Digitimes Research predicts that annual worldwide shipments of small-to-medium-size TFT LCD panels will decline at a CAGR of 3.5% between 2018 and 2023, falling to 2.02 billion units. The decline of TFT LCD will be brought about by the rising popularity of AMOLED and the closure of older-gen LCD panel production lines in Korea and Japan.
However, the downturn will happen slower than previously anticipated, due to Apple’s continuing use of LCD display technology, even in its newest devices, and a more gradual than expected increase in AMOLED panel production capacity.
Apple’s new iPhone XR retains LCD display technology.
As the smartphone market reaches saturation, overall panel shipments for handset applications are expected to grow at a CAGR of 0.6% through 2023, while TFT LCD smartphone panel shipments fall at a negative CAGR of 6.3% during the same period thanks to the increasing adoption of AMOLED technology, which will see its market penetration grow 44.5% in 2022.
Thankfully, automotive, industrial control and IoT applications will step into the breach to become new primary growth drivers for small-to-medium-sized TFT LCD panels, climbing at a CAGR of 8% between 2018 – 2023, analysts predict, adding that panel-makers in Japan, Korea and Taiwan are at a technological advantage in the face of this new trend.
