The share of In-Cell solutions in the global smartphone market is estimated to reach 27.1% in 2018, marginal up from 26.2% of last year, according to the latest research on touch display solutions by WitsView, a division of TrendForce. This is due to the rapid adoption by Android smartphones, despite the fact that the new iPhones this year will not adopt In-Cell solutions. Particularly, the share of TDDI (Touch with Display Driver Integration) In-Cell solutions is likely to grow significantly to 17.3%, although the IC products for TDDI In-Cell products experience a tight supply.
Samsung will launch models with in-display fingerprint sensors, following Vivo, Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO, says TrendForce. The adoption by these major Android smartphones has constantly increased the penetration of in-display fingerprint technologies, among which ultrasonic and optical fingerprint sensing have made considerable breakthroughs. TrendForce estimates that ultrasonic and optical in-display fingerprint sensors will account for 13% of all fingerprint sensor technologies in 2019, significantly up from 3% in 2018.
According to the Large Size Panel Cost Breakdown, the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, the overall production costs of large-size panels are estimated to drop by 1~1.5% QoQ in 3Q18, less than 2~2.5% in 2Q. This is because the components of panels have a relatively limited price drop influenced by the tight supply. Moreover, the panel makers still face the amortization of equipment capital expenditure for new technologies including narrow-bezel, Mini LED and inkjet printing OLED.
The worldwide notebook shipments in 2Q18 grew above expectations by 10.2% QoQ and 2.8% YoY to 41.08 million units, according to the global market research firm TrendForce. Looking ahead to 3Q18, the traditional sales season and orders related to commercial tenders will drive demand growth in the notebook market with total shipments estimated to advance by 5-6% QoQ.
According to TrendForce, the sales of Apple’s iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X that were released in 2017 were lower than expected for models that celebrate 10th anniversary of the iPhone line. Sales of the iPhone 8/X series were affected by the delayed launch. Moreover, the demand for iPhone X has not been as strong as anticipated because consumers still need time to adjust to the high prices. While the market performance of the iPhone 8/X series has fallen short of the high expectations, iPhone sales as a whole are sustained by the popularity of models from the earlier generations. TrendForce finds that total iPhone sales for the whole year of 2017 reached around 216 million units, roughly the same as the annual figure for 2016.