
Knowles wins as MEMS mics penetrate hearing aid market
The penetration of MEMS microphones will move from about 20 percent in 2015 to 75 percent in 2021 and is likely to benefit Knowles, which has been the market leader in the overall MEMS microphone market and also an early mover into medical applications.
Penetration rate of MEMS microphones for hearing aids from 2014 to 2015. Source: Yole Developpement.
Knowles, which started shipping MEMS microphones for hearing aids in 2010, already claims to have more than 70 percent of the market in hearing health MEMS-based microphones, in an article published by Yole.
The annual market for MEMS microphones used in hearing aids is set to grow from $29 million in 2015 to $101 million in 2021, according to Yole.
One of the reasons for interest in the market is relatively high and stable average selling price for such microphones. Yole reckons that ASP will move from about $4.50 per unit in 2015 to $4.00 in 2021. According to the article the ASP for MEMS microphones for consumer applications is about one eighth of that for hearing aids at less than $0.50 compared with $4 for hearing aids.
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