According to market research firm IHS, displays are getting bigger due to demand, no matter the application. Demand for larger screen sizes for LCD TVs, smartphones, laptops, and screen interfaces in automobiles have all driven the industry to increase the production of displays, and to increase their sizes. This resulted in a significant spike in display area produced in 2014 – jumping from just under 4 percent growth in 2013 to 9 percent in 2014. Yoshio Tamura, director of display research at IHS Technology, commented, “There were four major driving forces leading to a strong upgrade of the average FPD display sizes: consumer demand for larger LCD TVs, soaring demand for 5-inch-and-larger smartphones, larger automotive display screens, and larger tablet PCs.”

Demand growth in total display area is expected to moderate somewhat in the next few years, however, as screen sizes reach their limits in several applications. Growth in 2015 is expected to come in at 5.6 percent, and overall year-on-year growth to 2020 is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5 percent. This slowdown in expected growth is attributed to the maturity of some applications as well as a slowdown in the trend for ever-larger LCD TVs and mobile devices, and tablets in particular.

On the other hand, growth is being driven in several applications:
• UHD screens for TVs, as well as more modern designs with slim bezels, are expected to keep growth up in the TV sector.
• The introduction of OLED screens for laptops and the general trend towards ever-higher resolution displays in mobile computing are also expected to drive the market for displays.
• Screens in the automotive sector are expected to proliferate across more cars and more models, and greater automation is expected to drive this as well.
• Finally, the use of larger screens in smartphones is expected to continue, even as the tablet market sees growth moderate or even contract.

See a comparison table of selected large-screen video wall screen suppliers on GlobalSources.com