With Apple almost certain to use AMOLED for the future models of iPhone series, both panel makers and rival smartphone brands worldwide have also entered the race to invest in small- and mid-size AMOLED panels. The global production capacity of small- and mid-size AMOLED panels by area is projected to grow 16.5% annually to 5.9 million square meters in 2016, according to the latest data from WitsView, a division of TrendForce.
The display industry enters the second quarter of this year with some optimism as demand has picked up in response to the preparation for Chinese Labor Day sales. Still, panel makers are actively seeking ways to cut their costs further as the downward price pressure in the market has not diminished since the latter half of 2015.
Global shipments of LCD TV sets in the first quarter of 2016 totaled about 48.32 million units, according to the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce. This figure represents a 20.9% quarterly decline and also a 6.3% year-on-year drop. In addition to first quarter being the off season in the U.S. and Europe, the uncertain global economic outlook and the saturation of the Chinese TV market have put significant pressure on the overall LCD TV shipments.
The display technology industry has seen a significant expansion in the production of LCD panels with IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) thin-film transistor (TFT) backplane. WitsView, a division of TrendForce, estimates that the global production capacity of IGZO panels by area will reach about 6.9 million square meters this year, up 45% from 2015. A Gen-8.5 fab owned by major Chinese panel supplier CEC-Panda is currently responsible for much of this capacity expansion.
The shipments of IGZO panels worldwide totaled 5.05 million units in 2015 and are forecast to skyrocket by 296% year on year to 20 million units in 2016 owing to the demand generated by Apple’s latest tablet, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, according to WitsView, a division of TrendForce.
