Taiwan touch panel makers' shipments of handset touch panels dropped 3% in the third quarter of 2013. While shipments did stabilize in the fourth quarter, the makers expect another 7.5% decline in the first quarter of 2014 largely due to decreased iPhone 4/4S touch panel demand, according to Digitimes Research.
Taiwan makers are also seeing orders from Samsung Electronics transferred to other makers, but still expect steady orders from China-based handset vendors in the first quarter.
In terms of tablet panel shipments, Taiwan makers' 11-inch and below size units dropped 2.1% on quarter during the fourth quarter due to yield issues in producing Amazon entry-level tablets, said Digitimes Research.
Taiwan makers' shipments of touch panels used in notebook applications grew 13.3% in the third quarter of 2013 but are expected to drop nearly 20% in the first quarter of 2014. The drop will come as China makers such as O-Film develop thin-film projected capacitive touch panel solutions such as metal mesh, and offer the technology at competitive prices in the market, added Digitimes Research.