Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) is betting big on AMOLED display tech, which can pose a challenge for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The South Korean electronics giant announced that active–matrix organic LEDs are the next big thing for Samsung.
OLED better then LCDs
“We were the first to commercialize AMOLED back in 2007. This year we successfully produced 440 ppi [pixels per inch] high-resolution AMOLED….we also launched the first curved AMOLED displays,” said Kinam Kim, CEO of Samsung Display, during the analyst day in Seoul.
Kim went on to say that the unit has taken a major portion of the market, and it grabbed the numbe- one spot during the first half of the year in four major applications; smartphones, tablets, large-sized TVs, and public information displays.
During the event, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) showed various devices using curved and/or flexible displays based on OLED tech.
Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies told CNET, “In a span of just a few years OLED is now challenging and even exceeding the performance of the best LCDs across the board in brightness, contrast, color accuracy, color management, picture quality, screen uniformity, and viewing angles.”
OLED may challenge Apple’s dominance
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), meanwhile, puts an emphasis on LCD technology, but the increasing commercialization of LED may pose a challenge to its market share. In a statement at a Goldman Sachs conference, CEO Tim Cook stated that OLED displays were “awful.”
Whether or not Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seriously believes what Tim Cook said is still not clear, but the fact that OLED are not just fads and Samsung dominates the segment is crystal clear.
The iPhone maker needs to accept the fact that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) has become the largest display maker, and moreover Apple itself has entered into an agreement with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) for Retina displays for the iPad Mini because both LG and Sharp are falling short on production.
OLED iWatch
Earlier in October, a report claimed that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will include a flexible OLED screen in its iWatch. Also, Apple apparently would roll out three types of iWatches with screen size as the key differentiator.
