which will bring forth an increase in pricing. Not only that, but we can also expect a shortage in production. Whereas Samsung is currently producing 39,000 OLED units per month this will almost double by the first quarter of 2016 to 63,000 units. Here's what Lee Chang-hoon, Samsung Display Executive had to say about this:
We have solved production issues now. We plan to expand sales channels of flexible OLEDs to meet the market demands
