As the LED backlighting market is reaching saturation, makers are looking to tackle orders for high-end, higher resolution devices such as Ultra HD (4K) TVs in 2015to secure performance in 2015.
Many makers believe the strategy is in line with newly emerging demand for 4K TVs in addition to wide color gamut (WCG) smartphones and tablets that require increased LED backlighting to improve light transmittance and overall viewing quality.
WCG mobile devices are expected to be a major focus for vendors in 2015, with increased units expected to hit markets in the second half of 2015, said industry sources. Some of the vendors include ZTE, Huawei Device and Xiaomi.
While the amount of LEDs used in such devices is increasing, LED makers are seeing steady competition in other segments, which means their performances have seen limited benefit from the newly emerging trend.
However, as demand grows many makers may see 20-30% of their backlighting orders be for WCG products, including Nichia and Unity Opto.
The sources added that Quantum Dot devices are also expected to spur demand in the future and that relevant orders are currently limited due to various production bottlenecks that are leading to high costs for the technology.
