What They Say
Sigmaintell that said that sales of monitors in the Chinese market in 2020 were 34.5 million units. The forecast for 2021 is 3% in volume to 35.6 million units. 144Hz monitors have become the ‘mainstream’ according to the report and there has been an increase in popularity of 165Hz and even 240Hz may become popular.
Globally, monitor sales are forecast to rise 2.5%. Sigmaintell said that in its user research, the percentage using a monitor with their laptop had risen from less than 20% to 31% since the start of the pandemic.
On the panel side, the firm said that CSOT, HKC and BOE are all looking to increase their share. BOE may get to 33% in 2021, following the CEC Panda acquisition and Sigmaintell expects the firm to try to profit from Samsung Display’s withdrawal from the market for gaming monitor panels where the Korean firm has 38% share. It also has 61% of the curved market and is expected to stop monitor panel supply during this quarter. AUO is also expected to strengthen its position.
The firm said that overall global shipments reached 162 million units in 2020, up 12.9% although Q1 will see a bit of a downturn, partly because of the tightness in driver supply.
IPS share will increase from 60% in 2020 to 68% although VA may drop back slightly from 18% to 17%, while TN will drop to just 15%.
High refresh monitors (100Hz+) will grow from 18.9 million to 24.7% (+30.5%) while high resolution (QHD+) will grow from 20.2 million to 25.4 million (+25.8%).
What We Think
It’s good to see the continued trend to better products. I have felt for many years that IPS should be the base line for monitors – after all, the first thing a monitor should do is give you consistent colour, wherever you look from! Still, I understand the cost pressure dynamic, too. (BR)
