Touch panel shipments will be reduced by 1% annually

From 2010 to 2013, the global touch panel revenue performance showed a trend of growth, from 10.489 billion US dollars in 2010 to 29.964 billion US dollars in 2013, but the prosperity of touch panel revenue growth fear will not be seen again. It is estimated that the global touch panel shipments in 2014 may drop to US$29.3 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 1%. This is mainly due to the lower unit price of touch panels, coupled with the slowdown in the size of smart phones, and the decrease in the mainstream size of tablet computers from 9-inch to 7-8 inches.

As for the volume of shipments, global touch panel shipments continued to grow from 2010 to 2013. It is estimated that the growth trend will continue from 2014 to 2017, but the growth rate will only slow down. In 2013, global touch panel shipments reached approximately 1.513 billion units, with an annual growth rate of approximately 17%. It is estimated that shipments in 2014 will reach 1.738 billion units, and the annual growth rate will be estimated at 15%. By 2017, the estimated number of touch panel shipments will reach 2.4 billion units, and the annual growth rate will drop to 8%. The main momentum lies in the growth in the shipment volume of smart phones, tablet computers and touch notebooks.

In terms of individual applications, smart phone touch panels shipped 1.084 billion units last year, an increase of 14% year-on-year, and are expected to reach 1.237 billion units in 2014, an increase of nearly 14% year-on-year, and a challenge of 1.4 billion units in 2015. The annual estimate is 1.6 billion units. In 2017 and 2018, it will see 1.7 billion units and 1.8 billion units respectively. However, with the gradual increase in the penetration rate of smartphones in the overall mobile phone market, it is expected that the growth of smart phone touch panel shipments will gradually slow down from 2016 onwards.

In terms of tablet computers, although the demand for tablet computers remains strong, the size has become smaller, from the early 9-10 collapse to the (currently mainstream) 7-8 inches. In the case of fierce battles between brand models and white-brand models, white-brand tablet computers are still more dominant in the emerging markets because of their relatively affordable prices (which is also detrimental to the development of tablet computer touch panel shipments).

According to the survey, in 2013, the global shipment of tablet touch panels reached approximately 250 million units, an increase of 59% year-on-year, and is expected to reach 313 million units in 2014, which will increase to 25% annually. It is estimated that from 2015 to 2017, global tablet touch panel shipments will increase from 360 million units to 440 million units, but the annual growth rate will decrease from 16% in 2015 to 2017 only. 3% left. The tablet computer market will also become saturated.

Touch notebook computers are the next greatest hope for the touch panel/module industry. However, in addition to the cost of the touch panel, the current touch notebook computer market development factors include the product price and the consumer's disposable budget, and there are still many variables. In 2013, the penetration rate of touch notebook computers in the world was approximately 11.6%, and it is expected to increase to 15% in 2014. In 2015 and 2016, the global penetration rate of touch laptops will have an opportunity to reach 18% and 21%, respectively. %. Overall, the progress of stylus penetration rate is still relatively slow.