According to reports, Samsung Display will shut down its liquid-crystal display (LCDs) business in June. While this is six months earlier than projected, the company had planned to close by the end of 2020, but the pandemic and a boom in consumer electronics demand forced it to postpone those plans.
According to the Korea Times, the decision to close the firm sooner rather than later comes as consumer interest in LCDs wanes in favor of display technologies like Quantum Dot and OLED. Losses resulting from declining LCD prices have also played a significant role.
The LCD panel pricing index has been dropping since late 2021, according to US market research group Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), and is down roughly 60% year on year.
Another issue has been Samsung Electronics’ cooperation with overseas LCD producers from China and Taiwan. Samsung Electronics is the top buyer of Samsung Display products. In recent years, the switch from LCDs to OLEDs for smartphones has had an impact.
Following a surge in LCD costs when the Covid epidemic crested, Samsung Electronics requested that the display affiliate postpone plans to close the LCD business in 2020.
Following the shift, employees from the LCD division are scheduled to be transferred to Samsung’s QD and OLED divisions.
The MSI MEG 342C monitor combines Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology with an OLED panel, as we recently learned.
The Alienware AW3423DW, which we adore and gave a perfect score of 90 in our review, uses the same combination. The Samsung Odyssey G8QNB has it as well.
To read our blog on “Samsung reportedly reduced smartphone manufacturing by 30 million units,” click here.