Shipments of Bluetooth smart chips are predicted to jump tenfold over the next several years, according to a new projection.
IHS said shipments of Bluetooth smart chips will total close to 300 million units worldwide in 2018. That compares to over 30 million by the end of 2013. In addition, that equals a compound annual growth rate of more than 55 percent for the five years. Compare these numbers to how in 2013 shipments of the units will increase almost 250 percent compared to 2012.
According to the IHS report, “Low-Power Wireless Market Tracker – World – 2013,” the biggest markets are fitness and sports applications. Highlighted suppliers were BodyMedia, Polar and Under Armour. They are found in monitoring devices, including pedometers.
On the other hand, as years continue consumer electronics will become the dominant sector of the Bluetooth Smart market, such as remote controls and PC peripherals. Consumer electronics apps will be more than 60 percent of Bluetooth Smart shipments by 2018, the study adds.
Bluetooth Smart integrated circuits provide low-power wireless pairing of devices. Also, Bluetooth Smart technology uses less power than traditional Bluetooth technology. Mobile devices and devices found in living rooms of residences are likely to benefit from the new low-power wireless technology. Other promising markets are wireless health monitoring, proximity sensors, and smart-home applications,
There are other Bluetooth Smart uses that are seen increasing in popularity, too. “The ability of Bluetooth Smart to offer voice control capabilities in remote controls, for instance, which many previously thought was not practical due to the relatively low transmission rates, continues to drive interest from home entertainment providers looking to radio frequency (RF) mechanisms in order to drive advanced remote control features beyond those that are possible with infrared (IR) technology,” Lisa Arrowsmith, associate director for connectivity, smart home and appliances at IHS, said.
Yet, IHS said rival products such as ZigBee and Z-Wave could compete with Bluetooth technology for the smart home market.
ZigBee and Z-Wave have different specifications and applications from each other. Z-Wave provides monitoring and device control at the users’ home through a smartphone, tablet or PC. Also, with ZigBee customers can make their own Internet of Things and machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless sensor networks.“ZigBee is the only standards-based wireless technology designed to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power wireless sensor and control networks in just about any market,” the company said.
Edited by
Stefania Viscusi
