Samsung plans to discontinue all LCD production and transform to OLED before the end of 2020

As an important component supplier of Apple's iPhone, iPad, Mac and many other products, Samsung announced an important plan on Tuesday. Like other smartphone manufacturers, the company decided to stop the traditional LCD panel by the end of 2020. Production, the follow-up will fully shift to OLED display technology.

According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, announced the plan that the company will terminate all LCD production lines in South Korea and China by the end of 2020.

Due to weak demand, Samsung Display announced in October last year that it would close a local LCD factory in South Korea. However, before the end of 2020, the company can still deliver LCD products to customers.

In the next five years, the South Korean electronics giant will invest a lot of money to transform one of its two LCD factories in South Korea into a production base for quantum dot display displays. Samsung hopes that their huge investment will be rewarded because it is different from conventional OLEDs. Compared with the panel, this new technology is expected to provide unprecedented image quality and lower cost. At the same time, Samsung's long-term plan includes the construction of two QD-OLED production lines, although it is not clear whether this includes the company's Chinese factory. The company has not yet decided how to dispose of the two LCD factories in China.

Previously, Samsung had produced LCD screens for Apple's iPhone, iPad and Mac products. However, as the Cupertino technology giant and other smart phone brands have gradually switched to OLED, the demand for traditional LCD has declined significantly.

At present, Samsung has filled most of the OLED screen orders required by Apple's flagship iPhone models and Apple Watch, and the remaining part has been filled by LG, a competitor based in South Korea.

Overall, Samsung is neither the first nor the only manufacturer to reduce the output of LCD panels. LG Display has converted at least one of its LCD factories to OLED production lines, and Panasonic last year decided to stop LCD production before 2021.