Planned for a long time, but often postponed due to high demand, the cessation of LCD panel production at Samsung Display is a reality as of June 2022. The LCD panels produced in China and Taiwan were right those made in South Korea.
Samsung Display originally planned to stop production of LCD panels at the end of 2020, but the pandemic has reignited interest in TVs, causing a surge in global demand and a spike in panel prices. LCD. Samsung Display had therefore intelligently postponed the production stoppage. According to Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), the LCD panel price index is expected to drop to 36.6 by September 2022 from 100 in January 2014 and bottomed out in April 2022. with an index of only 41.5. LCD panel production in South Korea is no longer profitable for Samsung Display and the last production lines are expected to cease operations by the end of June.
Samsung Electronics, which mainly markets LCD televisions – only the new Samsung S95B is equipped with a QD-Oled panel – will now only source from Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers such as AU Optronics (Taiwan), CSoT (subsidiary of Chinese TCL) and again BOE (China). This trend was started a few years ago, but now no Samsung TV will have LCD panels manufactured by Samsung Display.
Focus on the QD-Oled
The future for Samsung Display is obviously Oled and QD-Oled panels. The former have already been present for several years on smartphones and for a little less time on tablets and laptops, while QD-Oled panels have just landed on televisions with very good results (see the test of the Sony Bravia XR-55A95K). Samsung Display is now dedicated exclusively to the production of this type of panel.
LG Display – the other Korean manufacturer of LCD and Oled panels – has also announced a reduction in the production of LCD panels in order to focus on Oled models. In addition to panels for smartphones, LG Display manufactures Oled panels for TVs ranging in size from 42 to 97 inches. However, intermediate-sized OLED panels intended for monitors (between 22 and 32 inches) are very rare. Samsung Display markets a 34-inch UWQHD curved 175 Hz panel more dedicated to video games, and only the small Japanese manufacturer Japan-Oled offers Oled panels from 22 to 32 inches, but at much higher prices (Asus ProArt PQ22UC for 2500 € or the LG UltraFine OLED Pro 32EP950 for €2600).