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.
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.
According to the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, shipments of large-size panels reached 804.06 million pieces in 2018, a YoY growth of 2.5%. Among all the large-size display panel applications, only tablet panel recorded decreasing shipments last year, while other categories registered noticeable growth. The segment of TV panel was driven by new production capacity in the industry and special deal projects, while the LCD monitor segment grew due to the increased production volume of borderless monitors and momentum from global sports events. As for notebook panels, notebook manufacturers started their stock-ups earlier than previous years, in fear of the shortage of components like driver ICs. As a result, the notebook panel shipments for 2018 increased as well.
According to The Future of Smartphone Era Webinar by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, the global smartphone market has been approaching saturation, with less room for product differentiation. Thus, smartphone makers have shifted their focus to next-generation foldable models. WitsView expects the first foldable smartphone to be launched in 2019, accounting for only 0.1% in the global smartphone market. The penetration rate is estimated to reach 1.5% in 2021.
