Panel technologies such as micro OLED, OLED on silicon (OLEDoS), and micro LED are being actively developed for consumer applications, as well as glasses-free 3D technologies. These technologies are expected to become mainstream for AR/VR applications by 2030, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest study on panel technologies.
Demand for panels from emerging applications including medical care, automotive electronics, retailing, and education is also expected to pick up along with that for AR/VR applications. Catering to such business opportunities will be essential for panel makers to survive in the competitive panel market.
Micro OLED is expected to mainly be adopted in VR head-mounted displays (HMDs), while Micro LED will primarily be used by AR HMDs in 2030.
Although companies such as Google, Sony, and HTC have all released AR/VR HMDs, the applications did not gain attention until Facebook unveiled its metaverse and changed its name to Meta. Meta's VR HMDs currently still account for around 80% of the global VR HMD shipments, DIGITIMES Research's study shows.
Since the display technologies are still not mature, AR HMDs that have entered volume production still feature a display effort far below expectation in terms of the merging between reality and virtual images. Sales of AR HMDs are also far below that of VR HMDs at the moment, but AR HMDs have stronger potential for growth in the long term, DIGITIMES Research noted.
