This season, the touch module composes this slide control IC and contributes most

In the second half of this year, the tablet computer market did not go smoothly. In addition to the poor sales of most brands in the third quarter, even Apple, the sales champion in the fourth quarter, revised down its demand. In the face of the market that was not as expected, the touch module factory carefully examined the cost structure. After all, the cost directly affects the competitiveness of the profit and offer. According to WitsView, a research division of TrendForce, the cost of tablet touch modules in the fourth quarter fell by 4 to 5%, with the control IC falling the most.

Qiu Yubin, WitsView research associate, said that recently, the leading manufacturers of US control ICs have not only successfully launched single-chip products, but also the quoting strategy has become more positive, and the integrated advantages have been directly reflected in the selling price with a drop of more than 20%. Inevitably, the existing price incentives have been diluted, and other manufacturers have also been forced to follow suit, resulting in an overall decline in the prices of control ICs. Although the price of control ICs falls sharply depending on the circumstances of the cases, the overall average fall of the season falls to a level of 8 to 10%.

In addition to the control IC, the price of the sensor and the main materials such as the surface glass continues to fall. In terms of glass sensors, due to market orders concentrated in the hands of leading manufacturers such as Yuhong and Shenghua, the supply of other suppliers was low. In addition, there are still new manufacturers entering the ranks of production in succession. Under the premise of oversupply, the price competition of sensors is fierce, dropping by 4 to 5% this season.

The change in the price of the surface glass is much more intense than in the previous quarter. First of all, chemically strengthened glass is facing two major threats. One is the weakening of demand derived from inventory adjustment, and the other is the increase in supply due to the participation of manufacturers such as NEG and Schott. Therefore, even leading manufacturers such as Corning have to stabilize the market by lowering prices. In addition, the use of complex processing procedures such as drilling, the use of glass in the glass surface of the proportion of lower and lower, will help improve production yield. Under the influence of price cuts and process simplification of the main materials, WitsView projected a drop in surface glass of 5-6% this season.

As for the application process between the sensor and the surface glass, since the yield rate tends to be mature, only the price reduction of materials such as rubber materials can be used to reduce the cost at this stage. The cost of fitting in this season only fell by 2-3%, which is a lot lower than other components.

WitsView pointed out that the focus of the cost of the touch module in the first half of 2012 will shift to the single-chip products that will enter the peak period of mass production. Monolithic technology used in tablet computers, the current yield rate is probably still less than 70%, the biggest process challenges from the two strengthening and printing two parts. However, as the production bottleneck is gradually overcome with the increase in yield, it is estimated that the cost of the next monolithic touch module will have a space of 7 to 8% per quarter.