The prices of NOR Flash will go up sequentially by at least 5% on average for every quarter in 2017 as its market benefits from the abundant releases of smartphones featuring AMOLED display during the year, TrendForce reports. Besides the general adoption of AMOLED in the smartphone market, the expansion in the production of ICs for Touch with Display Driver Integration (TDDI) is driving the need for NOR Flash as well. From the supply side, major manufacturers such as Micron and GigaDevice have reduced their NOR Flash production. Tight supply and rising demand therefore will keep prices of NOR Flash on an uptrend to the end of this year.
Expansion of the elderly population worldwide and increasing consumer awareness of oral healthcare needs are propelling the expansion of the global dental market. According to TrendForce biotechnology analyst Mush Ko, the scale of the global dental market came to US$28.1 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% to reach US$36.8 billion in 2021. Among the product segments, dental implants market will have the fastest market growth.
Intel on March 13 announced that the company will purchase Mobileye, a global provider of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). This deal is worth US$15.3 billion and is another indication that major semiconductor manufacturers are aggressively jockeying for a favorable position in the fast growing automotive electronics market. TrendForce states that after the merger, Intel will be able to combine its hardware products such as high-performance computing chips and IoT solutions with Mobileye’s image processing algorithms for autonomous driving systems. The deal gives Intel’s the potential to develop an autonomous driving solution that incorporates cloud computing. Furthermore, the deal strengthens Intel’s collaboration with BMW to bring self-driving cars to the market in 2021, when first wave of sales for such vehicles is anticipated to take place in major auto markets worldwide.
Apple Pay is set to arrive in Taiwan this year, making the island the 14th market in its global expansion. Kelly Hsieh, senior research manager of TrendForce, stated that that iPhone devices currently has nearly a third of the smartphone market share in Taiwan, and this will help Apple Pay tremendously in penetrating into the local market. “Apple Pay can become a leading mobile payment platform that will gradually change the payment habit of Taiwanese consumers if it is able to win over consumers by providing strong data security and a very positive user experience,” said Hsieh.
The aging of the world's population has led to steady annual increases in the number of patients suffering chronic diseases. With demand for long-term care of chronic diseases on the rise, the point-of-care testing (POCT) market has also experienced a boom. "Compared with other types of medical devices, POCT has experienced exceptional market growth recently," said Julie Wun, TrendForce biotechnology analyst. "The global market scale of POCT devices is projected to increase at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2015 to 2020. TrendForce's latest analysis also estimates that the global POCT market reached U$$17.8 billion in 2016. By 2020, the market scale will come to around US$25.6 billion."