Flanked by the heads of key affiliates, Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong toured the display panel production lines at Samsung Display’s Asan facilities on Mar. 19, taking a closer look at the next generation Quantum Dot (QD) display samples. The lines are now readying for mass production.“We are facing une

Samsung Electronics’ top management sweated it out at its 51st shareholders’ meeting held on Mar. 18 during which shareholders asked why the company was falling behind its top rival Apple.One shareholder said that she had to force her kids to buy Samsung smartphones, going against their wishes to ge

LG Display is expected begin mass production from its Guangzhou plant in China manufacturing large-sized OLED panels in May this year, according to industry sources on Mar. 16.This is about 3 months behind schedule, largely triggered by the spread of the coronavirus that put plant facilities on hold

South Korea’s largest lithium battery cathode-maker Eco Pro BM has developed NCMA cathode that can help raise efficiency of EVs, and is expected to supply them to clients within the first half of this year, according to the company on Mar. 17.NCMA composes more than 80% of nickel and uses less cobal

Samsung’s sales of its Galaxy S20 series are not selling too well on account of a global economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, along with reduced subsidies for telecom companies.Industry sources said on Mar. 17 that the latest in Samsung’s flagship smartphones are e

Seoul Semiconductor said on Mar. 12 that a former researcher has been found guilty of leaking LED technology by an Incheon district court and sentenced to a jail term of 8 months and a 2-year probation.The employee, following his departure from Seoul Semiconductor in December 2014, leaked the techno

SK Innovation has begun to improve the quality of electrolyte additives in a joint development effort with DUKSAN Techopia. Industry sources said on Mar. 12 that the pair may begin mass production of the key battery material within this year.The specs have yet to be published, but the new additives

LG Display is struggling with low yield of rollable OLED panels for televisions due to using glass substrates.Industry sources on Mar. 11 said LG Display seems to be using ultra-thin glass substrates with a thickness of under 0.2mm for the rollable panels. Due to this material, not only has the yiel

Samsung Electronics has succeeded in developing a so-called next generation solid state battery technology possessing both improved durability and stability, according to Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology on Mar. 10.In a joint effort with Samsung R&D Institute Japan, it said it has developed

The display polarizing film market is expected to see tight supplies in 2020 on account of persisting demand coupled with the aftermath of the COVID-19, which has disrupted production, according to industry sources on Mar. 12. While the coronavirus affected the factory operation at Chinese film make

South Korea’s Philoptics is in talks with Samsung SDI on supplying up to 28 units of notching equipment to the Samsung affiliate’s battery facilities in Hungary, according to industry sources on Mar. 11. Samsung SDI has been accelerating investment into its Hungary plant. Industry watchers say the i

South Korea’s LG Chem has suspended its plans to spin off an EV battery unit during the second half of 2020 on concerns of global uncertainties, unstable yield and ESS fires, according to industry sources on March 9. The LG affiliate had planned an IPO for the spin-off, but this too has been put on

The global Energy Storage System (ESS) market is expected to grow by 12-fold to USD 111.8 billion by 2035 from the USD 9.1 billion posted in 2019, according to market research firm Lux Research on Mar. 10.When combined with batteries for EVs and portable devices, the top 3 battery segments are expec

The global shipment of mobile phone displays tumbled 26% in January from the previous month to 158 million units on the spreading coronavirus combined with seasonal factors, according to industry sources on Mar. 10.The figure reflected a 20% on-year decline. It was compiled from the display shipment

Advanced optical zoom cameras are expected to set premium smartphones apart, with Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies vying for the lead, according to industry sources on Mar. 5.Both tech companies will be adding more models embedded with such cameras that allow for longer focal distances wi

POSCO Chemical has developed next-generation cathode using new synthetic graphite for EV batteries, according to the company on Mar. 6. This could help cut prices to gain an edge over Chinese players, said market watchers.POSCO Chemical explained that synthetic graphite would eventually replace the

Global TV makers are affected to experience disruptions to their production up until May this year on account of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, according to industry sources on Mar. 6.During the months of February and March, manufacturers are estimated to have suffered production losses of

Samsung Electronics has switched from German battery maker Varta to China’s EVE Energy for its latest wireless earphones, the Galaxy Buds+, according to global repair parts seller iFixit on Mar. 4.The earphones used the coin-cell type batteries supplied by EVE Energy, iFixit said. Previous Samsung e

The global telecommunication equipment market grew 2% in 2019 to show a second straight year increase since 2018, according to market research firm Dell’Oro on Mar. 6.This compares with the period between 2014 and 2017 when the market showed 3 straight years of decline. Another notable feature was t

South Korean startup Optolane has recently submitted a digital, real time PCR kit to the Korea Centers for Disease Control& Prevention to help diagnose COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus.Optolane CEO Lee Do-young said the firm is also planning to go overseas with the solution as soon as possibl