In the first year of Mini LED, where have these two Taiwanese players gone?

Mini LED is regarded as an opportunity for the LED industry this year and next year. Among Taiwanese manufacturers, in addition to equipment manufacturers and driver IC manufacturers that have already mass-produced and shipped LED chips and packaging segments, they are also fully prepared for mass production and shipment.

Longda said that Mini LED backlight products will continue to increase sales and volume this year, and their proportion will gradually increase. However, due to the large number of models, it is not yet possible to calculate the specific proportion.

Longda has expanded its transformation efforts in recent years. In addition to moving into Mini LED and Micro LED related research and development, it has also gradually faded out of the lighting finished product business, and its operating burden has dropped sharply. However, due to its withdrawal from lighting, Lextar’s first quarter revenue was 2.168 billion yuan (NTD, the same below), a quarterly decrease of 18.1%. Although the application of Mini LED in end products is still rare, the upstream supply chain operations have begun to heat up. Among them, equipment manufacturers and driver IC factories are the fastest to mass produce and deliver related products. For example, Mini LED spot testing and sorting equipment factory Huite has made profits in 2017 and 2018; driver IC factories have also reported good results in receiving orders.

Longda has released 32-inch and 15.6-inch Mini LED backlight module products in 2018. The 32-inch product has been mass-produced and delivered in 2018. It is mainly used in e-sports and high-end display spaces. The backlight module divides high-brightness dynamic development into 384 areas, which is a screen with NTSC greater than 95%. As for the 15.6-inch Mini LED backlight module, it is an ultra-thin product with wide color gamut and high contrast. This backlight module is divided into 240 zones, which can perfectly display details in dark environments, and reduces the thickness to less than 0.5mm, which can significantly compress the module thickness. It is mainly used in high-end notebooks, e-sports screens and automotive panels. As for the upstream LED chip segment, Epistar is following the development and distribution of new products for downstream customers, shipping small quantities in the first quarter. The current client progress remains unchanged, and market acceptance can only be observed after the new products are launched.

LED manufacturers have defined this year as the first year of Mini LED. Compared with traditional LED, Mini LED only differs in chip size. Chip manufacturers can use existing equipment to undergo mass production after modification. It is also regarded as a transitional and training product before Micro LED enters commercialization.