Samsung - MicroLED status - Page 9

The Korea Herald reports that Apple and its subsidiary LuxVue Technology applied for over 30 Micro-LED patents in Korea in the past 10 years. As Apple's Micro-LED project is progressing, the company aims to prevent its competitors in Korea (mainly Samsung and LGD) from using its key Micro-LED technology.

According to the report, Apple applied for 11 patents directly, while LuxVue applied for 23 patents. LuxVue was acquired by Apple in 2014. Apple applied for patents that related to the Micro-LED chip structure, the pick-and-place process and the driving system.

Following Samsung's unveiling of its 146" Micro-LED TV prototype, LG Display's CEO said in early 2018 that the company is also developing large-area Micro-LED technologies.

Samsung 146-inch Wall TV

According to Business Korea, LG Display aims to unveil its first Micro-LED TV in September (based on LG Innotek's Micro-LEDs). LGD's TV will be larger than Samsung's 146" Wall.

Samsung Electronics says it will push forward with its two-track strategy for the premium TV market - utilizing both quantum-dots enhanced LCDs (QLEDs) and Micro-LED TVs. Samsung Visual Display Business VP, Han Jong-hee, says that Samsung will start selling its Wall Micro-LED TV in August 2018.

Samsung demonstrated its Micro-LED "The Wall" display again at ISE 2018 earlier this month. Thank you Dotan from AVMaster.co.il for the video.

LEDsInside reports that Samsung and China's largest LED producer San'an Optoelectronics signed a long-term agreement to co-develop Micro-LED displays. Under the agreement, Samsung pre-paid San'an $16.83 million to secure micro-LED chips.

San'an says that following its Micro-LED development completion, it aims to become Samsung's major chip supplier. It is estimated that it will take San'an three years to achieve mico-LED mass production, but apparently it will supply Samsung with such chips throughout the next three years (maybe using a lower-volume production method).

Earlier this week Samsung unveiled its MicroLED TV, called The Wall. This is a modular display that is completely seamless. At CES Samsung unveiled a 146" 4K display, butt the company will offer it in customized sizes.

Samsung says that this is the world's first Modular TV. While modular displays are not new (Mitsubishi for example has a beautiful modular PMOLED display called Diamond Vision OLED) it seems that Samsung aims for this to be the world's first modular consumer display. It's not clear whether customers will be able to change the design.

As reported a couple of months ago, Samsung unveiled its first Micro-LED TV, aptly named "The Wall". This is a 146-inch tiled 4K display that is almost 8 times larger than a 55" TV in area.

Samsung did not reveal much details. Reports from CES suggest that each tile is about 3-inch in size, and it seems like you cannot see the seams of the individual tiles. It did demonstrate the difference in size between Micro-LED and regular LEDs as you can see below:

In April 2017 it was rumored that Samsung Display is set to acquire PlayNitride for around $150 million, but the deal did not materialize. According to a new report from Taiwan's LEDsInside, the two companies are at the final stage of their talk.

In September 2017 PlayNitride's said that Micro-LED displays are not as challenging as originally expected, and the company now aims to start trial production of Micro-LED displays by the end of 2017. The company has mass transfer and placement yield rates of over 99% in its lab.

According to reports from Korea, Samsung is developing large-area micro-LED TVs, and the company is set to reveal its first Micro-LED TV as soon as CES 2018 (January 2018).

Samsung's first TV, according to the report, will be a huge 150-inch set, which will be marketed for home use. Samsung is looking for a new premium TV technology as Samsung's QLED TVs failed to keep up with LGD's OLED TVs, and has seen its premium TV market share fall from 57% in 2015 to 20% in 2016 (LG, meanwhile, managed to increase its market share from 17.5% in 2015 to 43% in 2016).

Samsung is reportedly starting to accelerate its effort to develop a Micro-LED based TV. The company is currently focused entirely on QD-LEDs for its premium TVs but is looking for alternative technologies as it fails to increase its market share in this segment.

Samsung is said to be looking at several alternatives - one of which is to acquire Taiwan-based PlayNitride - a deal that was already reported in April 2017. Samsung aims to first use micro-LED technologies for its cinema LED screens, and then apply it to home-based TVs as well.