Smartphones have more and more features, and the screen is the main interactive interface for users. For branded mobile phones, high-resolution and large-size panels have become quite important specifications. DisplaySearch’s recently released mobile phone shipments and forecast report indicated that in 2012, global smart phone sales are expected to exceed 600 million units. At the same time, mobile phones with panel sizes of 4 inches and above will account for 20% of all mobile phone shipments; use of over 300 ppi. The panel ratio of resolution is 17%, which is a jump increase compared to 8% in 2011.
Demand for Smartphone Specifications Market demand for high-resolution mobile phones There are many market driving forces for high-resolution mobile phone screens. The most important one is the handset brands that have a high degree of purchasing influence on the panel, such as Samsung, Apple, HTC, etc. competition.
As smartphones become more and more popular, consumers use mobile phones to browse the Internet, watch videos, and log on to social networks. These applications require high-resolution displays. The screen size of the mobile phone is increasing day by day, from 2.X inches to 3.X inches, until it exceeds 4.X inches, at the same time, the user also expects the resolution to increase equally.
Mobile phone brands market products to consumers with high-resolution screens. They usually do not use the term "ppi" (pixels), but use high-resolution, HD, or 720p words; even more brands simply use "retina display (Retina). Display)" or "High Pixel Density Display" instead. On the other hand, consumers are happy to accept smart phones and should have the concept of high-resolution display.
With the development of display manufacturing technology, high-resolution mobile phone panels have been successfully mass-produced and have become the brand's product characteristics. High-end technologies include LTPS TFT LCD technology and Nouvoyance's PenTile AMOLED technology. The increased mass production feasibility of high-resolution mobile phone panels will prompt brand manufacturers to introduce higher-end panel designs sooner. Currently, three of the top ten global mobile phone markets, Apple, Samsung, and HTC, have introduced high-resolution panels. Their competition with each other has also affected the entire industry.
PPI (pixels per inch) is the unit of display resolution density. Higher ppi also means higher resolution. When Apple introduced the iPhone 4 in 2010, equipped with a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 (QHD) LCD, it launched a war on the resolution of the mobile display. Recently, smart phone manufacturers have begun to introduce HD displays with resolutions up to 1280 x 720, and some display sizes are 4 inches or more. Obviously 300 ppi has become an important standard for smart phone displays.
2.8-5.3-inch Mobile Screen and Resolution Trends DisplaySearch observed the following trends regarding mobile screens.
3.5-3.7 inches: WVGA (840x480 or 854x480) 250+ppi is the most common resolution. Apple’s iPhone 4 display is the highest resolution panel in this size range, with a 3.54-inch DVGA (960x540) and 326ppi. Other handsets listed after the iPhone 4 are the AQUOS Phone Slider from Sharp and the EVO 3D from HTC.
4.0 inches: There are many different resolutions for this size, including 800x480 (Samsung Galaxy S), 854x480 (Sony Xperia Play), and 960x540 (Lumix Phone). The resolution of these monitors is more than 250ppi. There is unconfirmed news that Apple's iPhone 5 will use a 4.0-inch 1136x640 resolution panel, and the resolution will still be 326ppi (Retina Display). If this message is true, the panel will be resolved in a 4-inch panel. The highest rate, but its resolution density is the same as the iPhone 4. According to observations, Apple seems to value resolution density more than touch functionality. The iPhone 5 will use an in-cell touch panel and is expected to come out at the end of the third quarter of this year. The listing of Apple’s mobile phones has always set new standards for the specifications of mobile phone displays, so we speculate that the trend of 4.0-inch mobile phone displays will move toward 300+ppi.
4.3-inch and 4.5-inch: High-resolution density continues to infiltrate this size category, and handset manufacturers are racing to import high-resolution displays. Starting from the 4.3 inch QHD 266 ppi (HTC Sensation and Motorola Photon) and 4.5 inch HD 326 ppi (Sharp AQUOS Phone and LG OLTS) and 4.3 inch HD 340 ppi (Toshiba REGZA Phone) all the way up. In 4.3 inches and 4.5 inches, the resolution of 1280x720 (HD) higher than 320 ppi is the development trend. Some people believe that exceeding 4.5 ppi at 4.5 inches 1920x1080 will become the highest resolution display specification in high-end mobile phones, and such a high-profile display is expected to be realized in 2013.
4.7-inch and 4.8-inch: The HD resolution (1280x720) resolution of 300 ppi or higher will be used as the standard. We have observed that HTC, Samsung, and LG have all had products in this size.
4.8-inch and larger (5-inch or 5.3-inch): The display resolution of this size range is currently less than 300 ppi. Samsung Galaxy Note uses 5.3-inch 1280x800, 285ppi.
According to the Quarterly Worldwide FPD Shipment and Forecast Report of the NPD DisplaySearch, the total mobile phone screen shipments in 2012 (including smart phone panels) are expected to reach 1.8 billion, of which 61% of the mobile phone panel resolution The rate is 200 ppi or less. However, this proportion is expected to gradually shrink in the future, mainly because more and more mobile phones are equipped with panels of larger size and higher density resolution. In 2011, panel makers shipped only 144,000 high-resolution panels (this means over 300 ppi), and this year it is expected to ship 290,000 units.
In the next few years, the pursuit of higher resolution competition will continue to bring more than 300 ppi panel market. As shown in the figure below, mobile phone panels exceeding 300 ppi will account for 22% of market share in 2013, and in 2016 it is expected to reach 30% penetration rate.
Technical Challenges for High-Resolution Mobile Phone Panels Next we discuss the three technical bottlenecks faced by panel makers in producing high-resolution mobile phone panels:
* Advanced processing enables high resolution of the panel, however, smaller resolution means faster electron movement, and panel makers must use polycrystalline technology and structure. However, LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) process must add reticle process, in addition to the reduction of yield, but also increase the difficulty of the process and production time.
* Higher resolution density represents a decrease in the transmittance of the liquid crystal panel because there are more resolution arrays on the glass substrate. Therefore, the luminous efficiency of the backlight must be increased to maintain the same panel brightness, which results in an increase in cost.
* Higher density and higher number of resolutions increase the load of electron movement, so a backlight module with higher luminous efficiency and high brightness is required. However, due to the limitation of the space of the institution, the development of high luminous efficiency and high brightness is the opposite trend. To develop a backlight module that has both power consumption efficiency and brightness, usually has a high cost. However, high power consumption in smart phone design is not acceptable. On the one hand, consumers want to have a larger mobile phone screen and a more detailed picture. On the other hand, they hope that the longer the mobile phone is standby and use, the better. This kind of subject is a big challenge for mobile phone panel makers.
Demand for Smartphone Specifications Market demand for high-resolution mobile phones There are many market driving forces for high-resolution mobile phone screens. The most important one is the handset brands that have a high degree of purchasing influence on the panel, such as Samsung, Apple, HTC, etc. competition.
As smartphones become more and more popular, consumers use mobile phones to browse the Internet, watch videos, and log on to social networks. These applications require high-resolution displays. The screen size of the mobile phone is increasing day by day, from 2.X inches to 3.X inches, until it exceeds 4.X inches, at the same time, the user also expects the resolution to increase equally.
Mobile phone brands market products to consumers with high-resolution screens. They usually do not use the term "ppi" (pixels), but use high-resolution, HD, or 720p words; even more brands simply use "retina display (Retina). Display)" or "High Pixel Density Display" instead. On the other hand, consumers are happy to accept smart phones and should have the concept of high-resolution display.
With the development of display manufacturing technology, high-resolution mobile phone panels have been successfully mass-produced and have become the brand's product characteristics. High-end technologies include LTPS TFT LCD technology and Nouvoyance's PenTile AMOLED technology. The increased mass production feasibility of high-resolution mobile phone panels will prompt brand manufacturers to introduce higher-end panel designs sooner. Currently, three of the top ten global mobile phone markets, Apple, Samsung, and HTC, have introduced high-resolution panels. Their competition with each other has also affected the entire industry.
PPI (pixels per inch) is the unit of display resolution density. Higher ppi also means higher resolution. When Apple introduced the iPhone 4 in 2010, equipped with a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 (QHD) LCD, it launched a war on the resolution of the mobile display. Recently, smart phone manufacturers have begun to introduce HD displays with resolutions up to 1280 x 720, and some display sizes are 4 inches or more. Obviously 300 ppi has become an important standard for smart phone displays.
2.8-5.3-inch Mobile Screen and Resolution Trends DisplaySearch observed the following trends regarding mobile screens.
3.5-3.7 inches: WVGA (840x480 or 854x480) 250+ppi is the most common resolution. Apple’s iPhone 4 display is the highest resolution panel in this size range, with a 3.54-inch DVGA (960x540) and 326ppi. Other handsets listed after the iPhone 4 are the AQUOS Phone Slider from Sharp and the EVO 3D from HTC.
4.0 inches: There are many different resolutions for this size, including 800x480 (Samsung Galaxy S), 854x480 (Sony Xperia Play), and 960x540 (Lumix Phone). The resolution of these monitors is more than 250ppi. There is unconfirmed news that Apple's iPhone 5 will use a 4.0-inch 1136x640 resolution panel, and the resolution will still be 326ppi (Retina Display). If this message is true, the panel will be resolved in a 4-inch panel. The highest rate, but its resolution density is the same as the iPhone 4. According to observations, Apple seems to value resolution density more than touch functionality. The iPhone 5 will use an in-cell touch panel and is expected to come out at the end of the third quarter of this year. The listing of Apple’s mobile phones has always set new standards for the specifications of mobile phone displays, so we speculate that the trend of 4.0-inch mobile phone displays will move toward 300+ppi.
4.3-inch and 4.5-inch: High-resolution density continues to infiltrate this size category, and handset manufacturers are racing to import high-resolution displays. Starting from the 4.3 inch QHD 266 ppi (HTC Sensation and Motorola Photon) and 4.5 inch HD 326 ppi (Sharp AQUOS Phone and LG OLTS) and 4.3 inch HD 340 ppi (Toshiba REGZA Phone) all the way up. In 4.3 inches and 4.5 inches, the resolution of 1280x720 (HD) higher than 320 ppi is the development trend. Some people believe that exceeding 4.5 ppi at 4.5 inches 1920x1080 will become the highest resolution display specification in high-end mobile phones, and such a high-profile display is expected to be realized in 2013.
4.7-inch and 4.8-inch: The HD resolution (1280x720) resolution of 300 ppi or higher will be used as the standard. We have observed that HTC, Samsung, and LG have all had products in this size.
4.8-inch and larger (5-inch or 5.3-inch): The display resolution of this size range is currently less than 300 ppi. Samsung Galaxy Note uses 5.3-inch 1280x800, 285ppi.
According to the Quarterly Worldwide FPD Shipment and Forecast Report of the NPD DisplaySearch, the total mobile phone screen shipments in 2012 (including smart phone panels) are expected to reach 1.8 billion, of which 61% of the mobile phone panel resolution The rate is 200 ppi or less. However, this proportion is expected to gradually shrink in the future, mainly because more and more mobile phones are equipped with panels of larger size and higher density resolution. In 2011, panel makers shipped only 144,000 high-resolution panels (this means over 300 ppi), and this year it is expected to ship 290,000 units.
In the next few years, the pursuit of higher resolution competition will continue to bring more than 300 ppi panel market. As shown in the figure below, mobile phone panels exceeding 300 ppi will account for 22% of market share in 2013, and in 2016 it is expected to reach 30% penetration rate.
Technical Challenges for High-Resolution Mobile Phone Panels Next we discuss the three technical bottlenecks faced by panel makers in producing high-resolution mobile phone panels:
* Advanced processing enables high resolution of the panel, however, smaller resolution means faster electron movement, and panel makers must use polycrystalline technology and structure. However, LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) process must add reticle process, in addition to the reduction of yield, but also increase the difficulty of the process and production time.
* Higher resolution density represents a decrease in the transmittance of the liquid crystal panel because there are more resolution arrays on the glass substrate. Therefore, the luminous efficiency of the backlight must be increased to maintain the same panel brightness, which results in an increase in cost.
* Higher density and higher number of resolutions increase the load of electron movement, so a backlight module with higher luminous efficiency and high brightness is required. However, due to the limitation of the space of the institution, the development of high luminous efficiency and high brightness is the opposite trend. To develop a backlight module that has both power consumption efficiency and brightness, usually has a high cost. However, high power consumption in smart phone design is not acceptable. On the one hand, consumers want to have a larger mobile phone screen and a more detailed picture. On the other hand, they hope that the longer the mobile phone is standby and use, the better. This kind of subject is a big challenge for mobile phone panel makers.
Guangzhou Ehang Electronic Co., Ltd. , https://www.ehangmobile.com