BOE, the largest display panel company in China, will hold a mass production ceremony for its 8.6-generation organic light-emitting diode (OLED) production line on June 17. Samsung Display plans to start mass production next month, so the competition for 8.6-generation mass production, which has been ongoing under the surface, is expected to begin in earnest.
According to the industry on June 3, BOE will invite internal and external company officials to hold a mass production ceremony at the B16 production base in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on June 17.
An official familiar with the matter said, “BOE has been preparing with a goal of starting mass production at the end of June as a deadline to meet the customer's schedule, and plans to hold a mass production ceremony around mid-June ahead of this.”
The production capacity of the B16 factory is at a level of 32,000 sheets per month. This means that the phase 1 line, which is half of it at a level of 16,000 sheets per month, will start mass production at the end of this month.
The customers are Taiwanese information technology (IT) companies ASUS and Acer. BOE plans to produce and supply OLEDs for 14-inch laptops of these customers.
It is less than three years since BOE finalized its investment in the 8.6-generation in November 2023. BOE has been engaging in a speed race to hold the title of 'the first mass production of 8.6-generation OLED.' This is also why the company is trying to hold a mass production ceremony ahead of Samsung Display and officialize mass production.
The official said, “Because it has several technical problems, the current yield is not high, but since the IT supply volume is not large yet, it is sufficient to normally handle the panel delivery.”
Samsung Display plans to commence mass production of 8.6-generation OLEDs at the A6 production base in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, in July. It is known that the schedule for the mass production ceremony has not been set yet.
Samsung Display plans to supply 12-inch and 14-inch panels for the MacBook Pro, which adopts OLED for the first time among Apple laptops. It is understood that the current production line has exceeded 80% based on cumulative yield. The company is smoothly preparing for mass production in accordance with the customer's schedule, and is expected to further raise the yield after starting mass production.
As the mass production schedule is determined according to the timing of the customer's product launch, mass-producing first does not mean technical superiority. However, since 8.6-generation OLED is a technology being commercialized for the first time, it has a symbolic meaning that a Chinese company has advanced the mass production schedule and led the competition in the OLED generation for the first time.
With this, the 8.6-generation mass production competition has begun in earnest.
BOE is also developing 8.6-generation OLED panels for smartphones with Oppo, a Chinese smartphone company. Attention is focused on whether the 8.6-generation competition will continue in smartphones in the future.
