Demand for LTPS LCD S/M Displays Increases as OLED Production Hits Wall
March 21, 2017
​
With the increased interest in high ppi displays, demand for LTPS TFT-LCD panels from China-based smartphone vendors has increased because the supply of OLEDs from Samsung has been insufficient. Samsung Electronics has adopted AMOLED panels for flagship smartphones and Apple is following suit for the iPhone8 model. A few first-tier China-based smartphone vendors, including Huawei Technologies, Oppo and Vivo, have adopted AMOLED panels as well. Samsung Display had production of estimated 350 million AMOLED smartphone panels in 2016 and demand is expected to increase by ~100m in 2017. After supplying Samsung Electronics and Apple, Samsung Display can supply only about 100 million AMOLED panels for China-based smartphone vendors a year, the same as 2016. As a result, China-based smartphone vendors will not be able to fulfill the AMOLED demand and must substitute LTPS TFT-LCD panels. Japan Display and LG Display have combined annual production capacity of 250-300 million LTPS TFT-LCD panels; Sharp, Innolux, AU Optronics (AUO) and Tianma Micro-electronics have about 100 million units in total. Global total annual capacity will reach 350-400 million units, the sources said. In 2017, AMOLED panels are estimated to account for 27% of smartphone-use panels, LTPS for nearly 35% and a-Si TFT-LCD units for the remaining, the sources indicated. Japan Display and AUO will compete with Samsung and begin producing AMOLED panels for notebooks in the second or third quarter of 2017. 

Vertical Divider