In-Stat sees mobile handset ICs reaching $82 billion in 2015

In 2010, the value of semiconductors used across all mobile handsets exceeded $55 billion dollars, according to In-Stat. The market watcher notes that smartphones, poised to drive much of the growth over the next five years, are a semiconductor manufacturer's dream come true. They contain the latest semiconductor technology, shrunk down to fit in your shirt pocket. In 2015, the mobile phone semiconductor component revenue will exceed $80 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 10.8 percent, In-Stat said.

Allen Nogee, principal analyst at In-Stat, says, "While most handset component markets are growing in revenue, a few face significant challenges." He adds, "For example the baseband semiconductor content of non-smart phones is slowly decreasing, as all costs are being wrung out of non-smartphone chips, and volume increases are not enough to compensate for the loss per device. Bluetooth semiconductor revenue in handsets is another area that is actually shrinking, as the Bluetooth function is integrated with other functions."

In-Stat also reports that there are over 60 semiconductor companies worldwide producing semiconductor components for mobile phones. Revenue from smartphone processors including Wi-Fi, GPS, touchscreen controllers, gyros and pico projectors, will grow much faster than the average, with semiconductor revenue associated with accelerometers and/or gyros exceeding $300 million by 2014. Also, smartphones are expected to make up 45.3 percent of all handsets shipped by 2015.