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2018/01/11
Competition between QLED TV and AMOLED TV has continued in CES this year, and resolutions of the latest TVs include both 4K and 8K specifications Major TV brands now focus on video processing chips in addition to constant improvements of HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging technology, says WitsView, a division of TrendForce Together with AI technology, TVs are now featuring “smart” video processing capability and superior image quality
According to Boyce Fan, research director of WitsView, 8K televisions have been developed over the past years, but products are not available in market yet As Tokyo Olympics 2020 approaches, video format standards and the ecosystems of high-resolution TV industry have being gradually established Major vendors like Sharp, Samsung and Sony have put forward plans for 8K TVs, accelerating the supply chain development for 8K TV panels However, production of 8K TV panel has high technical barriers, and panel makers mainly make 8K TV panels for TV sets with screens larger than 65 inches Therefore, the positioning of 8K TV sets will be in the ultra-high-end market, making it even harder for market expansion in the early stages
Samsung focuses on Micro LED TVs at the same time before breakthroughs are made in QLED TV technology
Samsung plans to launch 8K QLED TV later this year, while its rival LG Electronics continues to offer UHD AMOLED TV However, LG Display has developed 8K AMOLED TV panels to prepare for further development of high-end TV market This indicates the stiff competition between QLED TV makers and AMOLED TV makers will continue
Sony joined the OLED TV camp in 2017 and rolled out its AMOLED TV, boosting the sales and popularity of OLED TV WitsView estimates that the market penetration rate of AMOLED TV in 2017 was around 07%, and will increase to over 1% in 2018 In contrast, QLED TVs lacked impressive advancements compared to their AMOLED counterparts, leading to lower-than-expected sales Market penetration rate of QLED TVs remains only 1~15% in 2017 and 2018
WitsView notes that, the key for QLED TV camp is to overcome the technical obstacle of integrating Quantum Dots (QD) into the Panel Cell process rather than in the backlight modules But it is still unclear at what time this optimized QD device structure could be presented In addition, sales of QLED TV will not see significant improvement in the short-term Thus, Samsung has allocated part of its resources to develop Micro LED TV technology and successfully debuted a giant 146-inch Micro LED display in CES 2018 WitsView believes that before major breakthroughs are made in QD technology, Samsung will continue its R&D in Micro LED TV
HDR sees increasing adoption throughout TV and PC markets
WitsView observes that HDR technology is still the main focus of TV manufacturers HDR10+ is an upgraded standard for HDR10 introduced in 2018 to compete with Dolby Vision, another primary standard for HDR content, aiming to increase the adoption by TV manufacturers, content providers and platform providers Advocated by NVIDIA, PC manufacturers have also been considering to adopt HDR standards in the past year At the end of 2017, VESA released the open standard DisplayHDR 10 to address laptop displays and PC desktop monitors Thus, major PC manufacturers are expected to demonstrate devices compatible with this standard in CES this year WitsView predicts that more and more laptop displays and PC desktop monitors that use liquid crystal display (LCD) panels will support HDR standards, accelerating the adoption of HDR in the display field
2017/08/24
The share of In-Cell solutions in the global smartphone market is estimated to reach 319% by the end of 2017, according to the latest research on touch display solutions by WitsView, a division of TrendForce This latest share figure for In-Cell solutions, which is an upward revision from the earlier projection of 296%, is mainly attributed to the near maturation of IC products for TDDI (Touch with Display Driver Integration) as well as their rapid adoption in the panel industry
“Technologically, In-Cell solutions have advanced significantly over the past two to three years,” said Boyce Fan, research director of WitsView, a division of TrendForce “Pure In-Cell solutions, including those that integrated with TDDI chips, are now starting to displace Hybrid In-Cell solutions as the market mainstream Some of the well-known leading suppliers of TDDI chips are Synaptics based in the US and Taiwan’s FocalTech
Fan pointed out that the In-Cell technology in the past few years used to be specifically for high-end smartphones, such as models carrying displays of FHD resolution Furthermore, Synaptics for a time was the main TDDI suppliers as the In-Cell technology remained positioned in the high-end market FocalTech, on the other hand, has helped to accelerate the development of TDDI chips for HD smartphone displays since it entered the market Subsequently, the number of TDDI solution for HD smartphone displays together with the number of smartphone models using such solutions have grown substantially Currently, Synaptics and FocalTech dominate the FHD and HD market segments, respectively WitsView estimates that the share of In-Cell solutions integrated with TDDI chips in the smartphone market will grow from about 6% in 2016 to about 14% in 2017
“Previously, quotes for In-Cell touch solutions were high and could not be brought down because the average sales price of IC components for TDDI was also very high,” said Fan “However, panel makers and IC design houses have made tremendous progress in finding ways to optimize cost structures for their products, including the elimination of the photomask in the panel design and the implementation of interlace circuitry”
Fan added that steeper drops in prices of TDDI chips are also caused by more IC suppliers entering the market (eg Novatek and Himax) With prices of TDDI chips becoming less of an issue, WitsView forecasts that in 2018, the share of In-Cell touch solutions in the global smartphone market will expand rapidly to 376% Moreover, the share of In-Cell plus TDDI solutions in the global smartphone market will reach around 22% in 2018
2017/07/03
The confirmation of Samsung Display (SDC) being Apple’s AMOLED panel supplier for the upcoming iPhone devices has spurred other smartphone brands and panel makers to aggressively invest in this display technology The latest display market forecast by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, finds that AMOLED is set to become mainstream in the global smartphone market in the near future with the penetration rate reaching to almost 50% by 2020
SDC’s initiative and Apple’s adoption has triggered the current surge in AMOLED demand
SDC since 2015 has been actively finding other sources of demand besides Samsung to expand its presence in the AMOLED market and consume its growing production capacity However, this year is a breakthrough for SDC as the company has for the first time entered the iPhone display chain with its AMOLED offering As 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone’s launch, Apple has made major upgrades to this year’s iPhone refresh in order to dramatically raise the sales of these devices
“Apple’s move has been closely watched by its competitors,” said Boyce Fan, research director of WitsView “The reveal of the next iPhone’s specifications has accelerated the deployment of AMOLED displays for other smartphone brands Panel makers, especially those from China, are hastily building up their AMOLED manufacturing capacity as well”
Chinese panel makers EverDisplay (EDO) and Visionox entered the AMOLED market early on during the 2013 to 2014 period Later in 2016, the much larger Chinese panel suppliers BOE Technology (BOE) and Tianma also made the switch from focusing on the production of LTPS LCD panels to the ramping up of their AMOLED capacity BOE and Tianma even altered their fab plans, turning newly built facilities initially reserved for LTPS panel production into AMOLED panel fabs Once the two major panel suppliers finish installing equipment at their respective AMOLED fabs, they will begin trial production sometimes in the second half of this year
Limited supply of processing equipment and technological hurdles are challenges that later market entrants have to overcome
Chinese panel makers will likely build more AMOLED panel fabs in the near term Costs will not be a significant issue for them because the domestic market has plenty of capital and the government supports the development of new display technologies On the other hand, AMOLED manufacturing has several difficult technological barriers In addition to having perfected the backplane production, prospective suppliers have to improve other highly complicated manufacturing processes such as the deposition of the organic layer and encapsulation
The evaporation equipment, for example, is still mainly provided by Japanese and South Korean companies Currently, the Gen-6 half-cut machine made by Canon’s subsidiary Tokki is the most in-demand evaporation system on the market However, Tokki’s equipment is also very limited in terms of market supply because Tokki’s priority customer is SDC and by extension Apple
Over the past two to three years, SDC has practically monopolized the market for small-size AMOLED displays Nonetheless, some smartphone makers are wary of being locked into a single supplier for this type of technology and are encouraging competing panel manufacturers to catch up Besides the activities of Chinese panel companies, South Korea’s LG Display (LGD) will also begin mass production of flexible AMOLED panels from a Gen-6 fab in the second half of this year This is an important milestone according to WitsView’s because the market will become more competitive with LGD’s entry and eventually open up to other suppliers The initial shipments of AMOLED smartphone panels from LGD are expected to be for non-Apple customers
2017/06/14
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
Boyce Fan, research director of WitsView, said that the global smartphone market gained some growth momentum in 2016 on account of a wave of replacement demand, but shipment growth has slowed down in the first half of 2017 “Device vendors’ inventories began to pile up in the first quarter of this year,” noted Boyce “Furthermore, the Chinese market saw a reduction of smartphone purchase subsidies from domestic telecom operators These factors are adversely affecting shipments” Even though devices with AMOLED displays and the next iPhone release have generated market buzz, brands outside of Apple and Samsung are still waiting for more positive signs from consumers
WitsView’s latest survey of this year’s smartphone lineup finds that first-tier brands have increased the display aspect ratio of their premium devices from 16:9 to 18:9 For instance, Samsung’s and LG’s respective flagship series Galaxy S8 and G6 both adopted the full screen format and narrow bezel design while removing the physical home button Apple’s next premium iPhone model is also widely anticipated to have display of higher aspect ratio and a similar streamlined look At the same time, changes made by major international brands to the displays of their flagship devices have also spurred Chinese brands to catch up
WitsView’s latest research on the panel industry also indicates that most of the mass production and shipments of 18:9 smartphone panels will take place around this third to fourth quarter As many smartphone brands are preparing to release their new models with 18:9 displays, they have started to scale back their demand for panels for 16:9 screens this second quarter
Smartphone brands want to release new models with higher aspect ratio displays in the second half of 2017, when more 18:9 panels are available and new products devices benefit from the year-end busy season Whether panel suppliers are able to provide sufficient supply of 18:9 smartphone panels to their clients is still uncertain WitsView therefore expects Apple’s and Samsung’s premium devices will represent much of the full-screen smartphone shipments for 2017 Furthermore, models with 18:9 or higher aspect ratios are estimated to account for about 10% of the global smartphone shipments this year The market penetration of full-screen models has a chance to increase significantly later in 2018, when most brands outside of Apple have made the transition to the 18:9 display WitsView projects that about 37% of smartphones shipped worldwide in 2018 will have displays with 18:9 or higher aspect ratios
2016/12/29
The latest research on touch display solutions by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, finds that the share of In-Cell products in the global smartphone display market will expand to 296% by the end of 2017 The recent rapid adoption of In-Cell solutions among panel makers is due to the increase in the supply of IC components related to Touch with Display Driver Integration (TDDI)
WitsView also forecasts that On-Cell solutions will benefit from the strong demand for AMOLED next year, and their share in the smartphone display market worldwide will grow to 26% Conversely, the market share figure of the traditional Out-Cell solutions will shrink to 428% in 2017 due to the competition from the other two touch display technologies
“Panel makers highly favor In-Cell products because having touch sensors integrated inside the cell of the LCD panel significantly increases the panel’s value,” said Boyce Fan, senior research manager of WitsView “In-Cell products are complete display solutions for device makers and help reduce the complexity of the smartphone supply chain Moreover, In-Cell with TDDI can save costs by making materials such as flexible printed circuit (FPC) substrates redundant Getting rid of extra materials also allows for a more compact design”
Fan added that while prices of TDDI chips are still quite high, the number of suppliers is increasing and they will help make these IC components less expensive Synaptics and FocalTech were the first to develop TDDI chips, and since then many Taiwanese IC suppliers have also entered this market With additional suppliers, prices of TDDI chips are expected to fall more rapidly in 2017, thereby narrowing the cost gap between In-Cell and Out-Cell as well as stimulating the general demand for In-Cell solutions WitsView estimates that the share of In-Cell plus TDDI solutions in the smartphone display market will double from 6% in 2016 to 12% in 2017
In-Cell appeared to be on its way to become the standard specification for high-end smartphone display after it was featured in Apple’s iPhone 5 series However, only few of Apple’s competitors in the smartphone market have actually used In-Cell solutions for the displays of their high-end models Until recently, the penetration of this type of touch display was limited because the development of TDDI chips has been slower than anticipated
The market visibility of In-Cell solutions has finally risen significantly in 2016 as major IC companies have started mass production of their TDDI chip products Panel makers this year have also added products featuring In-Cell plus TDDI solution into their portfolios as the market supply of the related IC components increases
“Some of the demand for In-Cell may disappear when Apple uses AMOLED for its devices in 2017,” Fan noted “Nonetheless, the penetration rate of In-Cell in the smartphone display market will continue to increase on account of panel makers launching more products based on the technology”
Looking at other touch display solutions, WitsView expects limited growth for the production capacity of On-Cell TFT-LCD panels in the coming year due to panel makers allocating more resources to the development of In-Cell products On the other hand, the high AMOLED panel demand next year means that panel makers will increase the share of On-Cell solutions in their product mixes The penetration rate of On-Cell solutions in the smartphone display market therefore will also keep growing in 2017
Fan further pointed out that panel makers will increase efforts to promote integrated touch display solutions such as On-Cell and In-Cell as they gradually expand their production capacity for AMOLED and LTPS LCD panels Conversely, providers of Out-Cell solutions may have to concentrate on developing the mid- and low-end segments of the smartphone display market or adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy in order to survive
