By hmimcu Today, the display industry is ushering in a new round of cyclical changes, and the industry chain is looking for ways to traverse the cycle. The existence of BOE allows us to see the possibility of display panel companies resisting the impact of cycles. Of course, behind this is not only the in-depth accumulation of BOE for decades, but also its far-reaching planning for the future trend of the industry. When the industry is mired in cyclical problems, BOE’s development wisdom may provide a reference for the future growth of Chinese display panel companies. Recently, Hu Chunmin, editor-in-chief of China Electronics News, and Dr. Gao Wenbao, president of BOE Technology Group, had an in-depth dialogue on the development status and cyclical changes of my country’s new display industry, as well as new formats, new technologies, new trends and other related topics. How did the CEO of the company tell his understanding of the industry and his story with BOE.
Interlocutor :
Dr. Gao Wenbao, President of BOE Technology Group hmi screen panel
Hu Chunmin, Editor-in-Chief of China Electronics News
Time: July 20, 2022
Venue: BOE Technology Innovation Center needs
to speed up and leapfrog while being healthy and orderly
Hu Chunmin: In the past ten years, China’s display industry has It has achieved a leap-forward development from breaking the game to surpassing and then leading, and has become the most important pole in the global display industry. What is the significance of this decade’s transformation to my country’s display industry?
Gao Wenbao:In the past, China’s display industry faced the dilemma of “less screens”, and its industrial development was very passive. Today, China’s panel production capacity leads the world and is pursuing technological leadership and innovation leadership. According to market research firm Omdia, China’s LCD panel production capacity accounts for more than 60% of the world’s total, OLED production capacity accounts for 45% of the world’s, and flexible OLED production capacity accounts for 57%. In the past, China imported more than 50 billion US dollars per year related to display devices. Today, China has become the main force of global supply. In 2021, the global display device output value will be about 156 billion US dollars, and the output value of mainland China will be 64.4 billion US dollars, accounting for 41.3% of the world. Whether it is patents, technologies, products, or scene applications, China’s display industry has achieved multi-dimensional comprehensive surpassing. In WIPO’s 2021 global international patent application rankings, China’s patent application volume continues to maintain its first place. OLED, quantum dot, laser display, Mini LED, Micro LED, ultra-high definition, narrow border, high refresh rate, full screen, folding screen, curved screen, sliding screen, vehicle display, wearable display and other new technologies and new products The field is fully blooming and is widely used in various scenarios, such as smart retail, smart finance, smart travel, smart medical care, etc. We have reason to believe that in the future, more advanced display technologies and fresher application scenarios will be the first to be implemented in my country.
Hu Chunmin: After my country established its dominant position in the LCD field, OLED is considered to be the next goal to catch up. In the field of OLED, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Chinese companies compared with Korean panel makers? What does it mean for BOE and China’s OLED industry to become an important OLED panel supplier for the world’s top mobile phone brands?
Gao Wenbao: In the field of OLED, Chinese panel enterprises have a strong development momentum. With the continuous updating and iteration of OLED technology, it not only presents a variety of new forms such as full-screen, folding, and curling, but also realizes off-screen fingerprint recognition, off-screen cameras, and biometric identification. and other multi-functional integration, and related products have achieved large-scale applications in mobile phones, notebooks, smart wearable devices, smart cockpits and other fields.
In the past, it was widely believed that only foreign companies could supply top mobile phone brands. In fact, more and more Chinese display companies have entered the international first-tier brand supply chain, and have been widely praised and highly recognized. The recognition of international first-line brands not only means that the technical capabilities and product quality of Chinese enterprises have reached the leading level, but also means that we have the ability to meet the market demands of diversification, personalization and customization of different brands.
Today, the comprehensive strength of my country’s OLED industry has been greatly improved, and China is accelerating its rise in the global industrial structure. In the field of OLED, we have achieved a leap from 0 to 1 from basic materials to landing applications. In the next step, we will accelerate breakthroughs in key OLED technologies and raw materials, carry out strategic cooperation across the entire industry chain, joint development and other diversified methods to accelerate the pace of industrialization.
Hu Chunmin: The current situation is complex and severe. China’s economy is facing the “triple pressure” of demand contraction, supply shock and weakening expectations. As a leading enterprise in my country’s display industry, how does BOE overcome the “triple pressure”?
Gao Wenbao: Since the beginning of this year, the display industry has faced many challenges such as supply and demand. Although the general environment is under pressure, as a leading company, BOE’s operating performance is still stable, which is inseparable from BOE’s decades of profound accumulation in technology, manufacturing, management, and industrial integration.
As the main enterprise of the industrial chain, BOE has strong technical product R&D and industrial transformation capabilities in the fields of display and Internet of Things, as well as first-class intelligent manufacturing operation management and solid supply chain guarantee foundation. Over the years, it has accumulated a large-scale market and customer resources, and has gathered a wide range of ecological chain partners through industrial investment incubation and large-scale upstream and downstream industrial clusters. At present, the coverage of BOE’s product group is very broad, and the customer base is very stable. It is precisely because BOE has such a foundation that companies can withstand shocks and overcome pressures when the market fluctuates.
Hu Chunmin: After experiencing the longest price increase cycle in the industry, the current industry has ushered in a sharp drop in prices. How can the industry get rid of the shackles of cycles?
Gao Wenbao:The display industry is an industry with strong cyclical fluctuations. For enterprises, if they want to jump out of the strong cycle and get rid of the constraints, they must have enough “centrifugal force”, and products and technologies are the two most important “centrifugal forces”.
In order to get rid of the influence of the cycle, BOE always insists on walking on two legs, one goes deep, and digs deep into technology and product value; the other goes wide to broaden product categories and application scenarios. One is vertical, and the technology is drilled through the depth of the semiconductor display; the other is horizontal, which expands various application scenarios under the “Internet of Things of Screen”. This can not only maintain competitiveness in the display panel industry, but also find new growth windows.
In the next step, enterprises also need to accelerate the breakthrough of new technologies, the research and development of new products and the exploration of new scenarios, continue to expand the space for innovative applications, and continuously stimulate consumer market demand. The industry needs to continuously expand the boundaries of the industry and find new markets, so as to minimize the vibration of the industry and continue the business cycle.
Hu Chunmin: The last round of the panel boom attracted a large number of companies to invest in new production lines. The industry believes that there is a worry of excess investment in LCD production lines. Today, many companies still invest counter-cyclically. What do you think of it? Any suggestions?
Gao Wenbao: There is an inevitable connection between the release of production capacity and market demand. When there is a deviation in the matching degree between demand and supply, it will inevitably bring adverse effects to the industry. The necessary condition for the counter-cyclical investment in the display industry is that the terminal market demand must keep up with the expansion rate. For the industry to develop healthily, there should be a bottom line and orderly competition.
Product competition depends on price, volume, and more importantly, value. In the past, the disorderly competition of production capacity and scale among enterprises made the industry environment more complicated. At present, consumer demand is constantly upgrading, and the industry is bound to change from scale-oriented to value-oriented. It shows that enterprises should go from simply chasing price and production capacity advantages in the past to returning to customer and market demand-oriented, adhering to technological innovation, further optimizing product structure, improving enterprise operation efficiency, and constantly meeting changes in market demand, so as to promote the high quality of the enterprise itself and the industry. develop. Let display products integrate biometrics, sensor interaction, artificial intelligence and other innovative functions to continuously meet the needs of personalized and diversified market.
As a display company, no matter how to expand, the core is to make a good screen, pay more attention to the high added value brought by technology and brand, and turn to a healthier and sustainable development model.
Expand Display Boundaries and Seize Future Opportunities
Hu Chunmin: In the era of ubiquitous displays, how to understand people’s needs for display products? What will be the expansion direction of the display in the future?
Gao Wenbao: People’s demand for display can be divided into three stages. From “I need” to “I experience” to “I am happy”, these three stages, from passive to active, from experience to pleasure, reflect two internal logics: First, people’s yearning for a better life promotes display technology Rapid development; second, the progress and iteration of display technology further enhances the experience and pleasure of consumers. The two promote each other and interact positively.
After the basic needs of information acquisition are met, people have higher experience requirements for display, and display technology also moves to a higher stage.
With the development of a new generation of information technology, the wave of digitization and intelligence promotes the integration of displays into all fields of human life, and the era of “display is everywhere” has arrived. in the “screen universe”.
The information obtained visually accounts for 83% of human perception, and the ultimate goal of the display is to achieve “no sense”, that is, people can experience the real world through the screen, but ignore the existence of the screen, as if they are in the scene and forget themselves. in.
In the future, display technology will continue to accelerate the research and development of new technologies and new products such as 8K, ultra-high refresh rate, and naked-eye 3D, and continue to extend to innovative applications such as e-sports, automotive, commercial display, and Metaverse, and constantly expand the industry boundaries. To this end, BOE is also accelerating the construction of an innovative ecosystem of “Screen of Things”, leading the high-quality development of the entire industry chain.
Hu Chunmin: We noticed that last year, BOE proposed the development strategy of “Internet of Things on the Screen”. Why did you propose this strategy? What do you think will be the new application scenarios and hotspots of display technology in the future?
Gao Wenbao:Today’s display screens have long been more than “seeing”, and more of taking on the heavy responsibility of “interaction”. The development of the display industry is expanding from a single device to a wider range of smart applications. In order to continuously expand the display boundary and seize future opportunities, in 2021, BOE proposed the development strategy of “Internet of Things on Screen”.
The so-called “Internet of Things” of the screen is to integrate more functions, generate more forms, and implant more scenes in the “screen”, promote the deep integration of “display technology + Internet of Things applications”, and fully empower the car connection, medical care, finance, and retail. and other major application scenarios, leading the entire industry into a new era of Internet of Everything.
At present, the IoT innovation business is growing extremely rapidly, with revenue increasing by nearly 50% in 2021. BOE is also leaping from a semiconductor display device company to an IoT innovation company, from an industry leader to an ecological builder and enabler. In the process of promoting the in-depth integration of “display technology + IoT applications”, BOE has fully empowered major application scenarios such as the Internet of Vehicles, medical care, finance, and retail, leading the entire industry into a new era of Internet of Everything. For example, BOE and Minsheng Bank jointly built a number of “smart bank experience stores”, applying new technologies such as biometrics and artificial intelligence, and based on the screen, to create a one-stop smart financial solution of “screen + platform + software + content” , becoming a new benchmark for smart banking. In the future, display technology will be further deeply integrated with IoT technology, enabling thousands of scenarios. BOE will also accelerate the implementation of many subdivided application scenarios such as commercial display, games, tourism, cultural and blog, car linkage, medical care, etc., and release the infinite expansion space of “Internet of Everything”.
Hu Chunmin: VR/AR equipment is considered to be one of the important entrances to the metaverse, and BOE is the first company in the world to enter the field of VR/AR display. What role do you think the display will play in the metaverse? What kind of layout and plan does BOE have in the Metaverse?
Gao Wenbao: Display, as the “first point of contact” for information interaction, will take VR/AR and other intelligent port devices as the starting point, and become the key entrance to the metaverse and even the era of the Internet of Everything.
BOE continues to develop cutting-edge display technologies, expand diverse application scenarios, and empower the Internet of Everything with innovative technologies. The 5.5th-generation production line of BOE’s Erdos is delivering a large number of VR/AR display products to the market. In Kunming, Yunnan, BOE has also invested nearly 5 billion yuan to deploy 8-inch and 12-inch silicon-based OLED microdisplay device production lines. The silicon-based OLED products developed and produced can be widely used in VR/AR and other near-eye display fields. At present, BOE has contacted and cooperated with more than 100 brand customers around the world, and many domestic and international famous brands have used BOE products to release new models. In the field of forward-looking applications, many world-renowned leading brands also use BOE technology products for R&D testing when developing next-generation VR/AR products.
In the future, BOE will further promote the implementation of many fields such as audio-visual, games, education, real estate, tourism, etc., to help the development of Metaverse and related digital economy.
Join hands with industrial chain enterprises to accelerate the integration and symbiosis of “technology + scene”
Hu Chunmin: Last year, BOE released China’s first technology brand in the field of semiconductor display, which includes three sub-brands – high-end liquid crystal display technology ADS Pro, high-end flexible display technology f -OLED and high-end glass-based new LED display technology α-MLED. What is the original intention of BOE to launch a technology brand? What kind of help will the technology brand bring to the company’s business development, and what value will it bring to the industry?
Gao Wenbao: BOE insists on launching its own technology brand for two reasons. First, compared with components such as chips and storage, the brand value of display devices has been underestimated for a long time. Second, machine manufacturers, consumers and media usually focus on technical parameters such as size and resolution, lack of recognition of industry standards and brands, and low awareness.
For the display industry, effectively connecting the two high-value areas of “technology” and “brand” to promote the upgrading of the entire industry value chain; to guide the entire industry from focusing on scale and production capacity in the past to focusing more on technology and branding, which will help reshape the global display industry. The pattern is positive. For commercial customers, one-stop display solutions represented by technology brands will become the new standard in commercial procurement. Providing technical endorsement for customer products from the display level is a proof of excellent quality; helping customers to form a differentiated competitive advantage can enhance their market bargaining power and value-added space. For consumers, BOE’s technical brand logo is a guarantee of excellent quality, which makes it easier for consumers to identify and build brand trust without memorizing complex technical parameter systems.
Hu Chunmin: Not long ago, the International Display Week (SID Display Week 2022) returned to the offline exhibition. You personally led the team to participate in this exhibition. Can you share the current characteristics and future trends of the display industry observed during this period?
Gao Wenbao: For enterprises, SID is an international stage for professional display of enterprise strength, and BOE cannot be absent. At the exhibition, various new technologies continued to break through, including flexible OLED, Mini/Micro LED, ultra-high-definition, ultra-high refresh rate, quantum dot display and other display technologies. Various smart terminals and innovative fields such as equipment, smart cockpits, and metaverse have more diversified applications; at the same time, new scenarios are constantly being integrated, and display technology is accelerating the in-depth integration of subdivided application scenarios, constantly giving birth to smart medical care, smart retail, and smart New scenarios such as finance.
This year coincides with the 60th anniversary of SID, and BOE is also about to enter its 30th year of development. At this special historical moment, JD.com showed the world the technological heritage and corporate image of Chinese display companies.
In this exhibition, BOE brought innovative display technologies and products empowered by the three major technology brands, ADS Pro, f-OLED and α-MLED, to showcase the 4K TV with the highest refresh rate of 576Hz in the world, and the world’s first large-scale display device that achieves commercial mass production. Size Mini LED TV, the world’s largest 8K OLED display screen and OLED folding notebook, and OLED smart watch, the industry’s first integrated touch function, flexible and transparent OLED display that can be curved to fit, 360 inside and outside two-way folding, “Z”-shaped three-fold Display, multi-form and multi-functional integrated flexible display products such as sliding display, wristband mobile phone, vehicle display, etc., not only fully display the layout and achievements of innovative technologies, but also set a wind vane for the future development of display technology in the global display industry.
Hu Chunmin: What is your biggest feeling after taking the new job for two months? What are your goals and plans for future work?
Gao Wenbao: As a veteran of the display industry, I have not only witnessed the transformation of China’s display industry, but also the growth of BOE. I deeply feel the difficulty of being a pioneer and explorer in the industry, and I am even more deeply moved by the heavy burdens and responsibilities of leading companies. BOE has been using its own methods to help the industry realize the transformation from nothing, from existence to greatness, and from greatness to strength.
In the field of semiconductor display, BOE has attracted and trained a large number of Chinese semiconductor display industry talents to engage in related industries, and empowered all aspects of the entire industry chain, virtually promoting the research on the basic technology of the industry, improving the level of science and technology, and promoting the development of the semiconductor industry. , and even spawned many new industries, created more application scenarios, and more diversified industrial development. At the same time, BOE aggregates advanced intelligent manufacturing experience to form an industrial Internet platform that connects the entire value chain, further opens up intelligent operation and management experience, and drives the overall improvement of intelligent manufacturing and digital application capabilities in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. In addition, BOE has also joined hands with industrial chain enterprises to jointly create many intelligent solutions in various industry application scenarios. Through the integration and symbiosis of “technology + scenarios”, it has continuously promoted the digital leap of various application fields and economic formats.
Display is everywhere, it can be said that BOE is everywhere. BOE has been engaged in the display industry for 30 years and has been working hard. Today, one out of every four displays in the world comes from BOE. The pain of “less screen” has become a thing of the past, but the pressure on BOE has continued unabated. In the past, whether we ran with or ran alongside, there was always a direction. But now, BOE has become a global leader in the field of semiconductor display, and now it is time to think more about where and how to run.