With the increasing demand for outdoor travel, on-the-go scenarios, mobile office, and entertainment, more and more students and professionals are paying attention to small-sized portable displays that can be carried around.

Compared to tablets, portable displays do not have built-in systems but can act as secondary screens for laptops, connecting to smartphones to enable desktop mode for learning and office work. They also have the advantage of being lightweight and portable. Therefore, this segment is gaining more popularity from both businesses and users.

RUNTO defines portable displays as screens with sizes generally 21.5 inches or smaller, capable of connecting to devices and displaying images. They resemble tablets but do not have an operating system. They are mainly used for connecting to smartphones, Switch, game consoles, and laptops.

According to RUNTO data, the monitored sales volume of portable displays in China's online retail market (excluding content e-commerce platforms like Douyin) reached 202,000 units in the first eight months of 2023.

TOP3 brands maintain stability, while new entrants increase. 

Since the market size has not fully opened up yet, the brand landscape of the portable display market in China is relatively concentrated. According to RUNTO's online monitoring data, ARZOPA, EIMIO, and Sculptor accounted for 60.5% of the market share in the portable display market from January to August 2023. These brands have a stable market position and consistently rank in the top three in monthly sales.

FOPO and ASUS' subsidiary brand ROG are positioned in the high-end market. Among them, ASUS ROG ranks eighth in cumulative sales since the beginning of the year, thanks to its outstanding performance in the esports field. FOPO has also entered the top 10 in terms of sales.

This year, leading traditional monitor manufacturers such as AOC and KTC have also started to enter the portable display market, leveraging their supply chains, technological research and development, and distribution networks. However, their sales data is not impressive so far, mainly due to their products having a single function and higher pricing. 

Price: Significant price decline, dominance of products below 1,000 yuan

Consistent with the overall market trend of displays, prices of portable displays have significantly declined. According to RUNTO's online monitoring data, in the first eight months of 2023, products below 1,000 yuan dominated the market with a 79% share, a 19 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year. This is mainly driven by the sales of top brands' main models and new products. Among them, the 500-999 yuan price range accounted for 61%, becoming the dominant price segment.

Product: 14-16 inches are mainstream, moderate increase in larger sizes

According to RUNTO's online monitoring data, from January to August 2023, the 14-16 inch segment was the largest in the portable display market, with a cumulative share of 66%, slightly down from 2022.

Sizes above 16 inches have shown a growth trend since this year. On one hand, this is due to the consideration of differentiated sizes for enterprise use. On the other hand, users prefer larger screens for multitasking and higher resolution during use. Therefore, overall, portable displays are moving towards a moderate increase in screen size.

Esports penetration rate gradually increasing, expected to exceed 30% in 2023

According to RUNTO's online monitoring data, 60Hz is still the mainstream refresh rate in the portable display market, but its share is being squeezed by esports (144Hz and above).

With the establishment of the International Olympic Committee's Esports Committee and the promotion of esports atmosphere at the domestic Asian Games, the penetration rate of esports in the domestic market is expected to continue to increase, exceeding 30% in 2023.

Driven by the increasing number of outdoor travel scenarios, the entry of new brands, deepening product awareness, and the exploration of new fields like esports, RUNTO predicts that the annual retail scale of China's online market for portable displays will reach 321,000 units in 2023, a 62% year-on-year growth.