The combined shipments of smartwatches and smart bands will reach 7.5 million units this year, and 90% of which will be equipped with optical sensor components used for pulse rate monitoring, according to the 2016 UV LED and IR LED Application Markets Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. Shipments of smartwatches and smart bands together will total 170 million units by 2020, and all of them are expected to incorporate optical sensor components.
The sales of x-electric vehicles (xEV) in China reached a historic high of 300,000 units in 2015. Correspondingly, the market for xEV lithium batteries witnessed surging growth in the same period. In the fourth quarter, for instance, xEV batteries for vehicles models such as passenger cars and microcars took off. Strong demand in the xEV market has put pressure on the supply of cylindrical lithium cells for IT applications (e.g. notebook and tablet batteries).
DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports that the global DRAM industry posted US$8.56 billion in revenue in this first quarter, down 16.6% from the previous quarter. Market oversupply and sliding average selling price were the main culprits behind the revenue decline.