China’s BOE starts building third 6G flexible OLED line

We know China’s BOE takes foldable displays seriously. We’ve seen one of its foldable panels demoed at the beginning of the month, with claims that it can be folded 100,000 times. We also know that BOE is likely going to be the supplier for Huawei’s upcoming foldable smartphone, so it should come as no surprise that BOE is starting to build a third production line.

According to a recent report, BOE just recently finished building its second 6G flexible OLED in Mianyang (first one being in Chengdu). Now, construction begins on a third line in Chongqing, with a reported capacity of 48,000 substrates a month. It represents an investment of CNY46.5 billion (US$6.88 billion).

However, these flexible panels will not all be used in smartphones. The report says they are used in the automotive and notebook industry as well. We’re witnessing a boom with a total number 157.6 million flexible OLED panels being shipped globally in 2018, which reportedly represents a three-times growth over 2015.