Somewhere in between, of course, are PC monitors, which LG will produce about 20% more panels this year than in 2023, an LG representative told the Korean Times (via What HiFi).
Most of the benefits will likely be felt further down the road, as there is an inevitable time lag between making the investment and reaping the benefits of increased production capacity and lower prices.
It is also unclear exactly what the funds will be used for. Reports on the full cost of the latest so-called "8.6 generation" OLED fabs and production facilities vary, but it is always a huge sum. Samsung recently announced that it will spend $3.1 billion to convert its LCD panel fab to OLED production. BOE, on the other hand, announced late last year that it would invest $8.8 billion in its own OLED plant.
So, while $1 billion is obviously a lot of money, it is not even close to that aside when it comes to starting construction of an entirely new OLED factory. However, it does add to the overall narrative that all major players in OLED technology are increasing their investments and ramping up production capacity.
Therefore, we are confident that OLED panel prices will come down in the coming years. How that will affect PC gaming monitor prices is a slightly different question.
Currently, with the exception of Samsung's new inkjet-printed 4K 32-inch QD panels, OLED panels for PC monitors come from the same production lines as OLED panels for TVs. And yet, a 4K 42-inch OLED TV can be bought for about the same price as a 27-inch 1440p OLED monitor.
It is not clear why OLED monitors are so much more expensive than TVs. Economies of scale are undoubtedly a factor. But that does not apply to the panel itself; the rest of the display (electronics, casing, etc.) has the same economies of scale. [While we like many aspects of OLED gaming monitors, including the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDM, there is one thing we don't like. At two to three times the cost of comparable LCD monitors, their value proposition still lacks a fairly large appeal.
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