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TrendForce has reported a significant decline in global LED demand throughout 2022, resulting in a noticeable downturn in both LED lighting and video wall markets. The industry was faced with an LED chip surplus, which led to a continuous drop in prices throughout the year.
According to TrendForce, Apple is expected to adopt Micro LED for its consumer electronic products in the close future. The Apple Watch will likely be the first among Apple’s products to feature a Micro LED display, and the adoption is anticipated to occur in 2024. Then, during the period from 2026 to 2030, the application scope of Micro LED could expand to encompass AR headset displays, smartphone displays, automotive displays, etc.
According to TrendForce’s latest research, shipments of Mini LED backlit automotive display modules are estimated to total around 140,000 units this year because of their use by European, Chinese, and US carmakers.
Ennostar’s subsidiary Epistar and PlayNitride’s wholly-owned subsidiary PlayNitride Display have announced that they have teamed up to build a production line for 6-inch Micro LED epi-wafers. Looking at the latest progress in the development of Micro LED, large-sized displays are regarded as the forerunners to the more advanced end products. Even though Micro LED has unresolved technological bottlenecks and cost-related issues, TrendForce is optimistic that this technology will eventually be adopted for the development of different kinds of displays and end products. Examples include transparent AR smart glasses, displays for wearable devices like smartwatches, automotive displays such as those embedded in a smart cockpit, and other transparent display products. Furthermore, the latest efforts in product development will likely create new high-end applications for Micro LED. TrendForce currently forecasts that the value of the market for Micro LED chips used in displays will reach US$542 million in 2024. Afterwards, the market will experience soaring growth starting in 2025 on account of the maturation of technologies.
BOE has become the largest shareholder in HC Semitek following a RMB 2.1 billion capital investment deal, and they are now in a partnership with respect to the development of Micro/Mini LED businesses. BOE has been involved in Micro/Mini LED since 2017 and now possesses related offerings such as displays and backlight solutions. In 2020, BOE established BOE MLED Technology as a subsidiary dedicated to the R&D and manufacturing of Micro/Mini LED products. As for HC Semitek, it is a major Chinese LED chip supplier and has an overarching presence across the LED chip industry chain. Hence, it produces not only LED chips but also LED epi wafers, sapphire substrates, etc. According to the data from market intelligence firm TrendForce, HC Semitek took fourth place in the 2021 ranking of LED chip suppliers by external sales revenue. Besides this achievement, HC Semitek is also at the forefront of advanced LED technologies including Micro/Mini LED. In a ranking of LED chip suppliers based on the revenue that is solely from sales of Mini LED chips, HC Semitek is currently in third place following Epistar and San’an.