In recent years, with the continuous emergence and gradual application of various new display technologies, the TV market has shown infinite vitality, and new products represented by OLED TVs, MiniLED TVs, and MicroLED TVs are competing for the dominance of mainstream TV displays in the future. Especially with the decline in the yield rate of OLED panels, the reporter of Nanduwan Finance Agency noted that in the past two years, the high-end market has gradually formed a situation dominated by OLED products.
Panel factories started the OLED arms race, and the yield rate improved
According to the statistics of Jibang Information, the global output value of OLED materials in 2022 has reached 2.23 billion US dollars, an annual increase of more than 30%, and with the promotion of brand factories, the industry output value is expected to reach 3 billion US dollars by 2025. In the TV market, OLED TVs have also become one of the most recognized high-end TV products by users with their advantages in picture quality, design and healthy eye protection.
In recent years, Samsung and LG have increased their investment in OLED panels, investing in the research and development of new technologies on the one hand, and expanding the production line of OLED panels on the other hand. Domestic manufacturers are not to be outdone, BOE, Visionox and Shentianma have also followed the pace of South Korean display giants and expanded the production and application range of OLED panels.
According to Omdia's forecast, looking at the announced projects alone, by 2026, China's OLED panel production capacity is expected to account for 49.04%, which is equal to Korean OLED panel manufacturers.
Nanduwan Finance Agency reporter learned that currently in the field of large-size panels, South Korea's LGD focuses on W-OLED, and Samsung displays QD-OLED. Chinese panel manufacturers are focusing on the differentiated route of lower cost: BOE has built an evaporation W-OLED and printed OLED test line in Hefei, and TCL Huaxing has obtained the patent authorization of printing OLED through investment cooperation with JOLED in Japan. Visionox has also built a test line to actively promote large-size OLED-related research...
While the giants have successively bet on the OLED field, the production cost of OLED has gradually decreased. According to recent Korean media reports, Samsung's factory in South Korea has improved the efficiency of the production line this year, and the yield rate has increased from 68% to 84% compared with 2022. The cost of Samsung's QD-OLED panels, which cost relatively more, will also fall, by about 30%. As a panel used by Samsung for high-end TV models, it is possible to apply it to models for the mid-range market in the future as the cost decreases.
Recently, the well-known research institute DSCC reported that the production cost of OLED panels will continue to decline in the next two years. The report shows that the production cost of each 55-inch OLED panel in 2023 is expected to decrease by about 20% compared with 2022, and the production cost of OLED panels will continue to decline in the next two years. Due to improvements in efficiency and increased production at key production facilities, the price of high-end OLED TV models may drop within a few months, perhaps even in time for the Christmas shopping season at the end of the year. In 2024, there will be a similar decline. The cost of Samsung's QD-OLED panels, which cost relatively more, will also decrease, by about 30%.
OLED mainstream models dropped to the range of 5 and 6,000 yuan
According to data from Ovivo data, in the first nine months of 2022, the retail shipment of OLED TVs in the Chinese market was only 152,000 units, accounting for as low as 0.6%, which is a significant decline compared with the same period last year.
In the past, OLED panels were based on the factor of yield rate, and the price was high, and it was difficult to talk about cost performance compared to traditional LCD panels. However, with the development of the industry, the yield rate has gradually improved, the production cost of OLED panels has begun to gradually decline, and the price of terminal products has also fallen.
Nanduwan Finance Agency reporter noticed that during the "618" promotion festival, e-commerce platforms began to use OLED TV as a fist product, taking 55-65-inch TV as an example, the current mainstream OLED TV has dropped to 5000-6000 yuan range, Skyworth 55-inch OLED TV less than 5000 yuan, 55-inch TV with Sony XR chip after the price is only about 5700, 65-inch OLED Xiaomi TV 6 is only 5969 yuan... Compared with the 10,000 yuan in previous years, the price reduction of OLED TVs has been close to 50%.
With the launch of cost-effective OLED TVs on the market, good results have been achieved in this "618" promotion festival. Nanduwancai reporter noticed that at present, a number of OLED TVs have shown "tight inventory", and even reached the state of "no goods in the region".
Next-generation OLED TV technology: game performance, AI image enhancement
In addition to solving the cost problem, manufacturers have not stopped the pace of OLED TV research and development.
"Samsung is constantly innovating the technology that powers it." Recently, the relevant person in charge of Samsung TV told the Nanduwan Finance Agency reporter that taking the Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV launched in the Chinese market this year as an example, it is equipped with two innovative technologies: neuronal quantum dot processor and quantum dot matrix technology Pro. The former intelligently analyzes and optimizes the content of the picture to achieve the full use of 33 million pixels, and the latter accurately controls each Mini LED through a variety of means to achieve ultra-clear expression of the picture.
Samsung picture quality professional engineer introduced that Samsung OLED TV through neuronal quantum dot processor and perceptual color mapping technology, its 20 independent AI neural networks can analyze the picture content in real time, accurately present different levels of light and dark colors, while retaining the original dark area advantages of OLED, making the picture more full and bright. Combined with 3D depth enhancement technology, it simulates the way the naked eye handles depth of field by increasing foreground contrast to reveal details in the frame.
It is worth mentioning that at present, mainstream TV manufacturers have also noticed the trend of "gamification" of TV in recent years, and have begun to gradually focus more on the game function of TV. Samsung picture quality professional engineers told Nanduwan Finance Agency reporter that Samsung's flagship OLED TV is equipped with 4K 144Hz dynamic acceleration engine Pro, with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro technology, can synchronize the TV frame rate through the GPU, further reduce picture lag and screen tearing, help players respond quickly in operation, and fully release competitive potential. In terms of system, Samsung OLED TV is equipped with a new Tizen system customized for Chinese mainland users, compatible with Android applications, and the app store supports more than 300 application downloads, expanding a variety of entertainment spaces for users.
In addition, the reporter of Nanduwan Finance Agency noticed that head manufacturers such as LG, TCL, Sharp, and Sony have also had a similar layout. For example, in the past two years, Sony has also equipped XR cognitive chips (exclusive picture quality chips) on flagship OLED TVs, according to official introductions, the chip has a great optimization of game performance, such as local optimization of possible realization focus such as faces in the picture. Especially this year, Sony has also added a game enhancer to the series, allowing players to set more functions and find more suitable game visuals.
Written by: Nandu Bay Finance Agency reporter Kong Xuexiao