No doubt, right after 5G, the next big thing in the phone industry is foldable smartphones. Back in February this year, TCL revealed some prototypes of the foldable models which it had in the works. The company then promised to release a foldable model very soon. New hints from the company suggest that it would commence production of the flexible OLED panels which the phones will feature.
According to reports, the Chinese company purchased LTPS equipment from Japan and South Korea for its plant which is located in Wuhan, China. The company is expected to commence the production of AMOLED panels for the foldable phones in Q4 2014. Production of the AMOLED panels is expected to be done via the company’s display division known as Huaxing Optoelectronics. The company is also expected to ship the flexible OLED panels to other OEMs.
The tech giant has confidence that Huaxing Optoelectronics, its display division will be able to attain double-digit growth both in annual sales and profit. The LTPS-LCD production for Q1 2019 reached $27.2 million. This helped it make third place in the world among companies with a single plant. The Chinese-based company also revealed that it had entered into an agreement with some top-class phone manufacturers around the world for flexible OLED orders.
The flexible OLED panels by TCL is expected to be used not just on phones but also on a smart TV. Recall that news surfaced about Huawei having its own smart TV in the works. According to the reports, TCL’s display division will be responsible for the production of the 65-inch panels for the Huawei TV. The 55-inch model, however, would be manufactured by BOE.
