Recently, there has been continuous news about the 8.6th generation OLED production line. First, there were market rumors that TCL China Star would announce plans to invest in building an 8.6th generation OLED production line within the year, prompting an urgent clarification from TCL China Star's parent company TCL Technology (000100.SZ) late at night on the 7th, stating that the company has "no new investment plans for 8th or 8.6th generation OLED production lines"; then, this morning, research firm WitDisplay reported that LG Display's 8.6th generation OLED project, previously rumored to start production in the second half of this year, may be further delayed due to equipment issues.
With the landscape of the LCD and small-size OLED markets gradually becoming clearer, the progress of the large-size 8.6th generation OLED line has become a focus of attention in the display industry. Whether mainstream manufacturers will invest, when production will start, and how progress is made will all impact the future competitive landscape of the entire industry. Interviews with several manufacturers and industry insiders revealed that while using a 6th generation line to produce large-size OLEDs is technically feasible, there is still significant room for improvement in terms of cost. However, the construction of an 8.6th generation line poses challenges such as massive investment and limited equipment supply, leading some manufacturers to adopt a cautious approach towards investing in the 8.6th generation line.
At 10 p.m. on the 7th, TCL Technology urgently issued a clarification announcement, stating that they had noticed recent media reports such as "TCL China Star to invest 63 billion yuan to join the 8th generation OLED line competition within the year!" and "TCL China Star plans to invest in the 8th generation OLED within the year," clarifying that the company currently has no plans to invest in new 8th or 8.6th generation OLED production lines and that there is no plan to raise funds through private placements to build display production lines. As a company of high market interest, TCL China Star rarely directly refutes rumors through announcements. This urgent clarification indicates the impact of these rumors on the company.
The construction status of the medium-size 8.6th generation OLED production line for target IT products is considered one of the key factors affecting the future landscape of the display market. Currently, with South Korea and Japan gradually exiting the LCD market, the dominance of global LCD panel supply is shifting towards China. Domestic manufacturers such as BOE A (000725.SZ) and TCL China Star are gaining more influence in the LCD field; small-size OLEDs are penetrating faster, with domestic manufacturers BOE A, TCL China Star, Visionox (002387.SZ), and Tianma A (000050.SZ) all entering the top five in shipments last year. In this scenario, the untapped medium-size market has become a battleground for manufacturers.
Although mainstream manufacturers have shipped medium-size OLED products for applications like automotive displays, they are still not mainstream products. Even BOE A, the domestic leader in AMOLED shipments, has a "very small" share of medium-size shipments, according to a securities department official. This is due to certain challenges in the penetration of OLEDs into the medium-size sector. A manufacturer mentioned that current mainstream 6th generation OLED lines mainly focus on small-size products, and while they can produce medium-size products with this generation line, obstacles such as capacity, technology, production lines, and pricing hinder large-scale penetration.
Establishing an 8.6th generation OLED production line seems to be the best solution to address these issues. "The current mainstream 6th generation OLED lines mainly produce fully flexible products for markets like smartphones, without considering the demand for medium-size products like laptops at the outset. Some production lines may not even have the capability to produce medium-size products. Even if some production lines can be retrofitted for small-scale production, their economic viability is not as good as dedicated 8.6th generation IT lines, making the construction of specialized lines the preferred option to meet the growing demand for medium-size OLEDs," said Liu Yu, a senior analyst at Cinno Research, to the media.
Currently, the arms race for 8.6th generation OLED production lines has officially begun. International display giant Samsung announced an investment of 4.1 trillion Korean won (approximately 21.5 billion yuan) in April last year to build an 8.6th generation OLED panel production line. Domestic display powerhouse BOE A followed suit in November last year by announcing plans to invest 63 billion yuan in building the 8.6th generation AMOLED production line project. In the first quarter of this year, both companies held groundbreaking ceremonies, officially commencing their projects. Additionally, South Korean media ZDNet Korea estimated in February that another display giant, LG Display, will also announce its 8.6th generation OLED production line plan in the second half of the year.
Behind the entry of all major players lies some hidden concerns. Liu Yu believes that investing in 8.6th generation IT OLEDs involves massive capital, with few specialized equipment suppliers such as vapor deposition machines, limited supply, high prices, and the need to develop customer demand beyond Apple, making the profitability prospects still uncertain. Therefore, some manufacturers remain cautious about this.
The latest information from WitDisplay also confirms this view. WitDisplay informed the media that the production cycle for one vapor deposition machine from display equipment company Sunic System takes about a year. Given that Sunic System has already signed a cooperation agreement with BOE for two 8.6th generation OLED vapor deposition machines, LGD's vapor deposition machines are expected to arrive after 2026.
In this challenging environment, no other mainstream manufacturers have concrete news about 8.6th generation OLED lines. Apart from TCL China Star, Tianma A told the media, "The company is closely monitoring the situation regarding 8.6th generation OLEDs. Whether there will be new line layouts in the future will be considered based on the company's strategic planning and market demand. Please rely on information disclosed by the company." Viavi Solutions previously mentioned in an investor event that the penetration rate of OLED in the mid-size IT and automotive markets is continuously increasing, offering significant room for expansion. The industry is planning high-generation lines suitable for the mid-size market demand. The company will continue to monitor industry trends and prudently advance related projects based on market demand and company development plans.
At the Apple event held on the 7th, the iPad featuring OLED has officially debuted, marking the first year of commercial use of mid-size OLED in the IT sector. The intense competition in this field has officially begun. Currently, both Samsung and BOE have announced that their 8.6-generation lines will start production in 2026, making it difficult to determine the progress of high-generation OLED production lines both domestically and internationally. In the battleground of 8.6-generation OLED technology for IT, the race to seize the initiative remains to be tested by time.
