CES 2022 is arguably the biggest event for the LED industry this week, as various Mini/Micro LED products stunned attendees on their debut. Moreover, several other events are noteworthy, including LG’s plan to ship its first Micro LED TVs this year, HC Semitek’s 1.5 billion yuan investment in Mini/Micro LED development and Xiaomi becoming a shareholder of Micro LED business Shenzhen Sitan. Let’s cut to the chase and take a glance at the following major events that happened in the first week of 2022.

【Major Events】

LG’s First Micro LED TVs to Be Shipped This Year

In a press conference during CES 2022, LG announced its plan to ship the first batch of its Micro LED TVs “later this year”. The company claimed that the modularized nature of its Micro LED product enables flexible tiling in any size and shape. The display maker also exhibited a 136-inch 4K HDR Micro LED TV.

San’an and TCL’s Joint Venture Launches Micro LED Project

On January 4, Chip Wealth Technology, a joint venture of San’an and TCL, kicked off a Micro LED R&D project. The investment of the project totaled 300 million yuan, with the R&D base occupying an area of 2000 m2. Chip Wealth—specializing in the R&D of novel semiconductor display technologies and industrialization of Micro LED displays—intends to purchase equipment for Micro LED mass transfer, bonding, testing and repairs. 

Research Team of Prof. Zhou Sheng Jun from Wuhan University Improves Performance of Flip-Chip Blue and Green Mini LEDs

According to foreign media reports, the research team of Zhou Sheng Jun, professor of Wuhan University, China, proposed a novel full-angle Ti3O5/ SiO2 DBR to enhance the luminous efficacy of blue and green flip-chip Mini LEDs, marking a milestone of developing high-performance flip-chip blue/green Mini LED displays.

HC Semitek Invested 1.5 Billion Yuan in High-Performance Mini/Micro LED Epi-wafers and Chips

HC Semitek recently announced that its Suzhou-based subsidiary signed an agreement (“Investment of the research, development and production project of novel high-performance full-color Mini/Micro LED epi-wafers and chips”) with the Management Committee of Zhangjiagang Economic and Technological Development Zone. The 4-year project, totaling an investment of 1.5 billion yuan, comprises the establishment of a production base on the Suzhou subsidiary’s land (i.e., No. 28, Chenfeng Rd, Zhangjiagang Economic and Technological Development Zone).

Xiaomi Becomes Shareholder of Micro LED Company Shenzhen Sitan

According to the data revealed on qcc.com, Hubei Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry Fund Partnership (LP) has become a shareholder of Micro LED display startup Shenzhen Sitan. Its registered capital has increased to 20.877194 million yuan; specifically, the subscribed capital contribution made by Xiaomi is approximately 1.04 million yuan, representing a 5% stake in the startup.

Meta’s and Apple’s VR/AR/MR products: Latest Forecasts

On January 5, Ming-chi Kuo from TF International revealed that Meta will launch an advanced VR headset in 2H22, whereas Apple will delay the launch of its AR/MR head-mounted device to the end of 2022. Additionally, Sony will begin shipping the PS5 VR starting in 2Q22. On January 5, Ming-chi Kuo from TF International revealed that Meta will launch an advanced VR headset in 2H22, whereas Apple will delay the launch of its AR/MR head-mounted device to the end of 2022. Additionally, Sony will begin shipping the PS5 VR starting in 2Q22. 

Latest Progress of BOE’s Two Major Production Bases of Mobile Display Modules and Vehicle Mount Displays

As the Qingdao Daily reported, BOE will complete building major factories of its production base of IoT mobile display port devices by late June this year and produce the first product in late December. With a total investment amount of 8.17 billion yuan, the base will comprise fully automated module production lines, aiming to manufacture screens of smartphones, iPads, notebooks and other flat-panel displays for mobile systems. The company plans to expand its business to the production of self-developed mobile phones and equipment.

On January 4, BOE launched the construction of its vehicle mount display (VMD) production base. With an investment of 2.5 billion yuan, the production base—of which the construction takes place between 2021 and 2022—aims to produce 5-inch and 35-inch liquid crystal VMD modules, which is scheduled to start manufacturing by the end of 2022. With full capacity developed, the production base can manufacture roughly 14.4 million VMDs every year.

Leyard Creates New Brand Lemass

On January 1, Leyard created the new brand Lemass. The brand, of which the production base is located at the Smart Display Industry Park in Changsha of Hunan Province, China, is valued at more than 10 billion yuan. Its business will cover application scenarios including indoor commercial display, meeting and monitoring, transportation guide, outdoor advertising, commercial rental and sports stadium events.

PanelSemi launches the World's First Flexible AM Mini LED Display at CES2022

Primary is a 55-inch AM mini LED display that is extra lightweight at only 1 kilogram, ultra-thin with only 1-millimeter thickness, and flexible with a 360-degrees viewing angle. It comes with a stunning display curving and seamless tiling in 9-inch bricks for a larger display that is easy to assemble. It is also an eco-friendly display where 4 hours of use only requires one 10 K-mAh power bank. The Primary display can transform into concave, convex, s-curve, cylinder, and rollable form. Its core is the innovative Active-Matrix (AM) on TFT panel technology that can bond each LED, sensor, and semiconductor intelligently. Research by the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) also reiterates that the AM technology inside the Primary is safer for viewers as it leads to less dry eyes.

【CES】

On January 5, CES (Consumer Electronics Show) was inaugurated in Las Vegas. For the first time, the world’s largest tech show was held both offline and online, and Samsung, LG, Sony and other big players debuted their Mini/Micro LED and Micro OLED products. Here’s a summary of the highlights:

Compiled by Mia from LEDinside