LCD panel makers have continued to bring new production capacities to the market, and the increasing pressure from oversupply has resulted in a sharp decline in panel prices, according to the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce. Therefore, Samsung Display has strategically decided to allocate more capacity to QD-OLED TV production in advance. As the result, the stock-up demand for TV panels may arrive earlier than expected in 2Q19.
The overall price trend in the DRAM market has been stable in December, showing no noticeable change from November, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. Clients in North America and Europe were taking a break during the year-end holiday season, so the quantities of DRAM products traded in December were too small to be considered in the survey of contract prices. With regard to contract prices of mainstream products, the monthly average of 8GB modules is staying roughly at US$60, while that of 4GB modules is around US$30. However, for both 8GB and 4GB ones, their monthly lows have already dropped below their respective US$60 and US$30 thresholds.
Global smartphone production volume for 2019 is expected to be 1.41 billion units, a decrease of 3.3% compared with 2018, according to the latest report by TrendForce. Brands would record lower production volumes this year because the overall demand outlook in the global smartphone market remains weak. The lack of breakthrough features or specs has made the consumers less active than before with respect to replacing their existing devices. If the demand outlook becomes worse, together with uncertainties and impacts from the U.S.-China trade war, the decline in global smartphone production may reach 5% in 2019. As for the global ranking of smartphone market share, Samsung would remain the market leader, while Huawei is expected to surpass Apple to become the world's second largest smartphone maker. Apple would then take the third place.
Development of 5G products and network has been ongoing in the past years. And the commercialization of 5G is expected to roll out in 2019, with 5G telecom services to be planned in the United States, South Korea, Japan, and China, etc. The arrival of 5G smartphones will also be in the spotlight this year. According to TrendForce’s latest report, Android smartphone brands, such as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, and One Plus, all have a chance to launch 5G smartphones in 2019. However, the production volume of 5G models would only be 5 million units this year, a penetration rate of 0.4%, since the construction of 5G related infrastructure has not been fully completed.
According to the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, increasing penetration of UHD display panels has driven the consumption of driver IC in the past few years. The total consumption grew by 8.4% YoY in 2018, but the growth would slow down to 3% this year due to technology variation in designs of large-size panels and falling shipments of small-size panels.