What They Say
Omdia published a blog article by analyst Calvin Hsieh that highlighted that the supply chains for VR and AR have ‘key differences’. He pointed out that the supply chain for VR devices is ‘more mature’ with makers such as JDI, Sharp, and Samsung Display already present.
On the other hand, volumes of AR headsets are still too small to justify big investments and many display makers in this supply chain are smaller, with employees below 100–200 people. To encourage brands, firms have to provide display, optics, and reference as well as helping to develop the ecosystem.
The article includes a list of companies involved with each kind of display and discusses the collaboration needed between chip and display makers to enable technologies such as microOLED which are built on top of driving chips.
Hsieh concluded:
There are still arguments about single-chip or two-chip OLEDoS. Typically, DDIC circuits require higher-level node processes such as 28nm or 40nm, but display pixel circuits require lower-level node processes such as 90nm or µm level. If both node process gaps are bigger, the single-chip design is not necessarily more cost-effective than the two-chip design.
What We Think
This is a useful summary of some of the challenges still to be overcome for each application. (BR)
