Skip to main content

Smartphone Drives Apps Processor Growth

As the wireless handset market surpasses 1 billion units shipped per year, application processors are an increasingly important enabler of multimedia capabilities in high-end smartphones and feature phones.

However, according to a recent study from ABI Research, this growing market will face several key challenges over the next several years.

"Over the course of our forecast period, from 2007 to 2012, strong unit growth is expected to be offset by dropping unit prices," says ABI Research senior analyst Doug McEuen. "After significant increases during the next two years, the decline in unit prices will compress the application processor revenue to a flat growth rate."

In later stages of market development, application processor unit shipment growth is expected to decrease due to two key factors -- integration, and the rise of the ULCH (Ultra Low-Cost Handset) market.

Integration impacts the market negatively, as multimedia functions are combined into the baseband processors, fabricated using 65nm or 45nm process technology. Low-cost handsets, which will not require an additional application processor given their limited multimedia functionality, likely will increase market share within the overall wireless device market -- further contributing to the decrease in application processor unit growth.

In 2012, application processor revenue is expected to reach nearly $2.8 billion, with unit shipments of 553 million, at a cost of $5.04 per unit.

ABI Research notes that over the next several years, the smartphone segment will be the largest market for application processor unit shipments. Although smartphone revenue will decrease from $3.3 billion in 2007 to $2.1 billion in 2012, it will continue to dominate the market.

"One device with the strongest growth over the same forecast period is the high-end feature phone, or enhanced phone, as unit shipments are expected to increase by 42 percent," concludes McEuen, "while revenue will rise by almost 21 percent."

Popular posts from this blog

How WLAN Transforms Industrial Automation

The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...