samsung phone lcd screen factory

Samsung Display will shut down its LCD production at the end of June, full six months ahead of the previously announced schedule. Industry insiders revealed competition has been too fierce and Samsung Group wanted to limit losses.

Reports from Display Supply Chain Consultants revealed the price of an LCD is 36.6% of what it used to be in January 2014, the component’s peak production period. This is in no small part due to makers like BOE from China and AU Optronics from Taiwan to join the battle and offer lower prices to clients.

The LCD business was initially scheduled to close in 2020 but with the arrival of COVID-19 and the need of affordable devices for home entertainment (including cheap smartphones and tablets), Samsung decided to postpone this major step.

It’s the end of an era for LCD panels, or at least for those manufactured by Samsung. The Korean firm has been teasing the end of its LCD manufacturing for years, but now, the deadline is about to be reached. From June 2022, Samsung Display will no longer produce liquid-crystal displays (LCD). This does not mean that the end of LCD panels in smartphones, computers, and other electronics. It’s just Samsung leaving the segment due to tough competition from its Chinese and Taiwanese counterparts.

Instead of keeping a tepid LCD business, the company will shift efforts to OLED (organic light-emitting diode) and QD displays. The OLED panels have become the “best” for the smartphone market. There is still a predominance of LCD screens, but most of the flagship, premium mid-range, and even conventional smartphones are getting OLED displays nowadays. LCDsare still very popular in the segment of PCs and laptops, however.

According to Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), the average price index of LCD panels, measured against 100 in January 2014, will fall to 36.6 in September of this year. The figure has dropped farther from the record low of 41.5 in April of this year. It’s also 58 percent lower than the record high of 87 in June 2021.

Unfortunately, no investment plan details have since been announced. However, the employees of the LCD business should retain their jobs. The company will likely move them to the Quantum Dot Display business. Worth noting, that Samsung has been trying to leave the LCD segment since 2020. The initial plan was to close the business at the end of 2020. However, these plays have been delayed by Samsung Electronics. The sudden increase in the prices of the LCD panels during the COVID-19 pandemic urged Samsung Display to keep the manufacturing for a while. This resulted in an entire 2021 of continuous manufacturing. Now, however, the business seems to have reached the deadline.

The display affiliate was first formed in 1991, as an LCD business arm under Samsung Electronics. It formally launched in 2021, as Samsung Display. It has merged with three local and Japanese makers of active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLED), for the production of advanced types of displays. The company will no longer produce the panels for Samsung TVs which will likely push forward the portfolio of QD and OLED smart TVs.

The mid-range segment of smartphones may not suffer a big impact. After all, there are countless LCD makers still operating in the industry. As far as the mobile segment is concerned, the company is doing a good job. The Galaxy S22 series is successful in China, and the company is preparing the terrain for the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The flagships and the foldable offer the best Samsung has been developing in display tech.

2 Min ReadFILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea January 7, 2019. Picture taken January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean panel maker Samsung Display has decided to end all of its production of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in South Korea and China by the end of this year, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Samsung Display, a unit of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, said in October that it suspended one of its two LCD production lines at home amid falling demand for LCD panels and a supply glut.

In October, the Apple Inc supplier said it will invest 13.1 trillion won ($10.72 billion) in facilities and research to upgrade a production line, as it contends with oversupply amid weak global demand for smartphones and TVs.

The investment for the next five years will be focused on converting one of its South Korean LCD lines into a facility to mass produce more advanced “quantum dot” screens.

Samsung Display’s cross-town rival LG Display Co Ltd said earlier this year that it will halt domestic production of LCD TV panels by the end of 2020.