According to the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, the shipments of gaming monitor (with a frame rate above 100Hz) recorded about 2.5 million units in 2017, an annual growth of 80%. TrendForce forecasts that the shipments will increase by another 1 million units this year, totaling around 3.5 to 3.7 million units in 2018.
WitsView, a division of TrendForce, reports that global LCD TV panel shipments increased quarter by quarter in 2017. 1H17 showed less momentum for holiday sales due to the high prices, but shipments rebounded in 2H17 as the prices declined and TV makers prepared for the year-end sales. Moreover, the new production capacities of BOE’s Gen 8.5 fab in Fuqing and HKC’s Gen 8.6 fab in Chongqing have been focusing on middle-size TV panels (43" and 32" respectively), bringing the annual shipments beyond expectation to 263.83 million pieces, an increase of 1.3% compared with 2016.
The expanding markets for Internet of Things, automotive electronics, and smart home devices have driven the demand for power management integrated circuit (PMIC) and microcontrollers (MCU), etc., resulting in the 200mm foundries’ less input in LCD driver ICs. WitsView, a division of TrendForce, points out that the foundries have raised their quotes for driver ICs. Consequently, fabless IC companies may also raise their quotes to panel makers by 5~10% due to the cost pressure.
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.
Fingerprint sensors will still be the first choice for most Andriod phones in 2018, since other biometric authentication methods available for Andriod phone makers cannot completely replace fingerprint identification yet, says TrendForce. Meanwhile, in-display fingerprint sensors are expected to make breakthrough this year, and vendors like Samsung, LG, OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, Huawei are likely to embed this technology, bringing the global fingerprint sensor penetration rate in smartphones to 60%.