Starting from the first quarter of 2026, shipments of LCD display driver ICs for branded smartphones have been on a consistent decline. Due to the continuous upward pressure on memory costs, Omdia anticipates that the full-year出货量 for this segment will experience a double-digit drop. In 2026, shipments for branded smartphone LCD display driver ICs are expected to reach 458 million units, an 18% year-over-year decrease.

Smartphone display driver ICs, which also encompass components used in repair and refurbished devices, account for the largest share of demand within the small and medium-sized LCD driver IC market, representing roughly 60%. Meanwhile, as panel manufacturers redirect excess capacity from the slowing branded smartphone sector to the repair and refurbishment market, display panel shipments for this latter category are increasing rapidly. In 2025, TDDI shipments for refurbished LCD smartphones surpassed the 1 billion unit mark, almost 1.8 times the demand seen from branded LCD smartphones.

During the first half of 2026, LCD smartphone panel shipments aimed at the repair and refurbishment market have already exceeded the levels recorded in the same period of 2025. Consequently, the demand for display driver ICs from this refurbishment segment is now consuming a substantial portion of available capacity at wafer foundries. Automotive and smartwatch applications also represent significant uses for small and medium-sized LCD driver ICs, although their overall shipment volumes remain noticeably lower than those of the smartphone market.

Currently, Nexchip and SMIC stand as the largest and most critical suppliers of HV55-90nm process capacity. As Taiwanese foundries such as PSMC and TSMC progressively reduce their HV55-90nm process output, an increasing number of orders are shifting from Taiwan to mainland China. At the same time, the growing demand stemming from the refurbished smartphone market is absorbing significant capacity; therefore, the supply-demand dynamics for small and medium-sized LCD driver ICs are relatively tighter compared to OLED driver ICs, with Nexchip's capacity utilization remaining at elevated levels.

Omdia projects that, despite strong demand from the refurbished smartphone market and reduced capacity at Taiwanese foundries, the overall demand for small and medium-sized LCD driver ICs in 2026, including the refurbished smartphone segment, will still fall short of 2025 levels. As demand and capacity adjust gradually, the market is expected to move toward a supply-demand balance. Furthermore, the newly added HV55-90nm capacity from SMIC, Nexchip, and Runpeng will help supplement the overall production capacity for these LCD driver ICs.