14 DAY TRIAL // OLEDs are a big thing right now as smartphones, TVs and Apple Watch itself use this sort of flexible display to integrate it in their most advanced devices.
However, only two companies produce OLEDs, Samsung and LG. While Samsung is a top dog in display research, LG announced that it would amp up its development efforts and build a new 1.05 trillion South Korean won ($900 million) flexible OLED factory in South Korea in the southern provincial city of Gumi. Apparently, the investment accounts for 8.9 percent of the firm's equity capital.
Beginning 2017, the new plant will build four times as many OLED screens as the current-gen LG plants thanks to a larger "substrate" sheet size.
The new tooling about to be installed in the new South Korean plant will help next-generation devices be more bendable and accessible than current ones installed in smartphones, and automotive displays. The new OLEDs will be compatible with next-generation devices that will have higher requirements like increased resolution and image clarity, together with better bendability and resistance to breaking.
LG doesn't want Samsung outpacing it
The major change, however, is in moving from TVs and large OLED screens to smaller form-factor screens. Not only that, but LG isn't the one in sole demand for its own screens, but other companies as well. Huawei and Vivo also go to LG for their OLEDs, together with Motorola's Moto X that combined put increased demand pressure on LG to amplify its production numbers and keep up with the demand.
However, LG's new investment is still much lower than what the more powerful Samsung has invested in its own OLED industry, announcing that it has invested $3,5 billion in its new display branch, willing to capitalize on the new focus on Galaxy Notes while its own smartphone sales are declining.
However, these will indeed prove to be quite lucrative investments as both of these two South-Korean companies will not only keep a monopoly of sorts on the OLED industry but also compensate any losses they might have in other key departments.