MEMS microphone market to hit 13% CAGR
Over the same period the market value will grow from about $800 million in 2015 to about $1.3 billion in 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent.
Apple is a key purchaser of MEMS microphones although its significance is set to diminish as the devices become more mainstream. Apple shifted from three MEMS microphones in the iPhone 6 line to four in the iPhone 6S line and is set to purchase about 1.5 billion MEMS microphones in 2016, about one third of a market valued at about $900 million according to IHS.
Microsoft and Motorola introduced smartphones with four MEMS microphones, before Apple but at lower volumes, according to Marwan Boustany, senior analyst at IHS Technology. With its latest moves Apple is expected to purchase more MEMS microphones than Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and LG Electronics combined in 2016.
Next: Four or five MEMS microphones
Four microphones help with hands-free calling and voice commands for Siri, Google Now, Cortana and other applications and MEMS microphones are being added for richer audio fidelity in video recording, noise cancellation and better call and recording performance.
“It will be harder for manufacturers to justify a move to five microphones in the coming years, unless clear and potentially popular use cases are identified,” Boustany said. “So far, Motorola’s Droid Turbo is the only handset with five MEMS microphones to become widely available.
Knowles remains the market leader in MEMS microphone shipments and revenue, but the company’s share is eroding. Goertek, STMicroelectronics and AAC have recently made gains in the market, selling to Apple and other companies, IHS said.
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