34 SMT Magazine • October 2015
Electronics Industry News
Market Highlights
Apple Uses 20% of Worldwide
Sapphire Capacity
Sapphire is the key material for LED manufactur-
ing. But in 2015, 20% of sapphire will be used
in Apple's iPhone, for the camera lens, fingerprint
readers, heart rate monitor covers, and the Apple
watch's window.
Tablet Shipments to Slide to
163M in 2015
The latest tablet shipment report from TrendForce
projects the 2015 global tablet shipments to reach
163 million units, a 14.9% year-on-year decline
and a downward revision from the previous esti-
mation.
Power Module Market to Reach
$17B in 2015
The global power module market is projected to
comprise nearly one third of the power semicon-
ductor market by 2019, growing at twice the rate
of power discretes, from 2014 to 2019.
Automotive Industry Now the Third Largest
End Market for Power Semiconductors
In 2014, the automotive sector significantly out-
performed the overall market average for semicon-
ductors. In fact, the automotive market overtook
data processing to become the third largest end
market for power semiconductor applications, ac-
cording to market analyst IHS Inc.
NAND Flash Suppliers Aggressive in
Cutting Prices on Weaker Demand
Smartphone, tablet and notebook vendors have
marked down their shipment targets in response
to the slowing of the global economic recovery in
the second half of 2015, according to the latest
research from DRAMeXchange, a division of Trend-
Force.
Global Embedded System Market
to Reach $233.13B by 2021
According to a new market report published by
Transparency Market Research, the global embed-
ded system market was valued at $152.94 billion in
2014 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.4%
and reach $233.13 billion by 2021.
China Now Third Largest Importer
of Defense Equipment
China's defense budget is expected to almost dou-
ble by the close of this decade, according to new
analysis released today by IHS Inc.
Patterning Material Market at
$3.86B by 2020
The global market size for Patterning Materials in
terms of value is projected to reach $3.86 billion
by 2020, at a CAGR of 5.85% from 2015 to 2020,
according to MarketsandMarkets.
Smart Cities Market to See 22.5%
CAGR Growth to 2019
The global smart cities market is forecast to hit
$1,134.84 billion by 2019, at a compound annual
growth rate of 22.5% during the forecast period
2014–2019.
RF Power Semiconductor Device Sales for
Wireless Infrastructure Tops $1B in 2014
Just when the industry thought that things were
pretty good in 2013, the RF power semiconduc-
tor market for wireless infrastructure blew off the
charts in 2014. China and the Asia-Pacific region in
general continue to be the main driver for the RF
power chips that are sold into the mobile wireless
infrastructure segment.
34 SMT Magazine • October 2015
