RF Modules Take Over The Smartphone Market

Smartphone growth falls to 9%, but Front End Module (FEM) growth remains high at 17%

Campbell, CA /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile Experts LLC released a market study today, titled RF Front Ends for Mobile Devices 2016. This comprehensive study provides a detailed view of the radio frequency devices that enable communications in mobile terminals. The report covers mobile handsets, tablets, PCs, and machine-to-machine modems.

"We can see the end-game for the smartphone market", explained Joe Madden, Principal Analyst at Mobile Experts. "As the OEMs run out of new smartphone customers to tackle, we're starting to forecast how the RF module market will settle into a slow-growth mode. Competition will get vicious as growth slows down—especially in the Complete Front End (CFE) market, where five competitors will be fighting over the top three customers".

"We've outlined multiple disruptive technologies in smartphone radio design, including the key aspects of Envelope Tracking, Tuning, Carrier Aggregation, MIMO, and other technologies in the RF front end. In particular, this year we have looked at filter technology as a key strategic point. Quadplexers, Hexaplexers, Extractors, and other multiplexer modules have become the 'strategic high ground' of the RF market. We have analyzed how these advanced filters will enable network benefits for the mobile operators and improved battery performance for the end user… and how they will change the competitive landscape for RF devices."

Mr. Madden continued, "It's becoming critical for each supplier to know about the adoption of integrated modules. We expect 73% growth for one type of module this year, while other modules will drop by 38%. It's becoming very easy for an RF supplier to get a nasty surprise as the market changes directions."

This 175-page report includes more than 160 charts and diagrams, in a written market study and a detailed Excel model. The five-year forecast includes shipment, ASP, revenue, and market share information for:

• Antennas
• Amplifiers
• Filters, Duplexers, Quadplexers, Hexaplexers
• Switches
• Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs)
• Front End Modules or FEMs (ASMs, TxMs, PADs, Switched Duplexer Banks, Diversity Filter Banks, and others)
• Complete Front Ends (including PA, Filter, and Switch)
• Antenna Tuners and Impedance Match Tuners
• Multimode, Multiband PAs (MMPAs)
• Envelope Tracking Power Supplies
• CMOS PAs
• Terminals including handsets, tablets, PCs, and IoT/M2M
• Carrier Aggregation up to 5-way combinations
• 2x2, 4x4, and 8x8 MIMO for uplink and downlink

Subscribers to Mobile Experts research will also receive quarterly forecast updates, with Research Notes and Expert INSIGHT articles, with strategic analysis of consolidation in the industry, capacity analysis for various players in the RF market, and deep analysis of key strategic issues.

Companies Profiled in this Report:

• AAC TECHNOLOGIES
• ACCO SEMICONDUCTOR
• AIROHA TECHNOLOGY
• AKOUSTIS INC.
• ALTIS SEMICONDUCTOR
• AMPHENOL
• ANADIGICS
• ANTENOVA
• APPLE
• AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES (BROADCOM)
• BLACK SAND TECHNOLOGIES
• BLACKBERRY (RIM)
• BROADCOM LTD.
• CAVENDISH KINETICS
• DELFMEMS
• EMW ANTENNA CO., LTD
• ETA DEVICES
• ETHERTRONICS
• FERFICS
• FOXCONN
• FUJITSU
• GALTRONICS
• GLOBAL FOUNDRIES
• HITACHI
• INTEL
• SILANNA (QUALCOMM)
• JAVELIN SEMICONDUCTOR/BROADCOM
• KYOCERA
• LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR
• LENOVO/GOOGLE/MOTOROLA
• LPKF LASER & ELECTRONICS AG
• MEDIATEK
• MICROSOFT/FOXCONN
• MOLEX
• MURATA MANUFACTURING COMPANY
• NOKIA/MICROSOFT
• NUJIRA (QUALCOMM)
• ON SEMICONDUCTOR
• PARATEK/BLACKBERRY
• PARTRON
• PEREGRINE SEMICONDUCTOR/MURATA
• PULSE ELECTRONICS
• QORVO
• QUALCOMM
• QUANTANCE (SKYWORKS)
• R2 SEMICONDUCTOR
• RDA MICROELECTRONICS
• RENESAS (MURATA)
• RESONANT INC.
• RFAXIS
• RFMD
• ROFS MICROSYSTEMS
• SAMSUNG
• SAND 9/ADI
• SHENZEN SUNWAY
• SILANNA SEMICONDUCTOR (QUALCOMM)
• SKYCROSS
• SOITEC
• SPEED (HUIZHUO SPEED WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LTD)
• SPREADTRUM/TSINGHUA
• SONY SEMICONDUCTOR
• SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS, INC.
• TAI-SAW TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD.
• TAIYO YUDEN COMPANY LTD.
• TDK-EPC (EPCOS/QUALCOMM)
• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• TOWERJAZZ
• TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR
• TSINGHUA HOLDINGS
• TYCO
• VANCHIP
• WIN SEMICONDUCTORS CORP.
• WIPAM
• WISOL
• WISPRY

About Mobile Experts LLC:

Mobile Experts provides insightful market analysis for the mobile infrastructure and mobile handset markets. Our analysts are true Experts, focused on topics where each Expert has 20 years of experience or more. Mobile Experts is truly independent, and does not engage in "pay for coverage" practices. Research topics center on technology introduction for radio frequency (RF) and communications innovation. Recent publications focus on Wi-Fi Semiconductors, LPWA vs LTE for IoT, Small Cells, Macro Base Station Transceivers, Semiconductors for RRH, Semiconductors for Small Cells, Cloud RAN, DAS, and 5G millimeter-wave radio implementation.