Samsung Display is plotting to usher in a new era for OLED displays, using the new technology to replace LCD in greater numbers of laptops, monitors and tablets. 

The company this week unveiled a massive 4.1 trillion won (£2.5 billion) investment plan that will see it collaborate with the South Korean government to speed up the transition to OLED technology, Yonhap News reported. According to South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured), the investment represents a “new leap” for the country’s display panel industry. 

OLED technology has already become increasingly prevalent in televisions and smartphones, but the vast majority of new laptops, monitors and tablets are still equipped with older, low-contrast IPS or VA LCD panels. 

The investment will be used to upgrade production lines for mid-sized OLED panels at Samsung Display’s Korean factories in Asan, with the expectation that they will come online in 2026, Yonhap said. 

Samsung Display finally quit production of LCD displays last year, saying that the market had become increasingly unprofitable due to intense competition from Chinese manufacturers that can produce them more cheaply. 

Last year, it was reported that Samsung Display is planning to produce both standard OLED and QD-OLED panels at a new 8.7-Gen factory in South Korea. The company has already gotten off to a good start, with its first-generation QD-OLED panels for TVs and monitors rolling out last year. Samsung Electronics' S95B and Sony Corp.’s A95K QD-OLED TVs were rated as two of the very best that money could buy in 2022, and this year’s second-generation QD-OLED TVs are noticeably brighter, increasing their allure. 

Samsung’s new OLED factory should be up and running by 2026, and it will significantly increase the company’s production capacity. According to industry analyst Ross Young, one of Samsung Display’s first customers will be Apple, which has reportedly agreed to order mass-produced 14- and 16-inch two-stack OLED panels for future Macbook Pros. OLED panels for the Macbook Air computers meanwhile, will be manufactured at an older 6-Gen factory, Young said. 

QD-OLED monitors have already been shipped by several companies, including Samsung Electronics, Dell Alienware, MSI and Philips, though until now they are strictly intended for gaming.