The industry obsession with COB, is it justified?

You would have seen the emergence of COB technology at every display focused event for the last 2-3 years however is it justified?

COB (Chip on Board) LED technology has definitely become a huge marketing focus, especially in fine pitch displays. Manufacturers seem to be pushing this hard because:

• It offers strong surface protection (good against impact, moisture, dust).

• Lower pixel failure rates compared to traditional SMD.

• Better contrast and black levels, due to less light leakage.

• Can sometimes offer better heat dissipation and thus higher reliability over time.

• It sounds "new" to customers — even though COB itself has been around for a while in other industries (like lighting).

BUT in our opinion — the obsession with COB is not fully justified, especially now that MIP (Micro LED in Package) and other newer packaging methods are emerging. Here's why:

MIP offers:

• Even higher durability than COB.

• Better repairability: COB modules are notoriously difficult and expensive to repair. MIP can preserve some serviceability like traditional LEDs.

• Better brightness and energy efficiency potential.

• A pathway toward true MicroLED manufacturing (important for scaling up ultra-fine pixel pitches).

COB’s drawbacks:

• Repair nightmare — you often have to replace whole modules or even panels.

• Still more costly than traditional SMD if you're aiming for true quality—there's currently a lot of low-grade, inexpensive COB on the market..

• Following on from the above point, there are actually 4 levels of COB technology, normally graded as Grade A, B, C & D. The lower the grade of COB, the lower the brightness, the higher the power consumption and the lower quality of blank ink being used and in turn, creating a product with a lesser contrast ratio. The grade is not normally pointed out to customers and you have to dig into the specs to find the tell tell signs – brightness, contrast and power consumption.

• Some manufacturing yields are still lower than ideal for really fine pitch (sub-1mm).

Legacy but still great tech:

• GOB (Glue on Board) — used as a protective layer for SMD — gives a lot of the durability advantages of COB, but without fully switching to COB and creating a product which is not only cheaper but also more serviceable. This should be considered at installation locations where brightness isn’t the main cause for concern.

So in short:

• COB is good, and in some cases, justified (especially for environments needing extreme durability, ruggedness or brightness).

• But it's not the be-all-end-all, and MIP (and MicroLED packaging techniques) are likely better longer-term — especially for premium, serviceable, ultra-fine-pitch needs.

Right now, some suppliers are pushing COB because it fits their current factories and processes, not because it's truly the best technology.

Smart buyers should look beyond the hype and match the tech to their application and we will guide them through this process.