Guests of this issue: Li Dongsheng, founder and chairman of TCL

Produced | Sohu Think Tank

Edit | Liu Shijiao

Chief Editor | Wang Demin

Since the third quarter of 2020, the panel industry has ushered in the strongest price increase cycle in history. From the end of May 2020 to April 2021, the growth rates of 32/43/55/65-inch TV panels were 141%/91%/100%/56% respectively. At the same time, the problem of upstream chip shortages continues, and to a certain extent, the increase in panel growth has also intensified.

According to a recent study by Goldman Sachs, there are as many as 169 industries in the world that are affected to some extent by the shortage of chips, ranging from automobiles, steel products, concrete production to air-conditioning manufacturing, and even soap production.

How do you view the trend of the panel industry this year? How to solve the problem of chip shortage? How should companies travel through the cyclical fluctuations of the industry? Sohu think tank “To Know 100 People” talked with TCL founder and chairman Li Dongsheng.

Li Dongsheng said that this round of panel price increases was mainly caused by the strong growth in demand for display products since the epidemic and the cyclical fluctuations in the industry. The current shortage of supply and demand is mainly concentrated on large-size products, and the supply of small and medium-sized products is relatively sufficient. It is expected that a basic balance of supply and demand can be achieved within this year. Li Dongsheng pointed out that in the past ten years, the entire display industry has experienced two cyclical fluctuations, and now it is the third time. For enterprises, it is necessary to have the ability to operate and manage through industry cycle fluctuations. In the management through this cycle, one aspect of the company must have strategic control capabilities, and the other must rely on improving its own core capabilities, especially product technical capabilities. “The development of the semiconductor display industry is not just driven by market demand, but also driven by innovation. So for TCL, we are constantly expanding our production capacity, but every increase in production capacity is not simple. The expansion of scale must make progress in the iterative upgrade of products.” Li Dongsheng said. Talking about the shortage of chips, Li Dongsheng believes that there are two main reasons. One is the rapid growth of the demand side, especially the rapid development of the electric vehicle market, and the other is the insufficient new investment on the supply side. Although the investment has increased rapidly in the past two years , But it still takes time to form an effective production capacity. Li Dongsheng predicts that the current chip shortage will continue for 9 to 12 months. In Li Dongsheng’s view, the development of the chip industry is not just about having funds, but also related to technical capabilities. The lack of domestic high-end chip manufacturing capabilities and the lack of core equipment are currently the bottleneck restricting the development of the chip industry. Facing the technological blockade, China is increasing its investment in equipment, technology, and materials to accelerate the development of China’s chip integrated circuit manufacturing industry. “But everyone should not have too optimistic expectations about this process. I believe it will take at least 3 to 5 years.” Finally, Li Dongsheng pointed out, In the long run, the science and technology industry must have a global division of labor. It is not the most competitive method for a country to fully complete its industrial chain behind closed doors. In the future, we must be more open and win-win cooperation to better promote the healthy development of the industry. TCL founder and chairman Li Dongsheng The following is a compilation of interviews: Sohu Finance: You once said that globalization is a sustainable way for companies to cope with changes in the global economic landscape and the new challenges of trade protectionism. What is the current progress of TCL’s global layout? Can you share a few successful experiences of TCL in expanding the international market? Li Dongsheng: TCL has initially formed a complete global industrial layout. We have established eight industrial bases in major overseas countries and regions. In the near future, our ninth industrial base in India will also be built. We have established industrial supply chains around the world so that our industrial supply chains can penetrate into major countries and regional markets. One is that tariffs and trade protectionism can be avoided, and this new business model can also be recognized and recognized by the host country. stand by. We do not simply sell products to relevant countries and regions, but set up our industrial parks locally and establish corresponding supply chains. In this way, while developing our own global business, we can also contribute to the local social and economic development. So this kind of business model has been developing smoothly in all countries and regions so far. Sohu Finance: Starting from the third quarter of 2020, the panel industry has ushered in the strongest price increase cycle in history. How do you see the trend of the panel industry this year? Li Dongsheng: China is now the world’s leading producer of semiconductor display products. Taking the LCD industry as an example, we have accounted for more than half of the global production capacity. In other emerging display technology areas, we are also catching up quickly. This round of panel price increases is affected by the cyclical effects of the industry on the one hand, and during the epidemic, the demand for display products has grown very strongly. The current cycle of relatively tight supply may continue for a while, but in the end it will tend to balance supply and demand. The current supply and demand shortage of semiconductor display products is mainly concentrated in large-size products, and the supply of small and medium-sized products is still sufficient. China’s semiconductor display production capacity has been relatively large in investment in the past few years, so to alleviate this gap in supply and demand, it should be possible to achieve a basic balance between supply and demand within this year. Sohu Finance: How do you think companies should travel through the cyclical fluctuations of the industry? Li Dongsheng: For enterprises, we need to have a long-term business plan, and have the ability to operate and manage through industry cycle fluctuations. In the past ten years, the entire display industry has experienced two cyclical fluctuations, and now it is the third time. In the management through this cycle, one aspect of the company must have strategic control capabilities, and the other must rely on improving its own core capabilities, especially product technical capabilities. The development of the semiconductor display industry is not just driven by a force of market demand, another very important driving force comes from Driven by innovation . The development of some new display technologies and display products will create a new market demand. So for TCL, we are constantly expanding our production capacity, but Every increase in production capacity is not a simple scale expansion, it must be progress in the iterative upgrade of products. The two projects we started building in Guangzhou recently are a new attempt. We want to make a breakthrough in new display technology and open up a new market demand. Sohu Finance: How do you view the problem of chip shortage and how much impact will it have on TCL? Li Dongsheng: Chip supply has indeed been in short supply since last year, I think It is mainly caused by the rapid growth on the demand side and the insufficient growth on the supply side. On the demand side, especially with the development of electric vehicles, the demand for related chips is growing very fast. On the supply side, due to insufficient investment in the entire chip industry in the past few years, although domestic investment has increased relatively rapidly in the past two years, it will take some time to form effective production capacity. I think, The current chip shortage may continue for 9 to 12 months, but in the end it will be faster to balance. . The chip industry is actually divided into two parts, one is chip design, and the other is chip manufacturing. TCL will focus on chip design. At this stage, we will not consider investing in large-scale wafer manufacturing plants for the time being. As a terminal product manufacturer, we have an advantage in chip design. In fact, in the development of many smart technologies, it will integrate this technology into the chip, so if we have the capability of this chip, we will be even more powerful in the development of related smart product technologies. Sohu Finance: What do you think is the biggest dilemma in the development of the chip industry? Li Dongsheng: The bottleneck in the development of the chip industry, I think one is the accumulation of capabilities, and the other is the lack of core equipment. At present, the manufacturing process capability, technology and team capability of domestic chips are still far behind compared with Taiwan, South Korea, the United States, and Japan. Therefore, the construction of this project is not only about funds, but also related to technical capabilities. The second is limited by equipment. At present, some core equipment for chips cannot be produced in China. Everyone may have paid attention to many reports on the Internet. For example, SMIC’s current production process is 28 nanometers. If you go forward, the equipment will not be sold to us abroad, and the domestic development of this equipment, I believe It takes a relatively long time, so the manufacturing capacity of this higher-end chip is also a constraint. However, this round of technological blockade of China will promote China’s equipment, technology, or materials, we will increase investment in this area, and will accelerate the development of China’s chip integrated circuit manufacturing industry. But this process should not be too optimistic. I believe it will be a process of at least 3 to 5 years. Therefore, in the long run, the science and technology industry must have a global division of labor. It is not the most competitive method for a country to completely complete its industrial chain behind closed doors. Some of the current practices are also forced by the situation. Therefore, in the future development, we still need to have a more open mind and a win-win mentality to better promote the healthy development of the industry

Although it has been preparing to apply for a license once it is established, Huiyintong, which was born at the end of 2014, is destined to miss this license. As early as July 2014, after the central bank issued the ninth batch of 27 licenses, there have been rumors that the central bank will tighten license approval. In February 2015, the central bank mentioned in the notice on the key points of payment and settlement: “We must strictly enforce market access for payment institutions, encourage the merger and reorganization of existing institutions, continue to develop and improve market exit mechanisms, and study and implement classification and hierarchical supervision of payment institutions.” This is also considered by the outside world to be an important signal of the tightening of license policies. Since then, when the first batch of payment licenses expired and renewed in August 2016, the central bank made it clear that in principle, no new licenses would be issued, and Huiyintong’s wish to apply for a license was thus frustrated. Around 2014 when Huiyintong was born, it coincided with the small peak of domestic home appliance companies entering into finance. After experiencing the impact of the price war in 2000, in order to solve the capital needs of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain and maintain profit growth, home appliance companies have embarked on a development path that combines industry and finance. In 2014, Haier and Gome successively established financial holding companies. Subsequently, TCL, Suning, and Midea also joined the camp. Home appliance companies have adopted equity participation or the establishment of new financial institutions to expand into the financial field. At the same time, the Internet financial industry in 2014 is in full swing. The success of Alipay and WeChat has caused many companies to target the payment industry, and the payment license as an industry pass is naturally sought after by everyone. Throughout the licensing history of several major appliance giants, Suning obtained a payment license through its wholly-owned subsidiary Epay as early as 2012, while Haier acquired a licensed third-party payment institution in March 2014. Quick pass. In addition, in August 2016, Midea acquired a 50% stake in Shenzhou Tongfu for 300 million yuan. In June 2017, Gome Financial Technology announced the acquisition of the entire equity of Yinyingtong Payment for 720 million yuan. So far, only TCL and Gree have never had a card in their hands. Although today, when the number is only decreasing, the license has gradually become a “rare thing”, but it is not that you have the wealth code if you have a payment license. In 2020, Haier’s Express Pass had a net loss of 14.178 million yuan for the year. This payment company not only failed to bring Haier profits, but also generated more than 700 million current liabilities. A few days ago, Haier Financial Holdings has signed an agreement with Commodity City, a listed A-share company, and intends to transfer this license at a price of 450 million yuan. For companies like Suning and Gome that have a complete e-commerce ecosystem, the payment license in hand can maximize the synergy value with the original business. Obviously, Haier and TCL lack such e-commerce soil, and payment licenses have become tasteless. After seven years of deployment in Internet finance, TCL has so far successfully obtained multiple licenses for Internet microfinance, consumer finance, and commercial factoring. However, it is only in the field of payment that it “runs naked without a license”. Faced with the indefinite reopening of approvals, the cancellation of Huiyintong is a prelude to an acquisition that is in line with its peers? Or is it a complete abandonment of this dispensable license? It is not yet clear

From this, it is not difficult to see that domestic chips have begun to catch up in the field of advanced foundry after experiencing the impact of the US revised rules. Independence and autonomy in chip manufacturing technology will become the “main theme” of domestic chips in the future.

Lithography machines and graphene wafers are here! The continuous development of domestic chip technology has also brought more and more good news. In the field of lithography machines, the 28nm lithography machine designed by Shanghai Microelectronics is expected to be delivered within the next two years. In October last year, the Shanghai Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences also announced an 8-inch graphene wafer, which has attracted the attention of many people in the industry. As a key material required for third-generation semiconductors, Graphene wafers are likely to bring “curve overtaking” opportunities for domestic chips. At the same time, due to the rapid development of domestic lithography machines, the president of ASML has also stated many times that he hopes to sell more lithography machine products to Chinese companies. Then, Will the time for domestic high-end chips be far behind? TCL founder Li Dongsheng recently stated that Bill Gates did not make a mistake before!

TCL Li Dongsheng expressed his opinion Mr. Li Dongsheng said in an interview “It will take at least 5 years to solve high-end chips.” For any country, It is very difficult to solve the production problem of high-end chips in about 5 years. . It is not unreasonable for Li Dongsheng to make such an estimate. First of all, domestic chips are not without accumulation in the field of advanced foundry technology. For example, SMIC Liang Mengsong once officially announced that the company’s eight most difficult tasks for 5nm chips have also begun. As long as the EUV lithography machine arrives, SMIC can carry out actual tests on 5nm chips, greatly reducing the time required to develop the process. Secondly, in some high-end chip manufacturing equipment, domestic equipment still exists. For example, the etching machine designed and produced by China Micro Semiconductor has successfully entered TSMC’s high-end process production line. . With these high-end equipment, the possibility of domestically-made high-end chips will continue to increase. Finally, key universities such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University have begun to deploy integrated circuits. Technical research on advanced equipment such as lithography machines is also proceeding in an orderly manner. In the field of research and development of high-end chip technology, the outdated concept of “buying is worse than making” has been overturned, and the development of the domestic chip manufacturing industry has already had a brand new situation.

Bill Gates was right! Microsoft founder Bill Gates once said that “limiting chip companies’ supply to China will cause some Americans to lose their high-paid father-in-law, and China will gradually become self-sufficient in this process.”

Today, the domestic layout under mature craftsmanship just confirms Bill Gates’ prediction. Starting from chips with mature technology, domestic chips will gradually complete localized production. In the field of high-end chip manufacturing, we have also never been absent. The good news of lithography machines and graphene chips has confirmed the feasibility of domestic high-end chips.

Under the layout of enterprises and key universities, the problems encountered in chip manufacturing will be gradually solved. However, we cannot be too conceited, as Li Dongsheng said, In the manufacturing of high-end chips, we It will take at least 5 years.

As a major parts manufacturing company for industrial machinery, SMC China resumed operations in early February 2020, while the epidemic swept through China. But within a month, production activity here returned to pre-epidemic levels. After 3 months, SMC has 0 infections among nearly 7,000 employees, according to Think China . SMC China General Manager Ma Qinghai said that when the virus spread at the end of January 2020, many companies in China switched to producing ventilators and masks. This led to a sharp increase in orders received by SMC China. Therefore, the return to the operation of the company is paramount. The core strategy of SMC China is to keep the defense and not allow the virus to have a chance to stay. “Our employees know each other face to face and are familiar with the factory environment. As long as we secure the entry point, there will be no cross-contamination. The key lies here,” Ma said. Check employee health via mobile phone SMC China is a balance model between the need to prevent the epidemic and the need to return to work. Before returning to work, the company created a mobile app and asked employees to report their temperature and health condition every two days during their time off. This ensures workers stay healthy when they return to the factory from locations across China. Workers at the TCL air conditioning plant in Jiujang city are required to bring their own towels to dry their hands after soaping, according to an online notice. Photo: Getty. According to Mr. Ma, when he first returned to work, the goal was to ensure that there was no infection in the dormitory. To do this, the company arranges for all workers returning to Beijing to be isolated for 14 days before entering the dormitory. Each dormitory room is only occupied by 2-3 people to reduce the possibility of cross-infection. The production department must daily submit detailed records of temperature checks, workplace disinfection, mask distribution, and cafeteria meal times. The minutes also include information of each person in charge of each content in the anti-epidemic work. More than 3 months after returning to operation from February 3, 2020, SMC China has been able to supply products to many supply chains that produce anti-epidemic supplies, such as mask production machines for more than 500 companies and core components for dozens of ventilator factories. Stricter than authorities regulations Chinese authorities set strict regulations for companies that return to work, such as having to open office windows three times a day, 30 minutes each time In the capital Beijing, companies are required to stop fingerprinting and prohibiting employees from sitting across from each other during lunch. According to the Washington Post , some companies set anti-epidemic measures stricter than the regulations of the authorities. One of these companies is iPhone assembly plant Foxconn Technology Group – China’s largest private employer with more than 1 million employees. At Foxconn’s iPhone manufacturing complex in Zhengzhou, Henan province, workers are grouped into groups of 20 and have to live together day and night, according to a Zhengzhou government notice. Part of the manual instructing workers how to cover their mouths when sneezing to prevent the virus from spreading at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou. Photo: Foxconn. “This group of workers work, move, live, and eat together to ensure each person’s path can be traced,” the statement read. Reply Washington Post , a 36-year-old worker at Foxconn said that every morning, each worker is given a mask and has their temperature checked. At lunch, they ate at the high partition canteen. “There are partitions on the table so we can’t see or talk to each other,” the worker said. Seats at the Foxconn cafeteria are affixed with a QR code for workers to scan before eating. This helps the company understand who eats where and when, the company said in a statement. At the dormitory, workers must leave their coats and bags at a designated place for disinfection. Foxconn even installed infrared cameras to check the temperature of employees as they pass by. In a statement, Foxconn said it was following “all medical and hygiene recommendations… including the use of nucleic acid testing and chest X-rays where necessary.” The company said that by the beginning of April 2020, it had produced 10 million medical masks, of which the goal was to produce 2 million pieces per day for internal use. Helping employees overcome fear According to the Think China , the strict measures at Chinese factories encountered no obstacles because the company proactively reported information and the workers’ own virus fears. “The initial problem was to help workers overcome psychological fear. The rigorous and comprehensive measure makes them feel safer… Everyone knows such strict regulations are put in place to ensure their own health,” said Hiroyuki Hamada, President and CEO of Renesas Semiconductor, said. Renesas Semiconductor is a semiconductor company with a factory in Beijing. Renesas Semiconductor’s factory has about 600 workers, of which more than 90% live in company dormitories. Before the company resumed operations on February 10, 2020, more than half of the workers were on vacation in their hometown and were picked up by the company to Beijing. Those returning by public transport must live 14 days in a segregated dormitory. Workers have lunch at Renesas Semiconductor. Photo: Think China. Tables at the Renesas Semiconductor canteen are also numbered. Workers must record the number of tables and meal times for tracking purposes. “With these measures, we were able to maintain zero cases for the past few months. Up to now, 90% of the preventive measures are still in place, ”Mr. Hamada replied Think China in May 2020. Thanks to the above epidemic prevention measures, China’s huge economic engine can be safely restarted. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of April 21, 2020, industrial enterprises that generate at least 20 million yuan in revenue have achieved an operating ratio of 99.1 % and the rate of workers returning to the factory is 95.1%.

The air conditioner market is now very rich, with many well-known brands at home and abroad such as LG, Samsung, Electrolux, Nagakawa, Casper, Hitachi, Asanzo, Midea… with models, prices and features. , different energy consumption. From only 4-5 million VND, consumers can own an air conditioner with many modern features. Many cheap air conditioner models impress with their ability to save electricity due to their own technology applications. Low-priced air conditioners are becoming the choice of many consumers. In particular, the models of air conditioners priced from 4-5 million VND are very attractive to customers. These models of air conditioners are not only cheap but also advertised as saving electricity. Despite the low price, these air conditioners are still diverse in models and designs, suitable for many different users. Not only domestic air conditioners such as Midea, Nagakawa but also foreign brands such as TCL, Electrolux, LG, … also have products in this segment. The market for air conditioners today is very rich. The feature of cheap air conditioner models is that they usually have a capacity of 9,000BTU, suitable for rooms with an area of ​​​​under 15m2. These are DC models (with cooling function only), not inverter series. For example, Casper 9000BTU 1-way air conditioner LC-09TL32 costs only 4.7 million VND; Casper 1-way air conditioner 9000 BTU LC-09TL32 priced at VND 4.6 million; Casper 1 HP LC-09TL32 air conditioner costs 4.79 million VND. Nagakawa also has many cheap one-way air conditioners. These include the Nagakawa 9000 BTU one-way Inverter air conditioner model NIS-C09R2T01 gas R-32 priced at only 4.9 million VND or the one-way Nagakawa air conditioner model 9,000BTU NS-09TK priced at 4.15 million VND or the model. Nagakawa NS-C(A)09TK price is 4.5 million VND. Midea brand also has many models of air conditioners priced at less than 5 million VND. Typically, the Media model MS11D1/A-09CR – 1.0HP costs only 4.6 million VND. Or Midea MSMA1-09CR one-way air conditioner model 9,000 BTU priced at only 3.49 million VND. Midea one-way air conditioner model 9000BTU MSAFB-10CRN8 costs 4.49 million VND. Should I buy a cheap air conditioner? Many people still think “cheap is mine”, so they don’t buy cheap air conditioners. However, according to experts, the cheap air conditioner line also has its own advantages. The immediate advantage is that users can reduce a large amount of money to buy a machine. Cheap air conditioner models are mostly one-way air conditioners. One-way air conditioners usually cost half as much as two-way air conditioners. Meanwhile, the cooling feature of one-way air conditioners is no less than two-way air conditioners. Models of one-way air conditioners often have a radiator in the “hot block” made of mainly aluminum, anti-rust paint. The advantage of this material is its low cost and fast heat dissipation. These air conditioner models usually have a capacity of about 9000 BTU, suitable for small area rooms. Cheap air conditioners are mostly one-way air conditioners that only have cooling effect, suitable for hot summer weather. In places where the climate is hot all year round like the South or in the North where “winter is not cold”, buying a two-way air conditioner may not be necessary. Moreover, the use of one-way air conditioners will help save costs. In addition, cheap one-way air conditioners also have the advantage that during use, if damage occurs, the repair and replacement of components will be easier and less expensive. One problem that many people wonder is that cheap air conditioners are not equipped with inverter technology (air conditioners with energy-saving technology). However, according to experienced people, if the daily use time is less, it is not so important to have energy-saving inverter technology, while the price of inverter air conditioners will be 2-4 million VND more expensive than the average. with conventional air conditioners (without inverter technology). Inverter air conditioners often save electricity effectively with a continuous use time of 6-8 hours. If the time to use is less, you should choose to buy a one-way air conditioner. If you have the financial ability to buy high-end air conditioners at expensive prices, it will be very good. But with a tight financial situation, cheap, energy-saving air conditioners are still the best choice for many consumers. In fact, whether the air conditioner is good or bad depends not only on the air conditioner, but also greatly depends on the installer’s technique and the consumer’s usage. Therefore, when choosing a cheap air conditioner, consumers need to pay attention to choose to buy genuine quality air conditioners, with a professional warranty system. Buyers also need to refer to the power consumption parameters on the air conditioner product label. At the same time, customers should also find products that are suitable for their finances, installation conditions and usage needs.

Previously, Japan’s top brands have, in turn, eliminated or reduced the scale of TV production, an area that is considered the spearhead of the electronics industry in this country. Now it is Panasonic’s turn to follow in the footsteps of its “seniors”. Accordingly, the company will continue to produce high-end TVs, but mainly to serve the Japanese market. In addition, the company will also consider consolidating or shrinking TV production locations at home and abroad. Previously, Panasonic used to be one of the major TV manufacturers with 10% of the global TV market share, but since low-cost competitors from China appeared, the company gradually lost its appeal. It is known that the TV business and production accounts for less than 10% of Panasonic’s total revenue. Besides TVs, Panasonic also sold its semiconductor business to Taiwan’s Nuvoton Technology as well as withdrew from manufacturing liquid crystal displays and solar cells. Currently, Panasonic owns 8 companies in Vietnam, including Panasonic System Networks Vietnam located in Thang Long Industrial Park, Dong Anh, Hanoi; factories producing refrigerators, washing machines, R&D centers, sales departments are all over the country, from Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho … synthetic

In terms of resolution, color, video processing, and image quality factors, the OLED and QLED technologies are essentially the same. However, OLED TVs excel in image quality uniformity, especially the contrast and depth of black. According to some experts, there is hardly a noticeable difference in picture quality between OLED TVs at different price points. The OLED display also has the advantage of thinness over the QLED, mainly due to the lack of backlighting. The downside of current OLED TVs is that the price is too expensive and the screen is darker than the QLED (1,000 nits versus 2,000 nits). According to What Hi-Fi ?, currently on the market, the OLED TV does not have a small or extremely large screen size, with the smallest being 55 inches and the largest being 88 inches. The 48-inch OLED TV first appeared in 2020 with the LG OLED48CX, but was priced not much lower than the 55-inch OLED TV. Meanwhile, in QLED TVs, the picture quality varies depending on the technology (mainly in terms of lighting) and the market price. QLED TVs are brighter than OLED TVs. The screen size of the QLED TV is also varied, from 32-100 inches. The most important advantage of QLED TVs is the cheaper selling price compared to OLED TVs. In Vietnam, Sony 55 inch 4K OLED TV (XR-55A9G) costs about VND 54.8 million and LG 55 inch 4K OLED TV (OLED55B1) costs about VND 49.8 million. Meanwhile, Samsung 55 inch 4K QLED TV depending on its life price ranges from VND 18.4 million (QA55Q65) to VND 36.9 million (QA55Q95). With the TCL branding, the 55-inch 4K QLED TV costs 21 million dong (55C725). According to some market researchers, OLED technology is improving, especially in terms of brightness (which will appear on 2021 models). The price of OLED TVs is also expected to drop further with the efforts of LG, the sole maker of OLED TV panels today. LG is actively selling OLED panels to other TV manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic, and Philips to help increase production volume (thereby reducing costs). The more affordable, less than 50-inch OLED TVs may soon be brought to the market to offer a variety of choices for users. What Hi-Fi? says OLED also struggles to achieve the highest brightness levels of an average QLED TV. Even ultra-bright OLED models like the LG OLED65G1 and Panasonic TX-55HZ2000 have a hard time getting half the brightness of today’s flagship QLED TVs. Meanwhile, as the leading producer of QLED, Samsung is constantly improving this display technology. That’s why on the 2021 TV list, Samsung added Neo QLED and microLED. However, this innovation has made the cost of the new TV higher, not far from the OLED TV. While QLED TVs are working hard to achieve the same quality as OLED, OLED TVs are looking for ways to gain advantages like QLED (brightness, size …). In terms of price, the gap between OLED TVs and QLED TVs is being reduced thanks to two seemingly opposite trends: the decrease in the cost of OLED TVs and the increase in the cost of QLED TVs. However, consumers are only concerned with the picture quality, features and utilities of the TVs sold at the store and especially the price. When the image quality is almost the same, the advantage will belong to the brand with a beautiful design, many convenient features and an affordable price.

TCL introduces the Fold ‘n Roll concept, phones with foldable and foldable screens. Photo: TCL The mechanism of action of the displays that TCL will use is that they have a next-generation hinge that supports both folding and scrolling. This will alter the smartphone’s aspect ratio making it more suitable for work. TCL is racing to become the world’s largest display manufacturer and supplier with leading technologies, from large-sized television screens to mobile phone screens. These foldable, flexible displays are still in the high end of the market, just as Samsung has introduced foldable screens like the Galaxy Z Flip and Z. Fold 2 cost is still high. However, what concerns consumers is the quality of this screen, TCL contacted its partners to use glass instead of plastic to increase the durability of the screen. There are not many specifications on this 3-in-1 model from TCL and it is not clear whether the Fold n ‘Roll concept will soon hit the market or not, but TCL has plans to launch a phone line with foldable flexible screens later this year. The rollable screen concept was also introduced by LG earlier this year, but with the phone maker withdrawing from the mobile phone business, TCL or some other phone makers will are leaders in flexible display technology and hope it will be available in mid-range phones in the future.