Global RF IC Market 2016-2020

Global outlook for the RF IC market

Technavio’s market research analysts have predicted that the global radio frequency (RF) IC market will grow at a fast pace and will post an impressive CAGR of more than 11% over the forecast period. The manufacturing of RF devices like power amplifiers incurs enormous costs for the vendors because of the expensive raw materials. This has prompted the vendors to identify new materials that can reduce the expenditure incurred in the manufacturing process of RF devices. The development of new materials like GaAs and indium phosphide (InP) will ramp up the production of RF power amplifiers. GaAs-RF power amplifiers use high saturated electron velocity and electron mobility to function, especially at high frequencies. Moreover, these new materials display a superior level of integration with other electronic components, such as switches fabricated in silicon on sapphire or other silicon on insulator processes. Therefore, companies like Murata and TriQuint are trying to use cost-effective and superior-performing materials to manufacture RF power amplifiers, which will fuel the growth of the RF IC market over the next four years.

One of the upcoming trends that is likely to gain traction in the market during the forecast period is the rapid development of smart cities. Government organizations around the world are investing heavily in the development of the smart city or connected city. This requires public Wi-Fi networks to provide various services to consumers, such as access to education, safety and security, and water management, traffic management, infrastructure management, and healthcare. It also provides location-based services to city planners to gain insight into the various smart city functions and the lifestyle of citizens. This is anticipated to create a massive demand for Wi-Fi routers to be installed in public places, which, in turn, will fuel the demand for high-powered transceiver RF chips for transmitting and receiving the data signals from the various connected smart devices.

Competitive landscape and key vendors

Owing to the presence of several well-established global and regional vendors, the global RF IC market witnesses fierce vendor competition. Most vendors in the market are competing to develop innovative products and solutions to cater to the demands of enterprises across various segments. The vendors compete on the basis of innovation, price, quality and performance, and support services. However, buyers of RF IC chips, such as consumer electronics manufacturers and automobile manufacturers across developed and emerging regions, have a different set of priorities based on the region's buying criteria of consumers.

Key vendors in this market are -

• Infineon Technologies
• Qualcomm
• Avago Technologies
• Qorvo
• Skywork Solutions
• NXP Semiconductors
• STMicroelectronics
• Renesas Electronics

Product segmentation and analysis of the RF IC market

• Transceivers
• Power amplifiers
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth

During 2015, the transceivers segment dominated the global RF IC market and is expected to reach over USD 13 billion by 2020. Transceiver chips are an essential component of any electronic device; therefore, the growing demand for new age electronic devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, set-top boxes, and laptops, will lead to an augmented demand and adoption of transceiver chips in the coming years.

Geographical segmentation and analysis of the RF IC market

• Americas
• APAC
• EMEA

The APAC region led the global RF IC market and is expected to reach more than USD 41 billion by 2020. The growth of this market in the region is attributed to the growing demand for RF IC's in the consumer electronics segment and the increasing need for logic and multipoint control units (MCUs) in the automotive segment. Moreover, the APAC region is home to major buyers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Toyota Motor, which will also contribute to this market’s growth in the region until the end of 2020.

Key questions answered in the report include

• What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2020?
• What are the key factors driving the global RF IC market?
• What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the global RF IC market?
• What are the challenges to market growth?
• Who are the key vendors in the global RF IC market?
• What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global RF IC market?
• Trending factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA.
• What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global RF IC market?

Technavio also offers customization on reports based on specific client requirement.

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