Japan Display - Page 7

DisplaySearch estimates the worldwide smartwatch display market at $204 million in Q1 2015. The leading provider was LG Display - with over 90% of the market ($186 million). Other leading players are SDC (3.1%), Japan Display (2.4%) and Futaba (2.4%).

LG Display's lead is not surprising - the company is providing the flexible plastic-based OLED displays used in Apple's watch - and reportedly produced over 6 million panels for Apple, at $20 each. LG is also providing panels for LG Electronic's smart watches (including the G Watch R and the Watch Urbane). In Q4 2014, by the way, LGD only produced 1.1 million displays - impressive growth in just one quarter, attributed mostly to the Apple supply deal.

JOLED (Japan OLED) was launched in August 2014 by Japan Display, Sony and Panasonic with an aim to become an OLED medium display producer (focusing at first on OLEDs for tables, laptops and signage). Today the company was finally officially established and began operating.

According to reports from Japan, JOLED is headed by Orbotech Japan former president, and employs around 260 people. JOLED is owned by INCJ (75%), Japan Display (15%), Sony (5%) and Panasonic (5%). The company's current plan is to focus on 10-20 inch OLEDs and to begin pilot production in H2 2016 and mass production in 2H 2017. JOLED will mainly target laptops and tablets. It will great to finally get an OLED laptop, but hopefully we won't have to wait till 2017...

Japan Display is exhibiting in the Display Innovation 2014 event today in Yokohama, Japan, and the company is showing a flexible OLED for the first time. The prototype panel is 5.2" in size and features a FHD resolution. JDI refers to this display as a "Sheet OLED", which probably means it can be curved on a surface but it is not flexible/bendable.

Last month Sony, Japan Display, Panasonic and the INCJ formed a new OLED company called JOLED to focus on medium sized OLEDs. JOLED will be launched in January 2015 and has the potential to become a large OLED player.

A few days later, OLEDNet reported that JOLED is likely to choose small-molecules OLEDs, Oxide-TFT backplanes, Sony's Super Top Emission technology and an WRGB pixel architecture. Today I found Sony's original press release (a month late, actually), and there's some interesting information in there.

Last month Japan Display, Sony and Panasonic announced the formation of a new OLED company. JOLED, funded by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, will be established formally in January 2015, and will focus mainly on medium sized OLEDs for tablet applications.

JDI 5.2-inch FHD OLED prototype

One of the key questions surrounding JOLED is the technology choice. While Sony (and JDI, which is basing its OLED program on Sony's tech) is using small-molecule OLEDs and an evaporation process, Panasonic based its OLED development on Sumitomo's PLED materials and printing technologies.

In May 2014 it was reported that Japan Display may setup an OLED joint venture together with Sony and Panasonic. Today Kyodo news confirms this report, and says that the three companies will indeed form a new company (which will be called JOLED) that will develop small and medium OLED displays - mostly for tablet devices. The official announcement is expected soon.

JDI 5.2-inch FHD OLED prototype

JOLED will receive and investment from the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, a public-private investment fund. Similarly to JDI itself, the INCJ will hold 70% in the new company. JDI will hold 20% and Sony and Panasonic will each own 5%.

Yesterday I posted that Panasonic reportedly decided to withdraw from the OLED TV business and sell their OLED unit to Japan Display. Today there's a new report from Japan that JDI is now considering to setup an OLED joint venture with both Sony and Panasonic (update: this is now official, the new company will be called JOLED).

The new company would be mostly owned by the Innovation Network of Japan (INCJ) - the same government-backed fund that formed Japan Display back in September 2011. INCJ invested around $2.5 billion in JDI and holds 70% of the shares. JDI was formed by joining the mobile display units of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi.

A report from Japan suggests that Panasonic decided to withdraw from the OLED TV business as production costs are too high for the Japanese company. According to the report, Panasonic hopes to sale its OLED business to Japan Display (an agreement is expected next month).

This report is not confirmed yet. It is rather surprising as Panasonic's OLED business is focused on TV panels, while Japan Display is producing small/medium displays. In the past few years, Panasonic focused on printing technologies using Sumitomo's PLED materials.

Japan Display's OLED R&D manager Masahiko Suzuki discussed the company's AMOLED program during a conference in Japan. Masahiko explains (see slide below) that for the medium-term, the small/medium display maker is focused on high-res LCD panels (over 500 PPI), but for the long term the main focus will be on OLED displays.

JDI sees OLED as a way to create a new market for flexible, transparent and roll-to-roll printed displays. JDI is set to develop flexible OLEDs and later on high-resolution OLEDs. JDI is using LG's WRGB technology which enables them to achieve a high resolution and a lower power consumption on mainly-white images (such as a web browser). But currently JDI sees OLEDs as still too expensive, and there are still issues with lifetime and uniformity.

IHS says that demand for OLED materials will rise almost 27% in 2014, to $445 million, up from $350 million in 2013. The market in 2013 grew 49% from 2012.

IHS says that they expect both AUO and Japan Display to start mass producing AMOLED panels in 2014. This means that there will be four major OLED makers in 2014 (AUO, JDI, SDC and LGD) compared to only one in 2012 (SDC). This means that material makers are expected to compete in a more diverse market environment with increased demand and a broader base of customers.