Increasing demand for AMOLED panels from smartphone brands and the rising production of ICs for Touch with Display Driver Integration (TDDI) has propelled the growth of the NOR Flash market in the recent period, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. Currently, the global production capacity of NOR Flash amounts to just 88,000 pieces of 12-inch wafers per month. NOR Flash supply will remain tight because related components require a high level of customization and there are difficulties in ramping up production. DRAMeXchange estimates that prices of NOR Flash will rise by about 20% sequentially in this third quarter due to supply scarcity.
Toshiba on June 21 announced that it has chosen a consortium led by U.S.-based Bain Capital and investors backed by the Japanese government as the first-place bidder for the spin-off of the company’s memory business. The deal is set to be finalized on June 28 and completed by March of next year. According to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, this announcement in the short term could cause the NAND Flash market to start shifting from undersupply to equilibrium this fourth quarter. In the long run, the support and demand provided by the bidding party could help the spun-off memory business to become more competitive against Samsung in terms of NAND Flash production capacity and related technology.
Computer monitors and notebooks featuring HDR (high dynamic range) have been a highlight in this year’s major consumer electronics tradeshows from CES to Computex. According to WitsView, a division of TrendForce, HDR as a feature is now spreading into the PC market following its widespread adoption in the TV market last year. Demand growth of HDR-capable monitors for gaming is especially robust, and correspondingly Taiwan-based electronics brands are actively developing this market segment. The market for HDR-capable monitors are expected to expand rapidly once major vendors in IT industries have established a separate HDR standard specifically for their products.
DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports that the average contract price of server DRAM modules rose sequentially by nearly 40% and 10% respectively for the first and second quarter of 2017 due to tight supply. In the third quarter, the average contract price of 32GB server DRAM modules for first-tier customers is projected to arrive around US$260, while the average contract price of 32GB modules for second-tier customers may be higher than that threshold. The latest forecast by DRAMeXchange indicates that the average sequential price increase for server DRAM modules in the contract market for the third quarter will be in the range between 3% and 8%.
The global smartphone market is seeing slowing growth in the first half of 2017. Searching for ways to stimulate consumer demand, smartphone brands have put considerable efforts in improving displays of their devices. WitsView, a division of TrendForce, reports that increasing screen to body ratio and narrow bezel are two major trends in smartphone design for this year and are expected to drive changes in specifications of smartphone panels. Specifically, the display’s aspect ratio is moving from the mainstream 16:9 to 18:9 (2:1), which is also known as the full screen format. WitsView estimates that around 10% of smartphones shipped worldwide in 2017 will have displays with 18:9 or higher aspect ratios.
