Samsung Display is set to begin installing machinery at its newest, 6th OLED production facility, with plans to begin mass production at the line sometime in 2026.
The company will use its most advanced display-making facility to build millions of next-generation OLED displays for laptops, tablets and other medium-sized devices, a report by The Elec stated.
Samsung Display first revealed its plans to transform OLED production in April last year, saying it will invest 4.1 trillion won (around $3.1 billion) in what will become the world’s first 8.6G OLED fabrication plant. The plans were announced shortly after Samsung Display finally quit making LCD displays, leaving that industry to its more cost-efficient Chinese competitors.
The new plant will have an annual manufacturing capacity of about 10 million panels, The Elec reported, though that number will depend on what its customers order, as it will vary based on the size of the panels it builds.
According to the company, the new plant will be called the A6 line, and it is essentially a revamped version of its existing L8 line. “It is Samsung’s 6th OLED line and the highest-generation line in the world when completed,” the company said.
Samsung Display does not intend to use the facility to produce QD-OLED panels for televisions, at least not yet. Despite the popularity of its QD-OLED TV displays, it has not yet announced any plans to expand capacity beyond the few hundred thousand large-sized substrates per year that it currently manufacturers.
It’s likely that the A6 line could begin producing small numbers of OLED panels even before the 2026 launch date. It’s common for display makers to begin producing displays in a limited capacity earlier. But the company’s timeline refers strictly to full-scale production.
Samsung Display has reportedly already completed construction of the clean room in the A6 line, and is now starting to install the deposition machinery that’s required to transform organic OLED materials into pixels. It will then install various other facilities, with full-scale mass production ready to start sometime in 2026.
Samsung Display’s commitment comes after China’s BOE revealed plans for a $9 billion investment in its first 8.6G OLED production line that’s also slated to launch in 2026. LG Display is also believed to be planning a similar investment, but has yet to announce any plans publicly.
The new plants will be necessary for the OLED market to meet expectations. The market research firm Omdia has previously forecast that OLED panel sales will grow at an average rate of 28.6% per year through 2024 to 2029, with revenues set to hit $8.913 billion by that year.
OLED sales are set to explode as major laptop and tablet makers such as Apple and Dell transition from LCD panels to OLED displays.
