OLED is expected to make significant inroads into the high-end IT market in the coming years, and display maker BOE is preparing for the event by constructing a new 8.6G OLED plant.
BOE constructed China's first 6G OLED production line and has now announced its first 8.6G facility. 8.6G utilizes larger glass substrates, allowing for more efficient and cheaper production of OLED panels.
- "BOE Technology Group has announced the plan to build its first Gen-8.6 OLED production facility in Chengdu. The construction phase of this plant is estimated to span approximately 34 months, with a total investment of 63 billion RMB (or about 9 billion USD). This facility is designed to output 32,000 glass substrates (size 2290mm x 2620mm) every month, supplying high-end OLED displays for laptops and tablets," announced BOE.
BOE is one of the leading suppliers of OLED panels, including to Asus products. Photo: BOE
The display maker stated that the facility is intended to "meet the soaring demand for IT OLED displays and is expected to accelerate the industry’s growth into mid-size products." BOE made no mention of OLED TV panels.
OLED for IT products
Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) forecasts that OLED will replace LCD and make up 75% of the high-end IT market by 2026, including monitors, tablets, and laptops.
The transition will be spearheaded by Apple's shift from LCD to OLED in tablets and laptops in the coming years.
In April 2023, Samsung Display announced plans to invest $3.1 billion USD in upgrading its OLED production to 8.6G for tablets, laptops and other IT devices by 2026.
While LG Display has not yet revealed plans to invest in 8.6G production for OLED IT panels, it currently operates two 8.5G OLED plants dedicated to the production of OLED TV panels.
