JEDDAH/SEOUL —

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. introduced on Tuesday its latest innovations in modular Micro LED display technology during its annual First Look CES event at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The revolutionary new Micro LED technology designs featured at the event included: a new 75” display, a 219” The Wall as well as other various groundbreaking sizes, shapes and configurations for a next-generation modular Micro LED display - a 2019 CES Best of Innovation Award winner.

“For decades, Samsung has lead the way in next-generation display innovation,” said Jonghee Han, President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our Micro LED technology is at the forefront of the next screen revolution with intelligent, customizable displays that excel in every performance category. Samsung Micro LED has no boundaries, only endless possibilities.”

Featuring leading-edge self-emissive technology and modular capabilities, Samsung’s Micro LED displays deliver unparalleled picture quality, versatility and design. These transformative TV displays are made up of individual modules of self-emissive Micro LEDs, featuring millions of inorganic red, green and blue microscopic LED chips that emit their own light to produce brilliant colors on screen - delivering unmatched picture quality that surpasses any display technology currently available on the market.

At last year’s CES, Samsung introduced Micro LED by unveiling The Wall, the critically acclaimed, award-winning 146” Micro LED display. Due to the technical advancements in the ultra-fine pitch semiconductor packaging process that narrow the gap between the microscopic LED chips, Samsung has been able to create a stunning 4K Micro LED display in a smaller, more home-friendly 75” form factor.

Thanks to the modular nature of Micro LED, this technology offers flexibility in screen size that allows users to customize it to fit any room or space. By adding Micro LED modules, users can expand their display to any size they desire. The modular functionality of Micro LED will allow users in the future to create the ultimate display even at irregular 9x3, 1x7 or 5x1 screen sizes that suits their spatial, aesthetic and functional needs.

Samsung’s Micro LED technology also optimizes the content no matter the size and shape of the screen. Even when adding more modules, Samsung Micro LED displays can scale to increase the resolution — all while keeping the pixel density constant. Additionally, Micro LED can support everything from the standard 16:9 content, to 21:9 widescreen films, to unconventional aspect ratios like 32:9, or even 1:1 – without having to make any compromises in its picture quality.

Finally, because Micro LED displays are bezel-free, there are no borders between modules – even when you add more. The result is a seamless, stunning infinity pool effect that allows the display to elegantly blend into any living environment. The possibilities for eye-catching designs are only enhanced by new Ambient Mode features.

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday flagged its first quarterly profit drop in two years and painted a grim outlook owing to mounting competition from Chinese smartphone makers and declining chip prices.

The shock warning added to concerns about the broader tech sector after Apple sent shudders through world markets last week by slashing its revenue forecast blaming weak sales in China and citing the trade war.

Samsung - the world’s top maker of smartphones and memory chips - has enjoyed record profits in recent years despite a series of setbacks, including a humiliating recall and the jailing of its de facto chief.

But operating profit during the October to December period was expected to be around 10.8 trillion won ($9.8 billion), down 28.7 percent from a year earlier, Samsung said in an earnings estimate.

The figure was below market consensus of about 13.5 trillion won, according to market researcher FnGuide.

Sales dropped more than 10 percent to 59 trillion won in the period, Samsung said.

It cited “lacklustre demand in the memory business and intensifying competition in the smartphone business” for the dismal outlook.

“Memory earnings fell significantly... due to weaker-than-expected demand amid inventory adjustments at data-centre customers,” which led to a “greater-than-expected” drop in chip prices, it said.

“We expect earnings to remain subdued in the first quarter of 2019 due to difficult conditions for the memory business but strengthen in the second half.”

But analyst Kim Sun-woo of Meritz Securities said worsening supply and demand for semiconductors and the structural challenges facing Samsung’s smartphone business will hit profits throughout 2019.

Demand for DRAM memory chips “will hit a low in the fourth quarter of 2019”, he added.

— SG /Agencies

Samsung withholds net profit and sector-by-sector business performance data until it releases its final earnings report, which is expected later this month.

For 2018, the firm expects operating profit of 58.9 trillion won, up nearly 10 percent on-year, and sales to inch up 1.6 percent to 243.5 trillion won.

Shares in Samsung Electronics, the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group that dominates South Korea’s economy, were down 0.5 percent in afternoon trading.

Last week Apple said it expected to earn $84 billion in October-December, well down from the $89-$93 billion previously forecast as it blamed a steeper-than-expected “economic deceleration” in China and emerging markets.

The news battered world equities, with observers saying problems at the usually reliable US titan could point to broader demand weakness and the China-US trade war cited as a key factor.

“When Apple sounded the alarm bells for last quarter results, there was some thought the drops in China sales was an anti-Apple backlash due to escalating US-China tensions,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA. “But these Samsung results are quite damning suggesting there... (is) a broader-based retail and manufacturer slowdown afoot.”

While Samsung leads the global smartphone market with a 20 percent share, it faces mounting competition from Chinese rivals like Huawei -- which surpassed Apple to take second place last year -- offering quality devices at cheaper prices.

“Samsung is losing ground to Huawei, Xiaomi and other Chinese rivals in the huge China and India markets,” Neil Mawston, executive director at market researcher Strategy Analytics, said in a report.

Samsung once also had a 20 percent market share in China but has seen its sales tumble to less than one percent of the world’s largest smartphone market in the third quarter, and last month announced the closure of its factory in Tianjin.

It will reportedly roll out a new line-up of its flagship Galaxy handsets at next month’s World Mobile Congress in Barcelona as it seeks to regain a competitive edge in a market segment it once dominated.

Samsung is also set to introduce the world’s first bendable smartphone in the first half.

It reputation suffered a major blow after a damaging worldwide recall of its Galaxy Note 7 devices over exploding batteries in 2016, which cost the firm billions of dollars and shattered its global brand image.

It also took another hit after the bribery conviction of Lee Jae-yong -- the son and heir of the group’s ailing current chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The 50-year-old scion was a key figure in the scandal that ousted former South Korean president Park Geun-hye following massive nationwide protests, and was sentenced to five years in jail last year.

But he was released from jail in February last year after several of his convictions were quashed on appeal. — AFP—