As USB Type-C has become mainstream interface standard for new notebook and desktop models in 2018 while also enjoying increasing application to high-end smartphones, Taiwan analog IC designers including Weltrend Semiconductor, On-Bright Electronics and Etron Technology may see their orders for USB Type-C PD (power delivery) chips in 2018 double from 2017, according to industry sources.
The sources said that despite boasting such advantages as reversible plug orientation and cable direction, fast transmission and good charging performance, Type-C interface devices used to involve high costs in designs, power management chips and related wiring materials, making them unable to be mass applied to 3C products in the past. First-tier notebook vendors including Apple, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asustek and Acer incorporated such devices into their products in 2016 and the first half of 2017, but failed to create a trend.
But since the late second-half 2017, Type-C interface designs have been increasingly adopted in notebooks, desktops and other 3C products, as chip suppliers, terminal brand vendors and production contractors have joined forces to work out more-affordable solutions.
Industry sources said that Type-C is rapidly emerging as an interface standard for notebooks, desktops, smartphones, tablets and even wearable devices, and more new 3C products with such interface will be rolled out in 2018, generating explosive business opportunities for suppliers of related chips and protective components.
The sources continued that as related chips and component solutions associated with Type-C interface devices involve higher prices and larger demand volumes, those Taiwan analog IC designers that have successfully tapped into the market for such devices, such as Weltrend, On-Bright and Etron, will see their revenues, gross margins and net earnings pick up remarkably in 2018, especially after the Lunar New Year holidays end in late February.
Type-C connector interfaces increasingly applied to 3C products
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes, January 2018
