IDTechEx forecast the touch screen market to reach $14 billion in 2012. The biggest application for touch screens in general, and projected capacitive screens in particular, is mobile phones and, right behind, tablets. The biggest market opportunity in terms of shipped units is for mobile phones. IDTechEx projects touch penetration in mobile phones to reach over 40 per cent in 2012 and to rise to almost total coverage in the next decade. Shipment of tablets with touch screen technology is expected to reach 100 million units in 2012.
Today, the biggest market for projected capacitive touch screens is in mobile and smart phones, but tablets are right behind and quickly gaining momentum.
The touch screen market is expected to triple in the next decade. The next big markets for touch screens are eBooks, (mobile) game consoles, car displays and navigation devices as well as digital cameras for small to medium size displays. Bigger touch screens over 10 inches can be increasingly found in laptops and PC monitors as well as other screens and TVs.
In ten years from now, projected capacitive touch technology will continue to lead the market as panel costs are decreasing. Due to extremely low cost, resistive touch technology will continue to lead the market in price sensitive applications that need precise touch. The rise of embedded touch technology, currently the leading emerging touch technology, will be conditioned by more and more LCD manufacturers entering the field.
