Tablet display shipments to reach 126mn in 2012: IHS iSuppli Report

The latest figures released by IHS iSuppli reveal that growing tablet shipments will propel a 56 percent increase in shipments for the tablet display market in the current year. Tablet shipments, including those of the iPad with its 9-inch screen, as well as smaller 7.x-inch models from various brands will contribute to the growth, according to the IHS iSuppli Small and Medium Displays Service of information and analytics provider IHS.

IHS iSuppli predicts that tablet display shipments will reach 126.6 million units this year, up from 82.1 million units in 2011. 

Tablet display shipments booming (Image credit: Getty Images)

Vinita Jakhanwal, Director for Small and Medium Displays at IHS says in a statement, “Media tablets increasingly are becoming the biggest growth driver in the market for the small and medium display market. While the 9-inch segment dominated by the iPad will account for the majority of tablet display shipments this year, the fastest-growing portion of the market will the 7.x-inch screens used in products like the Galaxy Tab from Samsung Electronics, the Kindle Fire from Amazon, the Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble, and other tablet products using the Google Android operating system.”

The report projects that roughly 74.3 million units, or 59 percent of all tablet display panel shipments will belong to the 9.x-inch segment. Further, the report predicts growth in the 9.x-inch tablet panel sector to rise 35 percent in 2012 from 55.2 million units in 2011.

The report found shipments for tablet displays drop by 20 percent sequentially in the first quarter owing to seasonal trends, with tablet device makers trying to remove a significant amount of inventory that had built up in the fourth quarter of 2011 in light of slower consumer demand. 

7.x-inch tablet displays, as per this report form the second-largest size segment in that category, this year. Shipments of the 7.x-inch tablet display in 2012 will run to 41.1 million units, i.e., nearly double from 20.8 million units last year. Going by these figures, the report estimates that the 7.x-inch category will control 32 percent of the tablet display space in 2012, compared to 26 percent in 2011.

The 9.x-inch sector this year, as noted by the report is giving up some market share. Importantly then, while the segment will continue to lead the tablet panel space this year, the 7.x-inch category will be helped by the launch of lower-priced tablets in that size segment, along with what is widely believed will be a product offering from Apple later this year for a smaller iPad. The remainder of the tablet display market in 2012 will be shared between the 8.x-inch size, with approximately 9 percent share; and the 5.x-inch, with less than 1 percent share.

LG Display and Samsung Display emerged as the main suppliers of tablet displays in the first quarter with 42 percent and 38 percent shipment market share, respectively. Both are market leaders because they make the liquid crystal display (LCD) panels that are used in the iPad, which continued to dominate the media tablet space with a commanding 58 percent of all tablets shipped in the first quarter.