Taiwan makers' shipments of touch panels used in handsets reached 50.44 million in the third quarter of 2014, down 5.7% on quarter, according to Digitimes Research.

The makers suffered from decreaed orders from Apple for the iPhone 4/4S while China-based vendors were still clearing out inventories. Additionally, Wintek's shipments were limited due to financial issues.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of the year, relevant shipments are expected to increase 6% on quarter to 53.46 million as China vendors ramp up production coupled with local telecom providers holding promotions to increase sales. Taiwan makers can expext to see most growth from on-cell and silver nanowire products.

Digitimes Research also noted that the makers' tablet touch panel shipments grew 21.4% on quarter to 12.78 million driven largely due to orders for the Nexus 9 in addition to orders from Amazon during the third quarter. Shipments in the fourth quarter are expected to grow 9.3% sequentially to 13.97 million.

In terms of touch panels used in notebooks, the makers' shipments grew 27.5% on quarter in the third quarter but are expected to drop 8.7% in the fourth quarter.