OLED Market Pitfalls, Present Scenario and Growth Prospects from 2017 to 2024

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

The OLED market segmented on the basis of technology type is bifurcated into rigid display and flexible display panels. The application of flexible screens in smart wearable devices such as watches and in signage displays is anticipated to contribute to the significant growth of this segment.

OLED market size is projected to experience a significant growth during the forecast timeframe owing to the high adoption of these systems in consumer electronic devices like smartphones and laptops. The technology provides high advantages over traditional LED screens through high-contrast displays and improved static image quality. Additionally, their increased responsivity to touch, smoothness of display, and refresh rate approximately 1000 times faster than standard LED-backlit LCD panel is contributing to the high adoption among consumers.

Products available in the OLED market require substantially less power as they do not require back-lighting. These systems consume approximately 40% of an LCD displaying an image which is primarily black, providing massive savings on the spending of electricity and usability of battery powered portable products for longer durations of time.

Governments of various countries are providing funding for the research and development of these technologies, aiding in the growth of the OLED market. For instance, in 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy provided approximately USD 10 million funding to companies such as Acuity Brands Lighting and Pixelligent Technologies, for development of high-quality technologies.

The high costs and the need for skilled labor for the development and manufacturing of these technologies is hindering the industry growth. However, automation of the manufacturing process is anticipated to revolutionize the OLED market in the long run. This technology also possesses substantial technical drawbacks on account of the likelihood of color-shift and burn in. For instance, if an image is left unattended on a screen for an exceptionally long amount of time, there is a considerable risk of the image to be retained or burned onto the screen.

The rising adoption of AR/VR headsets due to their applications in training and entertainment applications has aided in the substantial growth of the OLED market. These micro-displays have an image refresh rate or 120Hz and a latency of 10 microseconds, allowing them to be ideal for fast-paced personnel training and highly reactive gameplay.

Display applications include smartphones, laptops, television and monitors, and tablets. The high adoption of the display application sub-segment is due to the increasing penetration of smartphone devices which has experienced a high growth in the recent years due to aggressive marketing strategies by leading players, such as Apple and Samsung, and its rising applications in various fields such as payments and shopping. In 2016, China’s population of approximately 1.35 billion was reported to own over 500 million smartphones with approximately 49% owning a smartphone.

The segmentation of the OLED market by material comprises PMOLED and AMOLED. The AMOLED contains a storage capacitor that maintains the line pixel states, allowing large size and higher resolution displays. These systems, as a result, can be made much larger than PMOLED allowing for the high growth in the consumer electronics applications.

Automotive applications are anticipated to have substantial growth due to their demand in lighting such as the July 2017 launch of Audi’s A8 luxury sedan series. These panels consume less trunk space and are more visible to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians, boosting safety.

Government support for the development of low power-reliant technologies is a major driver to the OLED market growth in the Europe region. For instance, in January 2017, the EU launched project LO LOMID (Large cost-effective OLED micro-displays and their applications) that aims to develop next-generation micro-displays for VR and AR applications. The Asia Pacific OLED market is anticipated to exhibit the highest growth owing to the presence of key players such as Samsung and LG corporation. Additionally, rapid industrialization has aided in the increase in the economic conditions of countries in the region, allowing consumers to increase their spending on luxury products and high-end technologies.

Players operating in the OLED market include Samsung Electronics, OLEDworks, LG Display. Osram, Universal Display Corporation, Pixelligent Technologies, Panasonic Corp, Acuity Brands Lighting, and Acuity Brands Lighting. The OLED market is currently in the nascent stage and industry vendors are required to invest in strategies such as mergers, partnerships, and product developments to sustain substantial growth over the forecast timespan. For instance, Panasonic Corp entered the industry in July 2017 with the launch of its 4K OLED TV in the Viera series.

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