China makers' shipments of touch panels for smartphone, tablet and notebook applications dropped 17.4%, 31.7% and 33.5% respectively in the first quarter of 2015, according to Digitimes Research.
White-box tablet demand in China slowed down during the first quarter while notebook touch panel orders shifted back to Taiwan makers. Smartphone touch panel shipments were relatively low as the makers increased shipments to Samsung Electronics.
Heading into the second quarter the applications expect to see 19.5%, 12.7% and 20% on-quarter growth respectively. Tablet applications will see the lowest growth due to lagging demand for white-box products.
In terms of makers, Truly Optoelectronics has seen a decline in OGS shipments as OPPO and Vivo have shifted touch panel orders to JDI for in-cell technology. EELY on the other hand is expecting increased orders heading into the second quarter as it shifts more toward handset applications and receives increased orders from Samsung. Holitech Technology meanwhile will also see its handset touch panel shipments increase throughout the year starting from the second quarter as it furthers cooperation with major handset vendors in China, said Digitimes Research.