Smartphones lift flat-panel sector

China's growing appetite for portable smart devices will accelerate domestic innovation and could shorten the product life cycle across the entire production chain, according to industry insiders.

Flat panel display manufacturers will reap more orders as the global smartphone fever continues to attract Chinese technology companies.

"Surging market demand for high-resolution smartphone screens is lifting the sector, to the point where it's become the biggest vertical segment in the panel manufacturing industry, overtaking television panels," said Bo Lianming, executive director and chief operating officer of home appliance maker TCL Corp.