Tough to Predict ‘Timing’ of New OLED Smartphone ‘Fab Investments,' Says Coherent

Apple’s likely introduction of an “all-OLED” iPhone lineup for September release would be the “largest opportunity” to boost “OLED market performance” in calendar 2020, said Coherent CEO John Ambroseo on a fiscal Q4 call Tuesday. Coherent supplies laser-based microelectronics to panel makers. Samsung Display “has the capacity in place” to fulfill the iPhone demand, said Ambroseo. It’s “widely known” that LG Display and BOE “are also vying for this business,” but they would need to pass “engineering and production qualifications no later than the middle of calendar 2020 to have a legitimate chance,” he said. Apple, LG and BOE didn’t respond to emails Wednesday seeking comment. An increasing number of smartphone SKUs from Chinese handset manufacturers “points to higher OLED output, mostly for rigid displays, but there has not been a watershed moment” in OLED production increases, said Ambroseo. It’s difficult to predict “the timing of future fab investments” because timing “has been and remains fluid,” he said. “We anticipate additional orders in the first half of the year that will cover our build plan for fiscal 2020" ending in September, he said.