LG Display brews up next generation OLED technologies

LG display has shown off transparent display solutions for retail, a next-generation automotive OLED display experience, and advanced gaming monitors at K-Display 2023, KDIA’s (Korea Display Industry Association) largest exhibition.

United by a theme of ‘Always On,’ the OLED prototypes could be found in three zones: ‘Mobility,’ ‘Total Solution,’ and ‘Transparent Future.’

The ‘Transparent Future’ zone introduced various sizes to LG Display's Transparent OLED lineup, including the first 30- and 77-inch variations on top of its existing 55-inch Transparent OLED and curved Transparent OLEDs.

To demonstrate Transparent OLED’s potential in the retail world, LG Display partnered with coffee chain Starbucks to realise a futuristic store concept utilising Transparent OLEDs.

With the implementation of a Transparent OLED display positioned between the cashier and customers, coffee lovers can view various information such as product pickup notifications and store promotions. This initiative is anticipated to demonstrate the heightened potential utility of Transparent OLED technology in retail.

Since Transparent OLED can be applied to virtually any surface (windows, walls, floors), it is expected to lead to widespread adoption in retail, architecture, mobility, and digital art.

The ‘Mobility’ zone featured an autonomous concept car that integrated several display technologies into its dashboard, centre fascia, rear seats, and various other parts of the interior.

A 34-inch P-OLED display spanned the entire dashboard, offering a clear view of the navigation system, and other essential information. Able to bend or change shape, P-OLED display technology is particularly suitable for the curved surfaces of a vehicle interior, such as the Center Fascia and rear seats.

P-OLED incorporates Tandem OLED technology into a flexible plastic substrate to make it slimmer and lighter without sacrificing picture quality. It uses 60 per cent less power and is 80 per cent lighter than LCD displays, making it ideal for electric vehicles, says the manufacturer.

Tandem OLED is a novel two-stack OLED solution, which adds an extra organic emitting layer to deliver brighter screens. By improving the efficiency of organic light-emitting components, the display is given a longer lifespan.

LG Display is expected to start mass producing second-generation Tandem OLED this year.

LG Display also promoted its ATO (Advanced Thin OLED) solution, a less expensive automotive display screen, and SPM (Switchable Privacy Mode), which controls the display’s viewing angle to ensure the driver’s focus stays firmly on the road.

The ‘Total Solution’ zone was home to a full range of OLED displays, from 42- to 97-inch OLED TV panels. Showcasing LG Display’s META Technology, these screens incorporate a ‘Micro Lens Array (MLA)’ to optimise organic light emissions and a brightness-enhancing algorithm, the so-called ‘META Booster,’ to boost energy efficiency by up to 22 per cent.

LG Display says its third-generation OLED TV panels featuring META Technology not only boast the brightest screen among all existing OLED TV panels, with a peak HDR brightness of 2,100 nits, but also accurately reproduce perfect blacks and a diverse array of natural lights and colours.

For gamers, LG Display had 45-inch Ultra-Wide OLED and 27-inch OLED panels on hand. Features include a 0.03ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate. These panels also utilise CSO (Cinematic Sound OLED) technology, which uses advanced AI algorithms to present sound emanating directly from the screen.

LG Display also introduced small-to-medium-sized OLED technologies for other form factors. There was a 17-inch Foldable OLED for laptops, portable monitors and tablets, delivering crease-free, crystal-clear picture quality and a curvature of 2.5R (radius of curvature 2.5mm). It also presented an 8-inch 360-degree Foldable OLED, which folds both inwards and outwards to let users choose different form factors for different tasks.

The company also offered 0.42-inch OLEDoS (OLED on Silicon) for AR glasses. Employing an OLED layer on its silicon wafer, it boasts an ultra-high 3,500 pixels per inch (PPI) resolution to add more immersion to augmented reality devices.

It wasn't all about OLED. There was a 27-inch 4K IPS Black panel for monitors, which features IPS Black, a wide viewing angle technology that also enhances contrast ratio, as well as a 16-inch IPS gaming panel for laptops with an ultra-high refresh rate of 480Hz, wide viewing angles, and low power consumption.

K-Display 2023 ran August 16 - 18, in Seoul , South Korea.