The growing popularity of all-screen smartphones is playing a role in easing global oversupply of handset displays, as the production of 18:9 panels will consume 12.5-20% more production capacity than that for 16:9 ones, according to Digitimes Research.
Recent capacity ramps for handset panels by a number of panel makers from their 6G lines and the gradually saturating smartphone market in China has raised concerns about oversupply of small- to medium-sized LCD panels.
All major flat panel makers in China have stepped into the production of 18:9 panels with the bulk of their output being consumed by smartphone vendors in the Greater China area. Notably, Global HMD also plans to launch all-screen models, designed by FIH Mobile. Oppo and Vivo have rolled out models using HD (720p) 18:9 displays, while other vendors are using all-screen displays for their flagship models.
However, 18:9 panels are hardly to completely replace 16:9 panels in the short term as smartphones equipped with 16:9 panels are still the mainstream models outside China. Nevertheless, prices of 16:9 panels have been rising since July 2107 as panel makers have continued reducing the production of such models.