The wireless power market gained further momentum in 2018 as it geared up to become a mainstream technology. Fortified by the growth in the sales of wirelessly charged mobile phones, global shipments of wireless power receivers and transmitters across all applications and product segments grew by 37 percent in 2018 to 600 million units, compared to the previous year. Global shipments will continue to grow to approximately 2.1 billion units in 2023, according to business intelligence provider IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).

“Wireless power technology continues to evolve rapidly, with reach expanding beyond smartphones to wider applications and product segments,” said Dinesh Kithany, wireless power and power supplies analyst, IHS Markit . “Wireless power technology is also undergoing further sub-segmentation, with regard to wider power levels and distance range.”

Mobile phones led growth in the wireless power market in 2018, comprising 71 percent of all receiver units shipped. This category is expected to continue to drive this market over the next five years. According to the latest IHS Markit “ Wireless Power Market Tracker Q4’18 report,” annual unit shipments of wirelessly charged mobile phones grew by nearly 40 percent in 2018, reaching 300 million units, mainly driven by flagship models. The growth is expected to build in the mid-range smartphone category, as mobile phone companies plan to extend the adoption of wireless charging in that price band.

“Wireless charging is used as a market differentiator to promote flagship models,” Kithany said. “For example, Huawei and Samsung both included some cool innovations in their smartphones, with features like reverse-charging, wireless power-sharing, multi-device charging and the introduction of NFC wireless charging.”

Charging beyond the mobile ecosystem

Beyond the mobile ecosystem – which also includes smartwatches, wireless earphones, and wearables – wireless charging is expanding into computing devices, smart home devices, IoT sensors, medical devices, small home appliances, power tools, robots and drones, augmented reality and virtual reality devices, gaming applications, industrial sector, 5G applications, electric vehicles and public infrastructure. “This wireless charging expansion creates opportunities for emerging wireless power solutions such as high-frequency-based resonant and radio-frequency, infrared and other uncoupled solutions to gain entry into the overall wireless power market,” Kithany said.

According to IHS Markit, the smart home devices market is an especially promising segment for wireless power, because of the opportunities it presents to manufacturers and the benefits that accrue to consumers. Led by smart speakers, the wireless charging enabled smart home market is expected to grow to more than 100 million units in 2028.

“Smart thermostats, air-control devices, electronic door locks, garage-door systems, intruder alarms, video cameras, video doorbells and other smart home devices will follow,” Kithany said. “The IoT sensors market alone is expected to add more than one billion wireless charging devices to this market in the next five years.”

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