Until now, all OLED TVs available on the market have used LG panels but China’s BOE confirms that it has produced the 55” panel that will be used in China’s Skyworth’s new OLED TVs, according to a report by ETNews.

First Chinese-made OLED
Chinese companies have vowed to enter the OLED market and it appears that a duo of two Chinese companies is finally ready to challenge LG’s dominance.

The first OLED TV panel not to be produced by LG
BOE Display confirms that it has successfully produced a 55” Ultra HD OLED TV display that is ready for the consumer market. BOE is a display panel maker so the panels will be used and sold in Skyworth’s new OLED TV. The two companies announced the news at the HighTech Fair in China.

This is the first OLED TV panel not to be produced by LG – at least if you disregard Samsung’s failed attempt at producing OLED TVs in 2012-13.

Skyworth introduced its first OLED TV in 2013 and has since then been using LG panels. LG.Display is currently supplying 100% of the panels used in OLED TVs from Panasonic, Philips, Loewe, and others. Even though LG has started supplying other companies, it still holds a 95% share of all OLED TV sales, according to the report.

BOE has produced the panel at an 8.5-gen pilot line in Hefei, China. The plant is not yet geared toward mass production but BOE is currently ramping up production capacity. It has received a 124m RMB grant from the government to realize the plan. 


 
Coming to Europe
Skyworth TVs are sold only in China but the company is planning to introduce the “made in China” OLED TVs under the Metz brand in Europe.

Metz announced OLED TVs during IFA 2016 in September but at that time everyone assumed that it was an LG panel inside.

It will probably take some years before BOE can truly challenge LG but it is exciting to see more companies join the race. China’s TCL is also planning to set up a display plant capable of producing OLED panels starting from 2019.

- Source: ETNews via OLED-Info.com