Samsung is considering buying OLED panels from LG

Samsung is close to ordering millions of LG Display OLED panels, according to new reports from more than one South Korean news outlet.

Officials reportedly met recently to agree to the deal, which sees the supply of 1 million panels to Samsung in the second half of this year, rising to 4 million panels next year.

If the deal goes through, it will be the first time Samsung has purchased OLED panels from its South Korean competitor and market leader.

LG's OLED TVs are among the best in professional ratings.

Samsung exited the OLED TV market more than half a decade ago, and today LG Display provides OLED panels to a variety of TV manufacturers, including Sony, Vizio and Hisense as well as LG.

Last year, LG Display announced the expansion of its OLED product lines, and market research firm TrendForce says its production capacity is set to increase in the second quarter of this year.

According to a report, the total production capacity of LG Display's OLED TV screens is about 8 million units this year.

The new reports are the latest indication that Samsung is moving away from LCD panels, which it currently uses across its TV lineup, even as QLEDs use LCD panels behind the quantum dot layer.

And Samsung Display announced last year that it would stop producing LCD panels in the face of intense price competition from Chinese competitors, but it postponed this step after the epidemic led to an increase in demand.

While lower prices for LCD monitors are believed to have been behind last year's move, reports said the trend is reversing this year, and LCD panels are said to be getting more expensive, prompting Samsung to explore alternatives.

And while Samsung plans to buy panels from LG Display, the screen division is believed to be working on QD-OLED TV panels.

Samsung Display is currently developing a prototype TV that uses QD-OLED technology, and samples sent to Samsung in January were reportedly rejected due to their low brightness.

QD-OLED isn't the only new technology on Samsung's horizon, as the company recently commercialized Micro LED technology, which uses an array of tiny, self-emitting LEDs to produce the image.

Although Samsung has released this technology across a series of high-end TVs, it is believed to be years away from being affordable enough for mass market devices.

There are also reports that the company is working on TVs with self-emission quantum dots.