MIP/Mirco LED Display Market: China Below P1.0 Small Pitch LED Display

RUNTO Technology’s research shows that in the first quarter of 2024, China MLED (P≤1.0mm) direct LED display price fell by more than 30%. The price drop has led to small pixel LED display becoming more popular really quickly.

In the first quarter, Below P1.0mm small pitch LED display reached 11.2%, up 30%. From a shipping area perspective, it doubled its growth, accounting for 2.5% of the overall market, up 1.2 percentage points year-on-year.

RUNTO Technology thinks that new technology and new applications are driving MLED (P≤1.0mm) direct LED display to grow really quickly.

RUNTO Technology thinks that in 2024, the market for Micro LED (P≤1.0mm) direct LED display in China will grow by more than 30% to reach 1.9 billion yuan. By 2028, the MLED (P≤1.0mm) direct LED display market in China will be worth 5.63 billion yuan, with a compound growth rate of 30% over the next five years.

Why the price of below P1.0mm LED displays is cheaper.

From the RUNTO stats, it’s clear that price is still the main obstacle to large-scale application and market growth of P ≤ 1.0mm LED displays. As the market grows, so do technology-driven cost reductions.

One of the main reasons prices are going down is because MIP technology is becoming more popular. The latest stats show that MIP packaging tech started to take off in Q1 2024, with a 2% market share.

P0.9 LED display are now the main market force. MIP technology can be used to import LED crystal particles into smaller LED display, which saves on upstream raw materials. It can also be used to make the most of a mature surface paste process, resulting in high-volume transfer yields and at least 1-2 orders of magnitude of desensitization.

MIP P0.9 and P0.7 LED display has led to cost savings across the board, from materials and processes to equipment, testing, repair, and more. At the same time, it also encourages more industry businesses to enter the P0.9 and MLED markets, which makes the competition in these areas more intense.

Industry experts say that with MIP technical support, P0.9 LED display is following the same path as P1.2 LED display did five years ago: expanding supply and increasing the number of vendors, driving the shift in consumption structure.

Looking at the historical data, we can see that the price of P1.2 LED display dropped from 200,000 yuan per square meter down to the current minimum of about 20,000 yuan. This shift has led to a very few high-end LED display becoming one of the mainstream selections in the market. After the price dropped a lot, the market actually grew a lot too.

The industry thinks that below P1.0 LED display are eager to get the new technology in the MIP, and they’re hoping to grow the market in a similar way to how the previous P1.2 LED display did. We’re looking at a future where P0.9 and P0.7 LED display become really popular. They’re already pretty mature, and they’ll get even better cost reductions thanks to the established tech and MIP packaging specs.

Below P1.0mm LED display prices are being promoted by factors other than MIP, including COB technology. COB technology is getting more mature, which is causing its own price decline. MIP’s competitive emergence also gave COB technology a boost, driving down prices.

As P ≤ 1.0mm LED display makes up more than 5% of the market, the price of COB LED display is bound to drop as ultra-micro-pitch LED displays become more popular.

Demand upgrade drives the growth of P≤1.0mm LED display scale

We’re seeing a shift in demand for P ≤ 1.0mm LED displays, with sales growth expected to reach 3% annually by 2028. This will make up almost half of all small pitch LED displays. People may have questions about this: Is there really so much demand for high-end LED displays?

Industry experts say that despite years of small pitch LED display development, the basic problem of perception at a viewing distance of 3 meters has still not been solved. This is particularly relevant for indoor and semi-outdoor applications like street window advertising.

To meet high-end demand at a distance of 3 meters, we need to do more than just improve the optical design and make sure the dimming is more consistent. We also need to get down to a P ≤ 1.0mm spacing.

If we can get rid of the pixel particles at a viewing distance of 3 meters, it’ll make a big difference to the current medium and high-end LED direct display. This isn’t about “deep demand logic.” It’s just the first impression the user gets from the product.

Why didn’t the user choose to meet the needs? The answer is simple: it all comes down to price. As long as the price of below P 1.0mm LED display continues to drop, they’ll keep replacing traditional LED displays.

For instance, 10 years ago, the first generation of indoor small pitch LED screens used P2.5-P4. Five years ago, the choice was P2.0-P2.5, and now more applications are willing to choose P1.8 or below. This continuous display clarity upgrade is the inevitable trend in the small pitch LED display industry.

The industry also thinks there’s a lot of potential for P ≤ 1.0mm LED display in the home theater market. P0.7 LED displays can provide 4K resolution at 120 inches, which is a great option for high-end home theaters. P 0.3XLED displays, which use 0202MIP technology, can replace current 70-inch LCD products to achieve 4K display or provide 8K display on screens over 120 inches.

LED display is leading the way in color, contrast, HDR, response speed, and energy saving compared to LCD large screens. At the end of the day, LCD is made up of a special liquid crystal layer that’s added to the LED backlight. Given the experience effect and the trend towards larger sizes, especially low brightness, MLED has a unique advantage in the home theater market thanks to its ability to simulate the viewing comfort of a cinema black room mode.

The industry is developing a new “application standard concept” for below P1.0mm LED displays. This concept suggests that below P1.0mm LED displays may help promote LED commercial displays by shifting the focus from area coverage to resolution coverage.

“Resolution coverage” is the first thing people look at when making a choice. That is, the early small pitch indoor LED screen needed a certain size area of the display. The future customer demand may be for a more demanding display to reflect the value of high-definition, ultra-high-definition picture quality content. In other words, 2K/4K content will become the gold standard. This will also help make P ≤ 1.0mm LED displays more popular.

Right now, most high-quality ads are made to 4K standards. Upgrading content standards could be a big factor in getting P≤1.0mm applications off the ground. Since many indoor meetings, commercial displays, advertising, and other applications need to meet 4K resolution, there’s a growing need for P ≤ 1.0mm spacing indicators.

To sum up, 4K ultra-high definition content and other applications of the new standards are going to drive demand for the P ≤ 1.0mm upgrade, especially in situations where you’re looking at things from three metres away or closer, in a home theatre or other similar setting.

And shrinking the pitch even more will also make it easier to use LEDs in more applications and expand the scope of what they can be used for. So, for big brands, the P ≤ 1.0mm standard is a great choice—it’s a win-win in terms of quantity and quality.

Setting high-end market barriers for below P1.0mm LED displays

Right now, small pitch LED displays, especially the traditional SMD LED displays, are becoming more and more common. This makes it tough for the top and middle managers of small pixel pitch businesses to feel like they’re in control. How can businesses stay ahead of the competition? We need to make some technological upgrades, but we also need to set a certain threshold for the products we’re offering.

The smaller the pitch, the more pixels you can fit into a given area. Even if the MIP LED display uses SMD, P0.9 LED displays are also considered “higher technology.” P0.5 LED displays, whether traditional COB or MIP, whether Mini LED or Micro LED, will be more challenging, but also more consumer-oriented. Likewise, many LED display businesses have their own COB encapsulation capabilities and are also involved in building their own MIP encapsulation industry chains, which gives them a longer manufacturing chain advantage.

We should focus on developing below P1.0mm LED displays. The top small pixel pitch LED display manufacturers can gain competitive advantages and barriers in three ways:

• Brand soft power,
• Core technology difficulty,
• Their own industry chain length.

By doing so, they can differentiate themselves from the industry’s middle and lower-end brands. Given the better experience and higher value-added of below P1.0mm LED display, the top LED enterprises are eager to popularize smaller spacing products.

Conclusion:

To sum up, the industry is entering a new phase of growth for below P1.0mm LED displays. The future of below P 1.0mmLED displays is bright and become the driving force behind new applications and industry growth. So, it’s crucial for businesses to embrace the trend and make MLED LED displays a success.