Apparently this demand has come from Chinese-based smartphone vendors for production of entry-level and mid-tier smartphones, as well as orders from India for high-end feature phones.

Shipments of small to medium size panels by Taiwan suppliers totalled 297 million units in the first quarter of 2018, down five percent sequentially. The first-quarter performance was better than expected due mainly to increased shipments of 18:9 all screen smartphone panels by CPT, Digitimes Research figures show.

During the first quarter, panel shipments for industrial-control and commercial applications were less affected by seasonal factors; shipments of mainstream sizes, and those for tablet and digital camera applications suffered serious setbacks. On a yearly basis, only shipments for handset applications posted growth in the first quarter. Additionally, shipments of automotive-use panels outpaced those for digital cameras to become the second largest application segment for panel makers.

In the second quarter, shipments of small  to medium size panel shipments for portable navigation device (PND) and automotive applications are expected to enjoy the highest growth in unit shipments, while those shipped to the tablet and digital camera segments will continue to decline.

For individual suppliers, HannStar Display suffered the highest decline in shipments in the first quarter as the entry-level market was affected most by seasonal factors. But CPT managed to buck the seasonal trend to post sequential growth and outperformed Innolux to become the second largest supplier of small- to medium-size panels in the quarter.