From application expansion to large-scale popularization, who is leading the MiniLED COB display?

Against the background of the increasing demand for high stability and low maintenance costs in commercial displays, Mini LED direct display is moving from the application expansion stage to large-scale popularization. At the same time, industry competition has also shifted from single product performance to systematic capabilities and comprehensive service capabilities. Enterprises have improved overall competitiveness and market adaptability by improving product matrix and supply systems.

Against this background, at the 2026 TrendForce New Display Industry Seminar (DTS 2026), Zhang Shigen, Sales Director of Hongli Display, systematically shared the "Latest Solutions for Mini LED COB Display", sorting out the current development status and corporate practices of COB displays from technology evolution, product system to application implementation.

Zhang Shigen, Sales Director, Hongli Display

Technology paths resonate with cost restructuring, and COB penetration continues to increase

From the perspective of technology development path, the LED display industry has experienced the evolution from DIP plug-in structure to SMD chip packaging, and further developed to four-in-one integrated packaging, as well as the current stage of parallel advancement of COB and MiP. Among them, MiP is subdivided into Mini MiP and Micro MiP, marking that display technology is accelerating towards a higher-precision micro-pitch development stage. Under this technological landscape, COB has gradually become one of the key advancement directions of the industry and has received relatively positive feedback from domestic and overseas markets.

Specifically, the penetration rate of COB in the small-pitch field continues to increase, especially in products below P1.0, which has occupied a high proportion, and has further expanded to P1.2 and other ranges. Judging from the mid- to long-term trends, its share in some market segments is expected to gradually exceed that of traditional SMD solutions.

At the same time, changes in cost structure are also reshaping the competitive landscape: Affected by the price fluctuations of key materials such as PCB and driver IC, the cost advantage of SMD has been weakened, while COB, driven by process maturity and scale advancement, has continued to optimize costs and further enhanced its market adaptability.

In addition, the application boundaries of COB are also broadening. The demand has been concentrated on P1.8 and above spacing in the early stage, and has gradually extended to P1.8, P1.9 and even P2.5 and other ranges, showing wider application potential.

In terms of market awareness, COB, as a relatively independent technology path, continues to gain acceptance in customer communication, solution evaluation, and project introduction, reflecting the industry's increasing recognition of this technology path.

From panel standardization to modular supply, Hongli Display reshapes the logic of the COB product system

Focusing on the product system layout, Hongli Display focuses on the standardization and modularization capabilities of COB panels. Its business model is different from the traditional "package-module-full screen" integration path. It is more inclined to be core device supply-oriented, providing OEM and ODM services to brand manufacturers and large customers. System integration is completed by downstream customers, while the company itself focuses on the consistency and large-scale supply of front-end panels.

At present, the company has formed a product matrix covering Hongping series, Hongping II generation, Hongyi series, all-in-one machine, Hongping PLUS·MAX, Hongjing texture screen and semi-outdoor and outdoor products, and continues to promote the layout of Hongping III generation (P0.93–P1.56) and semi-outdoor/outdoor P1.95 products, and also carries out MOB New solutions such as P0.78–P0.93 have been developed, and the overall product coverage continues to extend to smaller spacing and multiple scenarios.

The Hongping series has been iteratively deepened, and its performance and structure have been continuously optimized

Among them, the first generation of Hongping is the first major product, targeting domestic high-end projects and overseas markets. This product adopts a low-scanning solution. For example, the 0.9-pitch product adopts a 40-scan or above solution, which is more advantageous than the industry's 60-scan solution. In terms of driver IC selection, the 1.2-pitch product adopts the 1065S model, which is higher than the conventional configuration. The system configuration has also been upgraded from the conventional A5S to A8S.

In terms of structural design, the first generation of Hongping has achieved a cabinet thickness of less than 30mm (approximately 29.5mm including modules), forming differentiated advantages through thin and light design, and supports a variety of structural forms such as 45-degree cut angles, right-angle cabinets, horizontal half boxes, vertical half boxes, etc. It also has rapid delivery capabilities and can meet the needs of project-based customers in terms of customized design and delivery.

In addition, this product has high overall performance in terms of performance indicators, with a brightness of more than 800nit. It can achieve DCI-P3 ≥ 99% color gamut performance and a contrast ratio of approximately 20,000:1 in home theater and other scenarios. It also supports 1000nit brightness, 7680Hz refresh rate, dual-card dual-power, single-card dual-power, and other configuration combinations.

The second generation of Hongping further optimizes the cost structure based on the first generation and upgrades the box design. The original die-cast aluminum plus plastic back cover solution is adjusted to a full die-cast aluminum structure to improve structural reliability, heat dissipation performance and customer experience. It also supports dual backup design of the power system, making it more suitable for project scenarios with higher stability requirements.

From the perspective of technological evolution trends, small-pitch displays are transitioning from traditional standard module solutions to large-panel structures. The large-panel solution has advantages in seam control, display consistency, and installation efficiency, but it places higher requirements on manufacturing technology and cost control. The current product system also supports various structural forms such as separate and three-in-one to adapt to different system integration needs.

At the same time, Hongli Display also has corresponding technical reserves and product solution capabilities in terms of differentiated display forms such as textured screens.

With the expansion of all-in-one machines and outdoor scenarios, COB application boundaries continue to extend

At the level of application expansion, all-in-one machines and outdoor COB have become key extension directions.

At present, the overall scale of the all-in-one machine market is still relatively limited, the demand for customization is scattered, and the industry is dominated by small batch delivery. Focusing on this feature, Hongli Display has strengthened its OEM/ODM integrated support capabilities, covering structural design, nesting solutions, system compatibility, and touch and non-touch forms. It also plans to build an all-in-one machine assembly capacity of approximately 2,000 square meters to improve the efficiency of customized delivery.

At the product level, Hongli Display has launched an all-in-one LED direct display solution for smart office scenarios. It adopts full flip-chip Mini-level packaging technology, has high contrast, 600nit brightness, wide color gamut and good ink color consistency, and provides multiple specifications such as 108-inch, 135-inch and 162-inch.

In the field of outdoor display, due to higher requirements for brightness, protection and environmental adaptability, it is relatively difficult to introduce COB technology, and the development path is different from indoor applications. Against this background, Hongli Display has promoted the research and development of outdoor COB products since 2025 and launched P1.9 products. It has completed multiple reliability tests including salt spray, high and low temperature shocks, etc., and verified them in actual outdoor environments. The overall operating performance is stable. At present, related products have entered the stage of sample promotion and customer verification, and are mainly targeted at application scenarios such as outdoor advertising.

Multi-business collaborative advancement, product matrix and technical capabilities continue to improve

From a corporate perspective, Hongli Zhihui was established in 2004 and completed its listing in 2011. As its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hongli Display focuses on business directions such as COB display, vehicle-mounted display and backlight, and continues to promote technology iteration and product upgrades through cooperation with universities and industry chain partners.

Overall, as products continue to evolve from the first generation of Hongping to the third generation of Hongping, Hongli continues to improve in terms of pitch coverage and application scenario expansion, and has formed a product system covering multiple specifications ranging from P0.7 to P1.5. It has also established a certain level of capabilities between standardized supply and customized development, providing support for its continued competition in the Mini LED COB display field.