Sensors, Connected Peripherals Outpace Smartphones and PCs for Majority of Active Wireless Connections
July 13, 2016 | ABI ResearchEstimated reading time: 1 minute
ABI Research forecasts the installed base of active wireless connected devices will top 47 billion by 2021, more than double the current level. Smartphones, PCs, and other "hub" devices historically commanded the leading share of total active connections, with accessories (including smartphone and PC peripherals, residential smart home lighting, and wearable devices) and sensor nodes (like Bluetooth beacons, proximity sensors, and other edge devices) rounding out the remainder. But moving forward, the latter will benefit most from continued improvements to underlying IoT infrastructure.
"A 24.1% CAGR through 2021 positions 2016 to be the first year that accessories and sensor nodes are in the majority, rising to more than 65% of total active connections by the end of the forecast period," says Ryan Martin, Senior Analyst at ABI Research. "Now the critical question for companies is how to create a strategic framework that optimizes IoT solution ROI in concert with connected endpoint growth. Growth will be driven by a massive uptick in contextually-aware IoT endpoints across retail, advertising and supply chain, smart home, and industrial IoT markets."
The recent convergence of low-power wide area, short-range wireless, and cellular networks represents a fertile battleground for the future of IoT enablement. While today about 55% of IoT connections can be attributed to the digital-first domain (the Internet of Digital), the emergence of low-power wide-area and short-range wireless network technologies purpose-built for the IoT puts the physical-first domain (IoT) on track to account for 65% of active wireless connections in the next five years.
The incipient IoT playing field includes everything from newly-minted specifications for Bluetooth 5 to the designation of Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah), LTE Cat M (followed by NB-IoT), and LPWAN technologies, such as those from Ingenu, LoRa, SIGFOX, and Thread. Advances in mesh networking, location-aware ICs, and better utilization of unlicensed spectrum are among the key ingredients driving wireless sensor network deployments, and, in turn, the next generation of connected devices.
Suggested Items
TTM Celebrates the Grand Opening of Its First Manufacturing Facility in Penang
04/25/2024 | TTM Technologies, Inc.TTM Technologies, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of technology solutions including mission systems, radio frequency (RF) components and RF microwave/microelectronic assemblies, and quick-turn and technologically advanced printed circuit boards (PCBs), officially opened its first manufacturing plant in Penang, Malaysia with an investment of USD200 million (approximately RM958 million).
Saab Launches New Initiative to Shape the Future of Defense and Security
04/24/2024 | SaabSaab announces the launch of Skapa by Saab, a new initiative to accelerate the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies and solutions.
IDTechEx Report Unveils 3D Electronics Status and Opportunities
04/22/2024 | PRNewswire3D electronics is an emerging manufacturing approach that enables electronics to be integrated within or onto the surface of objects. 3D electronic manufacturing techniques empower new features, including mass customizability, greater integration, and improved sustainability in the electronics industry.
Microsoft, Google Join as Sponsors for First-Ever AI Expo for National Competitiveness
04/19/2024 | SCSPThe Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a non-partisan, non-profit project dedicated to strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI), announced today two additional sponsors of the AI Expo for National Competitiveness.
Scape Technologies Introduces SCAPE CoCreator at Hannover Messe 2024
04/18/2024 | Scape TechnologiesToday's industrial robotics, 3D Vision, and AI are often confined by costs, complexity, and limited accessibility and usability. Scape Technologies is revolutionizing this field by broadening the horizons of what is possible.