Wired Interface Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The wired interface market is anticipated to reach a CAGR of 6.1 % during the forecast period 2021 - 2026. The popular wired interface such as USB Type Interface is one of the universal standards which has been the pull of wired data and power transfer for 20 years. The USB 4 specification has now been introduced and will probably appear in devices in late 2020 or early 2021 after a new standard is being published. Over 50 companies are presently involved in the standard, especially those behind the USB Promoter Group such as Apple, HP, Intel, Microsoft, ST Microelectronics and Texas Instruments. Furthermore, not all devices have Thunderbolt Interface. Intel announced that it contributed its work on Thunderbolt to the USB Promoter Group. Thunderbolt will basically underpin USB 4.0, so all USB 4.0 devices and ports will be automatically compatible with Thunderbolt devices for super-fast data transfer as well as device charging and display across a single cable as now. This can become a new wired interface trend in the coming years.

Key Highlights

• Increasing use of smartphones is driving the market. According to Morgan Stanley, in 2023, the market share of smartphone shipments for Android is predicted to be 87.1%. This inhibits the demand for USB Type C wired interface technology which are mostly use for android smartphone. Further growing adoption of smartphones in the Asia-Pacific will drive the demand in this region.
• Further growth of Automotive Infotainment drives the market. Automotive infotainment is a hardware and software platform that delivers audio and video in a vehicle. With the growth of infotainment, the growth of the wired network (HDMI, USB) will be peaking to its growth. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd, and Groupe Renault, decided to adopt Google Inc.’s Android operating system (OS) for their next-generation infotainment systems from 2021. This further bolsters the innovations in the USB type-C market.
• Also, leading technology companies in the market are focusing on introducing USB type-c and power delivery devices compatible with automotive infotainment systems. For instance, in February 2019, Microchip Technology Inc. announced that it had launched an automotive-qualified USB 3.1 Gen1 SmartHub IC, which includes interfaces for USB Type-C connectors and can enable universal connectivity in vehicles.
• The COVID-19 pandemic is already leading in a host of challenges to industrial manufacturers. According to a recent survey of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), about 80% of manufacturers of the United States expect that the duration pandemic financial impact on their business will be high. The overall semiconductor industry faces yet another down year in 2020 because of COVID-19 due to affect on demand and the supply chain.USB type interface are usually made from brass, which is a copper-zinc alloy with other IC components for connecting a microprocessor (MPU) or microcontroller (MCU) system in the electronic devices. Further, DisplayPort is developed by a consortium of PC and chip manufacturers and standardized by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA).
• The brand players such as STMicroelectronics, ON Semiconductor Corporation, suffers from supply chain distribution as they are core players in the semiconductor industry developing the wired interfaces. For companies vulnerable to a viral outbreak within their ranks, this would be a critical time to explore a proactive deployment of automation technologies (e.g., collaborative robotics, autonomous materials movement, industrial internet of things) to decrease worker density throughout their operations.

Key Market Trends

Hdmi Wired Interface in Television Accounts for Significant Market Share

• With the usage of 4K Ultra HD currently, the market is moving towards 8K Ultra HD to improve the pixel. 8K is 16 times the pixels of HD and four times the pixels of 4K. 8K resolution equates to 7680 x 4320, or 33 million pixels (33,117,600, to be exact), instead of 3840 x 2160 (8,294,400 pixels). To more easily visualize, it says four 4K TVs placed in a four-by-four grid. With the increasing demand for 8K TV, the demand for HDMI wired interface increases.
• HDMI version 2.1, which is backward compatible with current HDMI devices, supports 8K video with HDR at a 60Hz refresh rate. It is the latest iteration on the A/V connection format that consumers have used since it replaced previous A/V connections nearly two decades ago, It replaces the HDMI 2.0 standard, where HDMI 2.0 can handle 8K at up to 30Hz.
• HDMI 2.1 increases the maximum signal bandwidth from 18Gbps (HDMI 2.0) to 48Gbps through 48G wired cable, which enables video resolutions of up to 10K and frame rates as high as 120fps. There are 19 pins and 19 wires in the new cable. Presently, twelve of these wires correspond to the plus, minus, and shield connections of four twisted pairs, leaving seven miscellaneous conductors for other purposes.
• Further, with the increasing demand of 8k UHD TV, various application usage such as Blu-ray players, audio/video receivers, and gaming consoles, players are focusing on HDMI 2.1 with their devices so that they don't face business loss in future due to high adoption of 8K UHD TV.
• Further, in Jan 2020, Samsung's 8K TVs are now officially certified for HDMI 2.1, including 8K60. Many more TVs with HDMI 2.1 are to be announced at CES 2020. Samsung, LG, and Sony have been selling 8K TVs equipped with one or more HDMI 2.1 ports since 2019. However, none of these were certified (until present), meaning that TV makers were unable to tout HDMI 2.1 support. Samsung's 2019 8K TVs known as 950R in Europe is the first 8K TVs to get the HDMI 2.1 certification.
• In the United States, demand for 8K Ultra HDTV is increasing year-on-year. They are the early adopters of this technology. And thus, the above factors are expected to have a positive outlook on the 8K television market. A player such as Samsung's 2019 8K TV known as Q900RB in the United States is the first 8K TVs to get the HDMI 2.1 certification.

North America Witnesses a Significant Market Share

• North America is a core for technological innovations with an early adopter of new technologies. Factors such as the presence of major companies, increasing consumer spending, and the growing popularity of advanced devices are driving the market in North America.
• Connecting smartphones and devices to the automotive infotainment system provide a number of information and entertainment functions. This enables the usage of wired interface platform, mostly USB Type C connectivity and HDMI. According to EEI (Edison Electric Institute), more than 1.18 million electric vehicles are on the road in the United States as of March 31, 2019. Tesla, GM, and Nissan account for 62% of the 1.18 million EVs sold. Further, according to ICCT, hundreds of new EV models will be manufactured with over USD 200 billion in investments until 2025.
• In January 2020, JAE launched the KW04 Series EV charging connector compatible with the Type-2 CCS (Combined Charging System) electric vehicle with fast charging standard. With the more EV drivers on the road, the launch of an innovation wired interface will help to drive the market.
• Further, with increasing usage of gaming console in the United States, the demand for the HDMI interface for the console players increases. As of December 2019, the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite have sold more than 6.2 million units in the United States, which was the highest sell compare to other players. With such huge selling, the demand for the HDMI interface through their third party was very high. Further, both Microsoft and Sony are attempting to produce 8K visuals and support for "ray tracing" (an improved lighting system for game visuals) in the coming years, which shows the forecasted growth of HDMI wired interface in a gaming console.
• Further, according to the federal government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP), it has been found that Windows OS is the most popular end-user operating system with 58.4 percent users in the United States. This further increases the demand for HDMI, thunderbolt, and Displayport interfaces for the operating system players making laptop and desktop.

Competitive Landscape

The wired interface market is highly competitive due to which the market is fragmented. Due to various players providing interface solutions and further with advanced technology, new devices are being innovated, which inhibits more rivalry among the market. Key players are Molex Incorporated, STMicroelectronics N.V., etc. Recent developments in the market are -

• November 2019 - Plugable introduced Thunderbolt 3 NVMe SSD that uses a PCIe connection, and the external drive features an aluminum design, speeds up to 2400 MB/s, and an integrated Thunderbolt 3 cable. The Thunderbolt 3 interfaces with integrated 7-inch/18 cm 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cable.

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