WitsView, a division of TrendForce, reports that global LCD TV panel shipments for August totaled 23.02 million units, showing an increase of 8.2% from July and a year-on-year drop of 2.5%. WitsView also says that the August shipments represent the highest monthly volume in the TV panel market for this year so far. This turnaround from the weak shipment result in July was attributed to two consecutive months of declining panel prices and increasing stock-up activities ahead of holiday events in the major markets including the U.S., Europe and China.
Trends in the display industry are heavily influenced by the developments in the consumer electronics markets, and this is seen in the rapid growth of the OLED panel market due to the rising demand from smartphone and TV brands. In its recent analyses of the panel market by technology, WitsView, a division of TrendForce, finds that the market share of OLED in the small size bracket continues to grow at the expense of LCD’s market share. Furthermore, WitsView anticipates OLED’s representation in the smartphone market will increase substantially following the release of iPhone X. With Apple expected to support this display technology in the future, the percentage of OLED models in the total annual smartphone shipments worldwide is projected to climb from 28% this year to 33% in 2018.
In anticipation of Apple unveiling its 10th anniversary iPhone models, the global market intelligence firm TrendForce would like to share with you some of our latest data on the smartphone market.
The latest analysis by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, reveals that China is set to overtake South Korea this year as the leading producing region for large-size LCD panels. In terms of area, China’s share of the global production capacity for large-size panels will surpass South Korea’s in 2017. By 2020, China’s share of the global capacity area may reach around 50%.
The fierce competition in the TV market has driven brand vendors to continually improve the image colors and qualities of their respective product models. In recent years, South Korean panel makers Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD), along with their Taiwanese counterparts, have developed various technologies to enhance features such as wide color gamut (WCG) for their products. Because of their ongoing efforts, WitsView, a division of TrendForce, expects the production costs of liquid crystal display modules (LCMs) for TVs will go up. Depending on the solution type for achieving WCG, the cost increase could range from 3% to 10%.