Updated date - Dec 05, 2019

[171 Pages Report] MarketsandMarkets forecasts the flexible display market to grow from USD 3,449 billion in 2017 to USD 15,139 million by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.4% during the forecast period. The major factors that are expected to be driving the market are rising demand for OLED-based devices and high growth of consumer goods. The objective of the report is to define, describe, and forecast the flexible displays market size based on application, technology, panel size, substrate material and region.

Flexible Display Market By application, the vehicles and public transport segment is expected to grow at the highest growth rate during the forecast period

Vehicles such as cars and motorbikes, among many others, are the leading applications in the automotive domain. Displays utilized in cars range from small- to medium- and medium- to large-sized display panels. These displays can be used in dashboard displays, central control units, entertainment systems, navigation systems, security systems, and many other systems that help drivers in displaying the information. Public transport vehicles such as trains, planes, and ships also use panels for displaying the information for the advertising purpose. These display panels are usually large in size.

Flexible Display Market By technology, the LED-Backlit LCD segment holds the largest share of the market

The main display technology in the flexible display market is LED, or LED-backlit LCDs. LED-based display devices utilize LEDs for white backlighting the LCD panel. In conventional LCD devices, cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) were used for backlighting; however, the display market has adopted LEDs for backlighting the LCD panel owing to its favorable features. Although cheap, CCFLs are not as energy-efficient as LEDs. Owing to the features offered and falling prices of LEDs, CCFL-backlit LCD TVs disappeared entirely.

Flexible Display Market in North America to account for the largest market size during the forecast period.

The flexible display market in North America, being technologically advanced and developed, is a leading market for the cutting-edge technology used in flexible display devices.The region accounted for the largest share of the global market in 2016. The US dominated the North American market owing to its well-established economy, which allows for a large consumer electronics market. The rapid adoption of the latest display technologies and increasing applications are some of the reasons for the large market share of the US in the North American market. Leading e-reader brands, such as Kindle, were first available in the US, and hence North America plays an important role in the flexible display market.

Flexible Display Market Dynamics

Driver: Technological shift and development of energy-efficient, attractive, and high-specification flexible display products

The flexible display market has witnessed tremendous technological advancements in the past few years. Display devices have changed from being bulky and space-consuming to slim and bezel-less. They now offer high resolution, improved contrast ratio, and low power consumption compared with traditional display devices based on CRT technology. High competition in the display market has led to new product developments and launches with attractive looks and high-end specifications. Companies such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea) and LG Display Co., Ltd. (South Korea) have led the display market toward a new era with the launch of products based on technologies such as OLED and Q-dot LED. OLEDs offer a better viewing angle and an excellent contrast rate, and are brighter than LCDs. OLEDs also exhibit refresh rates, thereby facilitating a high-definition video. Attractive looks and high specifications of display products such as TVs, desktop monitors, notebooks, and mobile phones grab the attention of consumers. Display products based on the OLED technology have revolutionized the display market.

Restraint: Complex manufacturing process

The manufacturing process of flexible displays is complex, and it involves several stages. At present, the designing part of other competing display technologies is superior and involves less number of manufacturing stages. A major challenge with respect to the flexible display technology is to match the performance of the rigid display and electronics technology currently available in the market. Many organic materials used for flexible displays and electronics are susceptible to moisture and oxygen. Exposure to oxygen and moisture reduces the life of a material. Thus, they provide less protection. Additionally, these materials tend to operate at slow speeds and high voltages. They are also sensitive to extreme temperatures. As the technology and the market progress, companies would focus on these issues to gain a competitive edge.

Opportunity: High growth of smart wearable market

Many smart band manufacturers are looking forward to extending their product range by adding small devices with screens. Smart wearables utilize small display panels in applications such as watches and wristbands. The growing factor of smart wearables includes the new applications coming in the market such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), which provides new opportunities to suppliers of OLED displays. The growing market of smart wearables may act as an opportunity for large-sized display panel manufacturers such as Innolux Corp. (Taiwan) and AU Optronics Corp. (Taiwan). Companies may invest to focus on these applications, which will eventually increase their revenue.

Challenge: Fluctuations in ASPs of flexible display panels

Revenues of flexible display panel manufacturers primarily depend on the ASPs and shipment volumes of flexible display panels. This is affected by fluctuations in these prices and volumes. Prices and shipment volumes of flexible display panels are affected by numerous factors, such as raw material cost, yield rates, supply and demand, competition, pricing strategies, and transportation costs.

The flexible display industry has witnessed high fluctuations in the ASP of raw materials and flexible display panels. When production capacity sharply increases, the ASP of flexible display panels may decrease. In contrast, when supply cannot meet the increasing demand, ASP may increase.

Scope of the Report

Report Metric Details Report Name Flexible Display Market Base year considered 2016 Forecast period 2017�2022 Forecast units Million (USD) Segments covered Application, Technology, Panel Size, Substrate Material and Region Geographies covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, RoW Companies covered LG Display Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Samsung Electronics (South Korea), Innolux Corp. (Taiwan), AU Optronics (Taiwan), Japan Display Inc. (Japan), BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. (China), Sharp Corp. (Japan), Visionox Corporation (China), E Ink Holdings, Inc. (Taiwan), Corning Incorporated (US), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US), FlexEnable Limited (UK), Kateeva (US), Cambrios Technologies Corp. (US), Royole Corporation (US)

Flexible Display Market Segmentation

The research report categorizes the Flexible display to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-segments:

Flexible Display Market, By Application

Smartphone & Tablet

Smartwatches & Wearables

Television & Digital Signage Systems

PC Monitors & Laptops

E-reader

Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLS)

Vehicles & Public Transports

Smart Home Appliances

Flexible Display Market, By Technology

OLED Display

E-paper Display

Quantum dot LED Display

LED-Backlit LCD

Flexible Display Market, By Panel Size

Up to 6�

Above 50�

20-50�

6-20�

Flexible Display Market, By Substrate Material

Glass

Plastic

Others

Flexible Display Market, By Region

Asia Pacific (APAC)

North America

Europe

RoW

Key Market Players

LG Display Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Samsung Electronics (South Korea), Innolux Corp. (Taiwan), AU Optronics (Taiwan), Japan Display Inc. (Japan), BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. (China), Sharp Corp. (Japan), Visionox Corporation (China), E Ink Holdings, Inc. (Taiwan), Corning Incorporated (US), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US), FlexEnable Limited (UK), Kateeva (US), Cambrios Technologies Corp. (US), Royole Corporation (US) are the key market players in the Flexible display market.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. was ranked first in the flexible display market in 2016. Samsung is one the largest electronics manufacturing companies in the world and has significant market share in medium-sized, and small and large display panels. The company is considered one of the top innovators in this market as it invests huge resources in developing technologies such as AMOLED, OLED, and QLED.

Recent Developments

In January 2017, LG launched a wallpaper TV, which has a 4 mm deep flexible screen and can be hung on the wall by magnets. This TV product line is known as OLED W TVs. It features super-slim, bendable models that are available in 65- and 77-inch versions.

In January 2017, Samsung Display launched curved quantum dot displays that include CH711 and the formerly released CFG70 and CF791 gaming monitors. These gaming monitors offer enhanced design and rich colors to promote an immersive and realistic viewing experience.

In August 2016, Innolux developed a 5.5-inch WQHD flexible AMOLED display panel, which offers a super-refined 534 ppi resolution on a curved surface. The display was built on a plastic substrate through the LTPS process, using the fine metal mask technology and thin-film encapsulation and proprietary pixel rendering methods. The display has features such as high contrast and high color saturation.

In August 2016, AUO launched 8K4K ultrahigh-resolution TV display technology, having a resolution that is 16 times that of full HD (7680 � 4320). This 65-inch display has notable value additions�4000R golden curvature, edge-to-edge bezel-less design, and REC 2020 90%, the color gamut broadcasting standard published by the ITU for ultrahigh-resolution (4K & 8K) displays.

In January 2017, Japan Display Inc. (JDI) developed FULL ACTIVETM FLEX, which uses a plastic substrate on both sides of the liquid crystal layer, and introduced it into a 5.5-inch Full HD LCD for smartphone devices. FULL ACTIVETM FLEX can be used for curved shapes in smartphone designs.

Critical questions the report answers:

Where will all these developments take the industry in the long term?

What are the upcoming trends for the Flexible display market?

Which segment provides the most opportunity for growth?

Who are the leading vendors operating in this market?

What are the opportunities for new market entrants?

To speak to our analyst for a discussion on the above findings, click Speak to Analyst