Companies manufacturing organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels are shifting their attention from smart televisions to portable computers, according to a new research note from Omdia.
The note, released in late November, says South Korean screen manufacturers — who are among the dominant makers of OLED panels in the world — have started ramping up production of screens for tablets, notebook computers and personal computer (PC) monitors due in part to declining OLED TV sales around the world.
OLED panels are considered superior to backlit LED screens because each pixel is self-lit, which offers improved color and contrast. Fans of OLED TVs have long raved about the ability of those screens to achieve “true blacks” by shutting off pixels entirely, and for their brilliant luminance — though there are some disadvantages to OLED panels, including the potential for static images to “burn in” and a lack of brightness compared with backlit screens.
Other panel types, including mini-LED and QLED screens, offer many of the same benefits as OLED, and can be manufactured quickly and more-cheaply in some cases. Smart TV makers like Samsung, LG, Vizio, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL are among some of the companies that manufacture mini-LED and QLED screens, and Sony recently introduced a new line-up of smart TVs that offer mini-LED screens at prices comparable to OLED.
While smart TV manufacturers might be offering fewer OLED models these days, computer makers are starting to corporate the screens into their devices, giving them an edge over cheaper laptops, tablets and monitors that offer simple backlit screens. Earlier this year, Apple introduced a new iPad Pro that offers OLED screens for the first time; the company has long used OLED panels in its popular iPhones.
“Chinese makers are ramping up production of OLED displays for PCs, tablets and notebooks aiming to capture a larger share of the IT OLED market ahead of the launch of their Gen 8.6 IT RGB OLED fab production facilities,” Omdia said last week. “Additionally, the introduction of the Apple iPad Pro OLED series in 2024 is envisaged to further boost tablet PC OLED shipments.”
There is another reason why OLED screens might be gaining popularity among computer makers: Geopolitical issues — namely, the threat of tariffs by incoming President Donald Trump — might cause cheap Chinese LCD screens to go up in cost, to the point where it doesn’t make much sense to offer those screens on computers, laptops and tablets over OLED screens, an issue that South Korean OLED manufacturers like Samsung and LG are unlikely to face, at least not at the same level.
“Some global PC makers, concerned about geopolitical are increasingly turning to OLED displays while reducing their reliance on LCDs for high-end products,” Omdia said. “The shift towards OLEDs often involves more displays from South Korea which helps reduce the use of China-made displays.”
Yoonsung (YS) Chung, a research manager at Omdia, said global OLED TV shipments are “forecast to remain slow, with only a 1.4 percent year-over-year growth.”
“The limited customer base, intense competition from LCD TVs and ongoing financial losses are leading TV OLED display makers to be more conservative,” YS commented. “Instead, these manufacturers are increasing monitor OLEDs which are produced in the same Gen 8.5 fabs used for OLED TVs”
