“The trend toward bigger displays continued in the flat panel display industry in 2014,” said Yoshio Tamura, director of display research for IHS Technology, formerly with DisplaySearch.

“There were four major driving forces leading to a strong upgrade of the average FPD display sizes: consumer demand for larger LCD TVs, soaring demand for 5"+ smartphones, larger automotive display screens, and larger tablet PCs.”

Annual growth by area for major FPD applications in 2015 is forecast to reach 5%, which is down from 9% in 2014. Slowing growth is mainly caused by the maturity of some FPD applications, and a slowdown in the trend toward larger size screens for LCD TVs and smart handheld devices.

“New TV sizes launched by LCD and OLED panel makers mean that consumers now have more chances to trade up to larger sizes,” Tamura said. \

“For smartphones, especially in the Chinese market and developing countries, bigger screens have been triggered by higher resolution requirements, longer battery life, and shifts in user behavior.”

Apple, HP, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, and other mobile PC brands have begun to launch products with larger screens. New operating systems and convertible form factors are leading to displays growing from 10" to 12.9" in 2015, which will also add to FPD area demand.