As display AMOLED display technology matures, the display technology is undergoing tremendous changes in 2021. As we enter the next ten years, we will have more intelligent, compact, and portable devices. From artificial intelligence to mobile phones and devices, display technology will change the way humans work, live, and play.
01The future of mobile phones is slowly unfolding
The explosive growth of online games, entertainment and information has brought more people to mobile screens throughout history. Therefore, the screen tends to be larger in size, and the price is also easy for people to accept, which is completely expected. More and more people watch movies on major platforms, such as Netflix and HULU platforms. People are chasing dramas on mobile phones, spending more and more time on social media, obsessed with and watching higher-definition and larger pictures and videos.
Samsung, Royole Technology, Motorola and other manufacturers released new flexible mobile phones with flexible substrates, unique materials, and ultra-thin displays that can be folded multiple times. Most foldable phones use OLED displays. The development of next-generation displays has fertile soil. New TADF materials from Noctiluca and Omniply's flexible electronic products as thin as stickers will maintain the leading position of OLED technology.For example, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 mobile phone is equipped with a flexible 7.6-inch AMOLED display, which allows consumers to read e-books, play games and watch "Game of Thrones" on the large screen. The good news is that foldable phones will be thinner and lighter, with longer battery life, and there are more and more mobile apps that can be displayed in different sizes on the phone screen. The bad news, at least for now, is that the price of some flexible phones exceeds the price of a 75-inch TV.
02Miniaturized AR/VR technology brings an eye-opening experience
Although people are expecting Apple or Google to release new AR products, the VR field has brought people a lot of exciting news, mainly from the microdisplay led by MicroOLED technology. The experience of using a mobile phone as a VR device is not good, and people complain that the combination of VR and LCD technology will cause halos. The industry hopes to solve these problems by adopting OLED technology. The new technological progress made by eMagin in Direct patterning OLED displays will bring substantial breakthroughs in the application of VR technology and increase the brightness of MicroOLED displays by 10 times.
Facebook recently collaborated with movie studios such as Disney to generate VR image content. So you may soon be able to immerse yourself in an action movie as a character in the movie, for example, when watching "Mission: Impossible", you feel like Tom Cruise clinging to the door of a jet. Equally exciting is the cooperation between Oculus and the NBA, which allows you to sit in the front row of the Finals; or turn you into a player in the future, dribbling the ball on the court, avoiding heavy interceptions, and making three-pointers. ball. It can even be applied to the car, allowing car buyers to wear headphones and experience driving their new car at high speeds, such as a Tesla. The possibilities are shocking, and the display quality required by these applications will test engineers and scientists in our industry.
03 Trend of the Times: MicroLED
The MicroLED technology introduced by Sony and Samsung will lead the development trend of the digital signage industry. We can expect digital signage to provide significantly enhanced visual effects with higher resolution, higher contrast, more vivid colors and faster response speed. Based on flexible impression transfer and micro IC backplane technology, X Display has moved from the laboratory to mass production after years of research. MicroLED displays use GaN and InGaAIP semiconductors, and the brightness and efficiency of the displays far exceed those of LCD displays.
Unlike traditional displays, MicroLED displays do not have the problem of screen aging. The application of MicroLED displays in indoor and outdoor digital signage surpasses LCD and OLED displays. For example, digital signage in shopping malls and retail stores, as well as other places where LED technology has not been involved before. Regarding low-power indoor digital signage, Visionect’s electronic paper has many advantages, such as high image quality, low power consumption, and suitable brightness and color.
04Automatic machines create a safer world
Under the new crown epidemic, people are more inclined to work with machines than with people. Automatic machines have become popular because of this, minimizing the frequency of physical contact between people, and its touch screen also has an antibacterial function.
Medical antibacterial materials such as silver ions can inhibit pathogen cell division and replication. The use of nano silver has been certified and can be used in surgical masks, food containers, water filters, bandages and biomedical equipment.
Automatic machines that are turned on by gestures or sounds will increasingly be used to provide directions, medical information, personnel counting, and temperature monitoring. The user can activate selections or tasks by speaking to the display or making gestures. Voice assistants have been integrated into a large number of displays and devices, such as Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant devices.
05Best TV display technology, worth looking forward to
With the popularization of MicroLED display technology, televisions are undergoing a transformation. Although LG's flexible OLED TVs have attracted much attention, the application of MiniLED backlit screens in TVs is not weak. The MiniLED display with a low-cost flexible substrate produced by SmartKem tries to compete with the OLED display in terms of color and contrast. The 0.1mm MiniLED has a simpler structure than the 0.01mm MicroLED.
The high-end TV market is still dominated by companies that produce ultra-thin rollable screens, such as LG. The wireless audio technology of companies such as Summit Wireless brings consumers an immersive experience, and the TV is transformed into a home theater. With standard technologies such as WiSA, audio enthusiasts can completely get rid of wired connections, so they can easily place speakers wherever they need to enhance the sound experience.
Some TV manufacturers are using quantum dots (QD) in combination with LCD technology to gain a competitive advantage with OLED in terms of color and image quality. Quantum dots are used as semiconductor nanocrystalline particles to enhance the LCD color gamut, increasing the visible spectrum by 30%. At least for the next three years, these technologies will continue to compete for "who is the best TV display technology". Consumers will benefit the most, especially LCDs constantly looking for new ways to maintain their dominant position in display technology, while OLED and MicroLED technologies are also chasing after them.
OLED has gained a firm foothold in the field of smartphone applications. As the size of OLED continues to expand, it is increasingly used to watch live and streaming video content, becoming a user’s own mobile TV, which requires OLED display to be more flexible and have a longer battery life. Tablet computers may also become a new form of television, which is flexible and portable, more economical, and can also provide users with a good experience.
06 incredible foldable laptop/tablet
Essentially, the screen and keyboard are on one display. Dual-screen and foldable laptops allow users to interact with laptops like never before. In addition, when dual screens are used at the same time, text can be moved from one screen to another; the larger display size allows users to read more text content at one time.
With its Duet and Ori, Dell is leading the way in foldable products. But unlike the Duo/Neo of the Microsoft Surface, the Duet is equipped with two 13.4-inch FHD screens, which are connected together by a sturdy hinge, just like a traditional laptop. Ori is a foldable laptop with a 13-inch screen. Lenovo also released a foldable PC, ThinkPad X1, which can be placed at any angle like a laptop.
The challenge is how to make extremely thin displays on foldable plastic, where to place the processor and memory, and how to cool the device. The ThinkPad X1 fold seems to solve these challenges with its compact size and optional 5G function. When you need to type, the Lenovo folding mini keyboard is connected to the X1 Fold like a magnet via Bluetooth. Its screen size is twice the original, and developers still need to update the operating system and other platforms to use it on a larger foldable screen.
07 IQ Leap of Artificial Intelligence
As people increasingly rely on artificial intelligence, this has triggered a large number of companies in the field of artificial intelligence, including Apple, Lenovo, Alibaba, Amazon, Google, LG, and Samsung. They are racing to develop competitive products, trying to find a share in this lucrative market. This will be an ongoing battle, especially as the demand for interaction and connectivity of various home security, entertainment and control systems continues to increase.
Artificial intelligence displays are coming out one after another, such as Amazon's smart speakers, Echo Show. Just as mobile phones evolve into complete communication devices, Amazon’s Echo Show integrates multiple functions, such as digital photo frames, small TVs, video call devices, etc.; in China, Alibaba has launched a "Tmall Genie" with similar functions. ; Google Assistant can be compatible with more and more various mobile applications on mobile phones.
08The development of vehicle display enters the fast lane
For a long time, liquid crystal displays have dominated the automotive industry. And now, OLED technology is bringing greater safety and convenience to today's and future cars. For example, Audi took the lead in launching its first all-electric SUV—Audi e-tron, the first mass production of optional virtual exterior mirrors. This virtual rearview mirror is equipped with a side-view camera, which replaces the traditional car rearview mirror. These cameras are equipped with Samsung's most advanced OLED display to allow drivers to instantly see what is happening outside.
Tesla's new energy car is equipped with a 17-inch touch screen, which almost eliminates the need for buttons on the car. Industry observers predict that the future digital cockpit will be equipped with a single integrated ECU (Electronic Control Unit), which will control the front and rear seat infotainment system, advanced driver assistance functions, digital instruments, etc.
09 Make the eyes easier to read
As more people stay at home, people usually choose to read for a long time. Therefore, the popularity of Kindle devices is growing. Amazon's Kindle is equipped with Sharp's 7-inch, 300 ppi backlit display and 32GB of storage space. If you read a book by the pool, it can be soaked in water for an hour. Whether during the day or night, the screen can automatically adapt to the surrounding light, keeping the eyes comfortable when reading. For children trapped at home, there is also the Kindle Kids Edition, which is equipped with a 6-inch, 167 ppi display and front lighting, as well as some tools to help build a vocabulary. Color electronic paper is the next goal, and companies like E Ink and Amorphyx are studying this new technology to make it a reality.
10 writing helper
With the combination of new products and existing technologies, the interface of electronic writing continues to expand, and writing becomes easier and more efficient. For example, the Microsoft Surface series of devices and Surface Pen allow users to quickly take notes or write long stories. Equipped with the Windows 10 operating system, Surface continuously collects and evaluates your handwriting to improve character recognition and ensure a personalized user dictionary, and even gives suggestions for text modification.
Apple Pencil developed by Apple can write notes in Notes and other applications. In iOS 14, users can write in any text box, such as a handwritten phone number, date or address, and then convert the handwritten content into text, just as the user types on the device. You can also write by hand in the Safari search box or the mail text box. Handwriting content on the iPad is converted into text and stored on the device to ensure the privacy and security of the written content.
Photo Courtesy: Finally, Microsoft, Samsung's Galaxy Note. With the improved S-Pen, users can write or draw directly on the PDF file, or they can scribble notes or draw a small chart on the classroom content or book images. S-Pen is small and slender, writing speed and accuracy are like real handwriting. There will be many eye-opening changes in 2021. With new developments in display technology, our lives will become easier, safer, and more efficient. The way humans work, interact and play will be refreshing.
