hankyoreh

A promotional image for Samsung Electronics’ premium television model NED QLED 8K (provided by Samsung Electronics)

Despite repeated denials by Samsung Electronics over the past several months, the financial world is abuzz with predictions that the company will begin producing OLED-based TVs with OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels supplied by LG Display.

In the past, Samsung Electronics has focused on products using liquid crystal displays (LCDs).

According to analysts, the situation is rooted in market changes such as steep rises in LCD panel prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well the battle of pride over technology methods that has raged between Samsung and LG for close to 20 years.

Since April, observers have consistently been predicting that Samsung Electronics would begin producing premium TVs with white OLED (WOLED) panels made by LG Display. Samsung Electronics has officially denied the rumors on several occasions, but stock market analysts have remained skeptical.

The situation is closely tied to trends in the prices of LCD panels, which have spiked amid rapidly rising TV demand since the second half of last year. With panel prices doubling over the last year, observers are predicting Samsung Electronics may turn to OLED panels as an alternative.

LG Display is the only company in the world capable of mass-producing the large OLED panels used in TVs.

In the past, Samsung Electronics has dismissed large OLED panels as unprofitable, applying panels to its premium TVs with special independently developed film applied to LCDs.

Another factor seen as increasing the likelihood of Samsung adopting WOLED panels is the rise in OLED TV sales within the premium market. If the high-end TV market does eventually come to center on OLED products, Samsung Electronics would be obliged to replace its LCD panels with OLED panels to gain market dominance.

According to the market research firm Omdia, LCD TV market share in terms of global sales fell from 94% to 91.1% between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. In contrast, OLED TV market share climbed from 6% to 8.9% over the same period.

Further fanning the speculation about LG supplying plans are leaked reports that Samsung may be delaying the launch of its quantum dot (QD) display, which has been singled out as a next-generation display device.

The QD display, which Samsung had been developing for a target commercialization date in the second half of 2021, uses blue OLEDs as light sources rather than the white OLEDs made by LG. The main focus of attention had been on how high a yield rate the company could obtain.

The technology is more advanced than WOLED, but with time needed to test it for mass production, the launch is seen as very likely to be delayed.

Regarding its QD display TV production, Samsung Electronics stressed, “Samsung Display’s mass production of QD displays and Samsung Electronics’ launch of products using them as a set company are separate issues.”

The biggest reason the issue has been drawing so much attention is because of the war of nerves between Samsung and LG, longstanding rivals in the appliance world.

The technology competition between them over OLED TVs is nothing new. In 2012, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics both presented 55-inch OLED TVs at the CES trade show.

But while LG put its OLED TV on the market the following year, Samsung has been against producing OLED-based TVs, citing factors such as durability and color quality. In contrast, LG has stressed its competitive edge in technology with its production of large OLED TVs, where yield ratios are more difficult to achieve than with small panels for mobile devices.

“Samsung Electronics just doesn’t have the cards to play at a time when OLED TV sales have doubled since last year,” said an electronics analyst at one securities company.

“Samsung Electronics has no choice but to think about adopting LG’s white OLED panels until its QD display TVs have established themselves in the market,” the analyst added.

By Sun Dam-eun, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]