With many smartphone brands applying 18:9 and wider aspect ratio screens to their newer models, the rate of adoption is expected to quicken in the second half of 2018.
Smartphones using 18:9 and wider aspect screens are forecast to increase to 66% of total smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2018, soaring up from 10% in the same period last year, according to business information provider IHS Markit.
After Samsung and Apple released phones last year with new, wider aspect ratios of 18.5:9 and 19.5:9 respectively, most smartphone brands have followed suit by applying screens with wider aspect ratios to their 2018 lineup to keep up with product differentiation.
Improvements in display technologies have hastened the expansion of wider screen adoption in smartphones. Initially, flexible AMOLED technology was required to realise a full-screen display and thus, 18:9 or wider screens were expected predominantly to be used in premium and high-end smartphones in 2018.
However, with rapidly improving designs in LCD cell structure, TFT array and LED backlight, TFT LCD can now be used in full-screen smartphones. Senior director Hiroshi Hayase commented:
“With the improvement in TFT LCD technology, smartphone makers are now aggressively applying 18:9 aspect ratio of TFT LCD to their 2018 models, even for mid-end and entry-level smartphones, instead of using high-priced flexible AMOLED panels. It would be correct to assume that smartphone displays are undergoing a quick generation change to TFT LCD-based full screens later this year. The new generation of smartphones will be expected to stimulate replacement demand in the 2019 smartphone market”.
