Korean media: BOE’s 8.6th-generation OLED production line will be mass-produced by the end of the month

On May 13, Korean media The elec reported that BOE will start mass production of OLED panels at its Chengdu B16 factory at the end of May, with customers including notebook computer manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. The mass-produced product is a 14-inch OLED panel, and the specific model and output have not yet been announced.

According to reports, BOE originally planned to start mass production of the 8.6th generation OLED in the second half of this year. If this report is true, the mass production time will be more than a month ahead of the original plan. The B16 factory completed the lighting of the first batch of equipment on December 30 last year, five months ahead of schedule.

Image source: BOE

BOE said at its performance briefing last month that its 8.6-generation OLED business is undergoing customer sample verification. BOE said at the time: "We are promoting domestic and foreign customer cooperation projects in the fields of laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The first product is currently in the sample verification stage."

It is understood that the "put into production" referred to in this mass production refers to the glass substrates used in the production of 14-inch notebook OLED panels. The industry usually distinguishes two stages: one is the mass production of glass substrates in the production line, and the other is the actual shipment to customers. Even if the glass substrate is invested, there may still be a time lag between the input of the materials and the final delivery of the panels to the customer.

The designed monthly production capacity of the B16 factory is 32,000 pieces, and the first phase of the production line will be put into production first. The production line uses 2,290 mm × 2,620 mm substrates and has an investment scale of approximately RMB 63 billion. The production line uses low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology, which combines low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) and oxide thin film transistors (TFT) to help optimize the screen refresh rate and reduce power consumption. It is gradually being used in OLED panels for IT products such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets.

BOE predicts that the OLED market in IT applications will continue to grow. The company predicted in its previous performance briefing that the penetration rate of flat-panel OLED will increase from approximately 4% in 2025 to 9% in 2028, and the penetration rate of notebook OLED will increase from 5% to 14% in the same period. The company believes that 2026 to 2027 will be the period when medium-sized OLEDs shift from the experimental application stage to the main market.

South Korean company Samsung Display is also preparing for mass production of 8.6-generation OLED. The company has built an 8.6-generation OLED production line with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 pieces at the A6 factory in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do. Among them, the first oxide TFT production line, which is expected to be put into production from June to July this year, has a monthly production capacity of 7,500 pieces. The production line plans to mass-produce 14-inch and 16-inch OLED panels for Apple's MacBook Pro, which will be released in the second half of this year.

A person in the display industry said: "BOE started mass production of 8.6-generation OLED displays earlier than Samsung Display, which is of great significance. The penetration rate of OLED in the IT market in the future may depend on BOE's supply price and quality.