TV manufacturers want to capture the hearts of consumers, they must start with the panel. As the most advanced backlight technology in the current display field, Mini LED has become a key area where relevant manufacturers in the global industry chain are competing for layout. Today, let’s analyze Mini LED.
1. Mini LED is hot
1. Why develop Mini LED?
Liquid crystal panels (LCD) have been mainstream for more than ten years. When the old technology can no longer achieve breakthroughs, new technologies have emerged. From a short-term perspective of three to five years, only Mini LEDs have the ability to impact the existing pattern of the industry .
Currently, there are two main types of panels in the TV market, LCD and OLED. The advantage of OLED is that it makes the picture more pure, but it also has disadvantages such as high cost, limited brightness, and shorter life span. The Mini LED, which happens to take into account the advantages of LCD and OLED, is at the forefront of the display industry. Mini LED technical indicators are at the forefront of the display industry. With the same performance, the cost is expected to drop, and the price difference with OLED is obvious. Therefore, it is regarded as the future of the display industry and becomes a TV. The core technology that the industry focuses on.
2. Intensive release of Mini LED products
Since 2019, Apple, Xiaomi, TCL, Hisense, Asus, Innolux, AUO, BOE and other giants have launched Mini LED backlight or similar technology TV, monitor, VR and car display terminal products, Mini LED ushered in large-scale commercial In the first year of China, as the industry chain matures and costs decrease, Mini LED backlights are expected to usher in rapid penetration in 2021.
As the two strongest consumer electronics brands in the world, Apple and Samsung have a very strong vane role. The addition of Apple and Samsung is expected to drive the industry trend and accelerate the formation and rapid maturity of the Mini LED industry chain standard.
3. Mini LED growth is not limited to the TV field
It is said that Apple’s suppliers have already started producing Mini LED backlights for the new iPad Pro to be released in 2021. As the supply chain matures and manufacturing costs decrease, according to DSCC's analysis, the three market segments with the largest sales of Mini LED backlight products will be TVs, laptops and tablets. According to DSCC's forecast, by 2025, the total shipments of Mini LED backlights will exceed 48 million units.
4. Mini LED backlight has higher cost performance
Thanks to the mature advantages of the LED industry chain, the cost of Mini LED backlight is 60%-80% of the same size of OLED backlight: Taking a 65-inch 4K panel as an example, 20,000 Mini LED-backlit 65-inch 4K TV panels cost about US$860. The cost of a 5.5-generation OLED backlight module with the same specifications is about US$1,100.
The price of the R635C Mini LED TV recently released by TCL is also much lower than the price of other brands of OLED TVs of the same specifications. TCL 65-inch Mini LED 4K TVs are priced at only 7,999 yuan, while LG’s OLED TVs of the same specifications are priced at 13,999- The prices of Sony A9G and A8H TVs with the same specifications are as high as RMB 10,999 and RMB 20,999, ranging from 41,999 yuan, far exceeding the price of TCLR635C.
5. Mini LED market is expected to usher in a period of rapid outbreak
As the industry chain matures and downstream demand increases, Mini LED prices may further decline. Mini LED backlights are expected to rapidly penetrate into terminals such as TVs, computer monitors, tablet computers, and automotive panels. According to TrendForce's forecasts, the demand for benefiting terminals is strong. The Mini LED market is expected to usher in rapid growth, from 78 million US dollars in 2018 to 4.2 billion US dollars in 2024, with a CAGR of 94%.
6. Two-wheel drive of policy and market
The penetration rate of 4K TVs is expected to increase rapidly, and Mini LED backlights benefit from the popularity of ultra-high-definition video. In March 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China issued the "Ultra HD Video Industry Development Action Plan (2019-2022)" to develop the UHD video industry in accordance with the overall technical route of 4K first and 8K consideration. By 2020, 4K TV sales that meet high-contrast (HDR) and other indicators will account for 40% of total sales; by 2022, 4K TVs will be fully popular, 8K sales will exceed 5%, and 8K live broadcast of Beijing Winter Olympics will be launched in 2022 experiment.
