Japan's private investigation agency Yano Institute of Economic Research announced on the 4th that as the Sony sells a display system using the high-definition panel technology “CLEDIS” using Micro LED, the global Micro LED market in 2017 is estimated to be 7 million. The dollar, though small in scale, has begun to form a market.
Yano pointed out that in addition to Sony, Apple, Hon Hai and other big companies are also planning to rush into the Micro LED market. Among them, Apple plans to adopt Micro LED on its own smart watch, which is expected to be sold in 2018-2019, and Hon Hai. The acquisition of the US start-up company that develops the Mrico LED panel, Micro LED may be expanding at an unimaginable speed. It is estimated that the market size of the Micro LED in 2018 is expected to increase to US$14 million, which will reach the double level in 2017.
Yano said that Micro LED is expected to be applied to the panel after 2017, and that after 2020, the scope of application will be expanded to vehicle headlights, smart fiber, Li-Fi communication, and biological/medical equipment. However, due to many issues such as manufacturing technology and costs, the application of the above-mentioned panels to the entire market may be limited.
Yano pointed out that in view of the fact that Micro LED will be expanded and applied to the panel in the future, it is expected that the market size of Micro LED will be expanded to 224 million US dollars by 2020, which will increase by 31 times (increased 3,100%) compared to 2017, and is expected to further increase in 2025. It will increase to US$ 4,583 million, which will increase by approximately 654 times from 2017 (an increase of 65,371%).
However, Yano pointed out that because Micro LED is a relatively new technology, the manufacturing technology and equipment research and development needed to mass-produce Micro LED panels are still not perfect, and the issues that are waiting for solutions such as productivity, improved yield, and cost reduction are still piled up. There are still many technical uncertainties. Therefore, the competitiveness of Micro LED and the competitiveness of LCD and OLED in the panel market are still unknown.
Hon Hai's Sharp Investment announced on May 22 that in order to accelerate the development and commercialization of Micro LED panels, it will cooperate with CyberNet Venture Capital (indirect ownership of Hon Hai 100%), Innolux, Rongchuang, etc. In October of this year, Pan Honghai Group acquired the eLux, a US start-up company that developed Micro LED panels.
According to Sharp, after completion of the acquisition process, Sharp, CyberNet, Innolux and Rongchuang invested 31.82%, 45.45%, 13.64% and 9.09% of eLux respectively.
Chinese media Investor and MacRumors reported on May 1 that Israeli media "OLED-info" quoted insiders as saying that Sam-sung's Micro-LED technology will be offered at a price of 150 million U.S. dollars to buy China Taiwan Micro LED plant. (PlayNitride).
Japan’s apple intelligence website iPhone Mania reported on April 21st that Korea Media’s Business Korea report pointed out that Apple’s research and development is regarded as a new generation of display technology, Micro LED panel, following OLED, and is expected to pass through Taoyuan, Taiwan, China, at the end of this year. The mass production will begin and will be used on the next generation Apple table. The manufacturing cost of the Micro LED panel will be lower than that of the OLED panel, and it will have higher brightness and power saving.
MoneyDJ News reported on April 6th that after the traditional LCD (liquid crystal) and OLED, a new generation of display technology, Micro LED, attracted attention from Apple, Sony and the global display supply chain. According to Trendince's latest LEDinside research, manufacturers are trying to overcome the high manufacturing cost of Micro LED and promote the development of Micro LED; if the total size of the components to replace the existing liquid crystal display to estimate, including backlight modules, LCD, polarizer, etc. The potential market size of Micro LED in the future can reach approximately 30 to 40 billion U.S. dollars.