China's BOE expands 'tandem OLED' for smartphones… Targeting Samsung and LGD nichesHuawei products are expected to be mass-produced… Concerns over technological gap with domestic companies
Reporter Jang Kyung-yoon
Entered: 2025/01/02 15:54 Modified: 2025/01/02 17:11
 
It is expected that China's BOE will expand the application of 'Tandem OLED' in the smartphone market this year. Although it is not a field that domestic companies such as Samsung Display and LG Display are paying attention to, it is pointed out that it is worth paying attention to as the Chinese latecomer is actively pursuing advanced OLED technology.
According to industry sources on the 2nd, China's BOE is pushing forward with a plan to supply tandem OLED panels for Huawei's next-generation flagship smartphone.
Tandem OLED is a technology that stacks multiple red, green, and blue (RGB) organic light-emitting layers. Compared to existing single-layer OLEDs, it is advantageous in terms of lifespan and brightness, and can also reduce power consumption. Accordingly, the domestic display industry is also trying to expand the application of two-stack tandems to various fields such as IT devices and automotive.
 Huawei's limited edition flagship smartphone 'Mate 70 RS Ultimate' released in the second half of last year (Photo = Huawei)
Tandem OLED technology has been led by domestic companies such as Samsung Display and LG Display. The two companies also supplied two-stack OLED panels to Apple for its first OLED iPad (11-inch Pro model, 12.9-inch model) released last year. In particular, LG Display has been most actively leading related technologies, commercializing tandem OLED for the first time in the industry in 2019.
However, BOE, China's largest display manufacturer, is also actively jumping into the tandem OLED market.
BOE first supplied tandem OLED panels to Honor for its latest smartphone, the 'Magic 6' RSR Porsche Design model, released in the first half of last year. It then supplied the same panels to Huawei for its limited edition flagship smartphone, the 'Mate 70 RS Ultimate', released in the second half of the year.
Furthermore, Huawei is expected to install tandem OLED in its next-generation flagship smartphones, the 'Mate 80 Pro+' and 'Mate 80 Pro', which are scheduled to be released next year. If this outlook comes true, BOE will be able to mass-produce tandem OLED in smartphones for the first time in the display industry.
Yang Seung-soo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said in a recently published report, "Huawei, which has limitations in semiconductor-related technology, is expected to expand the use of tandem OLED in its next smartphone models despite the low yield and high production costs." He added, "The role of BOE's Chengdu B16 8.6G line is expected to expand in the future."
BOE is investing more than 11 trillion won to build the B16, an 8.6-generation IT OLED line in the Chengdu area by the end of 2023. It is scheduled for completion next year. The line is designed to produce not only IT panels but also flexible OLED panels for smartphones.
Of course, there is a possibility that BOE's expansion of tandem OLED for smartphones will remain only symbolic. Currently, the domestic industry is not applying tandem OLED to smartphones because it believes that existing OLED technology is sufficient to support high-performance smartphones. In addition, if the performance of smartphones is improved by applying tandem OLED, it can act as a 'double-edged sword' that also extends the product replacement cycle. The price is also expensive.
A display industry insider said, "Although BOE has introduced tandem OLED for smartphones on a trial basis at its B7 fab in Chengdu, it has received poor reviews in terms of yield," adding, "The expanded application to Huawei smartphones can still be seen as being at the test stage."
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However, there are also opinions that BOE's expansion of its tandem OLED business cannot be completely ignored.
Another official emphasized, "The number of OLED smartphones released in China has increased to 200 million units, and it is evaluated that the panel mass production technology has caught up with Korea by 2-3 years through reverse engineering, etc.," and "After accumulating experience with tandem OLED in smartphones, there is a possibility that they will expand to IT and automotive panels, so it is worth keeping an eye on." |
