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Shipments of IGZO panels for tablets soared last year owing to Apple fully adopting this display solution for its 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The latest research from WitsView, a division of TrendForce, finds that the 2016 global shipments of IGZO tablet panels totaled 19.8 million units, registering a massive and above expected annual growth of 292%. As Apple will use the technology for the new iPad Pro, WitsView expects annual worldwide shipments of IGZO tablet panels to grow for the second consecutive year by 46%, totaling around 29 million units.
Following Sony’s introduction of CLEDIS (Crystal LED Integrated Structure) displays and Apple’s acquisition of LuxVue, more technology companies are exploring the possibilities of micro-LED in various display applications. LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, reports that there are now nearly 100 private companies and research organizations participating in the development of micro-LED displays. Besides Apple and Sony, there are other major technology brands that invest in micro-LED. Notable cases include the acquisition of InfiniLED by Facebook’s Oculus and the partnership agreement between Ostendo Technologies and KDX. By entering this field in advance, these companies hope to gain favorable positions in the future.
WitsView, a division of TrendForce, reports LCD TV panel shipments for this first quarter totaled 60.16 million units, representing a drop of 10.7% compared with the prior quarter but also a year-on-year increase of 0.4%. Looking at major trends in the TV panel market, the growing demand for 4K resolution is accompanying the steady increase in the average panel size. Despite seasonal headwinds, first-quarter shipments of UHD (4K resolution) TV panels went up 0.5% sequentially to reach 20 million units for the first time ever and accounted for 33.3% of the total TV panel shipments.
Following LCD and OLED, micro-LED is now one of the next-generation display technologies that are in the spotlight. Besides companies working in the global display supply chain, major technology brands including Apple and Sony are increasingly involved in the development of micro-LED as they are drawn to its possibilities. Currently, those that are engaged in this field aim to bring down the production cost. The latest research from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, finds that the potential scale of the future micro-LED market – one that would replace the entire current LCD display chain including BLU, polarizer and other components – could reach US$30~40 billion.
The prices of NOR Flash will go up sequentially by at least 5% on average for every quarter in 2017 as its market benefits from the abundant releases of smartphones featuring AMOLED display during the year, TrendForce reports. Besides the general adoption of AMOLED in the smartphone market, the expansion in the production of ICs for Touch with Display Driver Integration (TDDI) is driving the need for NOR Flash as well. From the supply side, major manufacturers such as Micron and GigaDevice have reduced their NOR Flash production. Tight supply and rising demand therefore will keep prices of NOR Flash on an uptrend to the end of this year.
