Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com February 6 news, according to Omdia's latest "small and medium-sized display panel market tracking report": smartphone TFT LCD shipments dropped sharply to 990 million in 2022.

Demand for smartphones slowed in 2022 as inflation rose rapidly due to soaring oil and energy prices, the report said. In addition, the further replacement of TFT LCD by AMOLED panels in the mobile phone market led to a 25 per cent year-on-year decline in TFT LCD shipments in 2022.

Despite the downturn in the smartphone display panel market, shipments of LTPO AMOLED panels are expected to increase, and the increase in shipments of AMOLED (especially LTPO technology) benefits from the higher value of its lower power consumption, according to the display Panel Trends report of Pexels2022 in November. Strong consumer demand for Apple's new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max series also contributed to this growth.

At the same time, demand for electric vehicles grew steadily in 2022 as soaring oil prices and consumers opted for more sustainable vehicles because of environmental concerns. According to Omdia's latest "small and medium-sized display panel market tracking report", vehicle TFT LCD shipments rose slightly by 4 per cent to 195 million in 2022.

However, because of the decline in TFT LCD shipments for smartphones, the increase in in-car TFT LCD shipments cannot make up for the overall decline in small and medium-sized TFT LCD shipments, as shown in figure 1.

The value of the car TFT LCD is higher than that of the smartphone TFT LCD, and the car display panel of 9.0 inches and above provides better functionality, as the report shows. Due to the promotion of self-driving technology and the improvement of the complexity of vehicle navigation function, the car display screen is becoming larger and larger.

Figure 2 shows that in 2022, the average size of the in-car a-Si TFT LCD increased to 8 inches, while the average size of the LTPS TFT LCD is expected to exceed 10 inches. At the same time, the average size of the smartphone a-SI TFT LCD panel has been stable at around 6.5in, while the average size of the LTPS TFT LCD panel is 6.4inch, which is expected to have no room for growth.

CTOnews.com learned that the cost is higher due to the production process requirements of car displays and the need to use durable materials to withstand long periods of time in a wide temperature environment. This, along with the increase in screen size, is the second reason why LCD panels on car screens are more expensive than those on smartphones.

Figure 3 shows the average selling price of the TFT LCD used in car displays and smartphones. The price competition in the small and medium-sized TFT LCD market is fierce, and the demand is low. In tough market conditions, the average price of a smartphone a-Si TFT LCD fell to $5, while the LTPS TFT LCD fell to $15 in 2022. (the above average price takes into account that a-Si LCD is mostly shipped in the form of cell, which is the weighted average unit price of cell and module shipments, which does not mean that there is such a big price difference between LTPS LCD and a-Si LCD.)

At the same time, the average price of a car TFT LCD has also fallen, but remains higher than the average unit price of a smartphone. In 2022, the average selling prices of in-car a-SI LCD and LTPS LCD are $37 and $67, respectively (the shipments of in-car TFT LCD are mainly modules), as shown in figure 3.

Revenue from in-car TFTLCD has surpassed that of smartphones in 2022, as shown in figure 1, and smartphone TFTLCD shipments are expected to fall 25 per cent year on year in 2022. Similarly, the decline in average selling prices due to price competition means that overall smartphone TFT LCD revenue fell 38 per cent year-on-year to $8.17 billion in 2022, as shown in figure 4. On the other hand, despite the poor market environment, revenue from in-car TFT LCD increased slightly to $8.5 billion in 2022, up 3 per cent year-on-year.

Omdia believes that for the first time in 2022, revenue from in-car TFT LCD surpassed that of mobile TFT LCD, including smartphones and feature phones.

Global events such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the consequent surge in energy prices and inflation led to a decline in the smartphone market in 2022. Demand for smartphone TFT LCD is likely to recover from 2023.

However, it is likely that AMOLED panels will absorb the growth in demand for smartphone display panels. As a result, the recovery in demand for TFT LCD is likely to be limited to low-end smartphones.

For the TFT LCD for the automotive market, it is expected that the number of display devices installed per vehicle will continue to increase, and the larger screen and higher resolution will promote the expansion of demand. Omdia expects that the AMOLED panel will still take a long time to improve its durability and surpass the durability of the TFT LCD before it can enter the automotive display market.

At a time when profits in the smartphone market have been sluggish, the car display market, as the last battlefield for small and medium-sized TFT LCD manufacturers, is becoming more and more important.

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