According to IHS DisplaySearch, the worldwide market of small- to medium-size OLED panels will show at least 15% annual growth for three consecutive years beginning from 2015. Shipments for wearable devices and smart home applications will exhibit the highest growths.
Digitimes Research expects panel shipments for smart watches by makers in the Greater China region to grow at a CAGR of 73.2% in 2014-2017. Particularly in terms of PMOLED and e-paper displays, Taiwan- and China-based panel makers have absolute advantages over competitors from Japan and Korea, and their combined share of the smart wristband panel market is likely to stay above 70% in 2014-2017.
A host of brand-name smart wristbands, including Garmin Vivosmart, RAzer Nabu, Fitbit Charge HR, HTC Grip, and TalkBand B2 recently launched by Huawei, features days of standby time, water and dust resistance, health monitoring, time display, and social media alerts. Some even offer phone functions. Priced between US$99-199, these smart wristbands are more affordable compared to expensive smart watches.
