The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Wireless charging market to log rapid growth: report

By KH디지털2

Published : April 1, 2015 - 09:19

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Global sales of wireless charging devices are expected to rise sharply, a report showed Wednesday, with Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest flagship, the Galaxy S6, lending support to the full-fledged growth.

The outlook came as global shipments of wireless power receivers are set to reach 2 billion units in 2024, soaring from 55 million units estimated for 2014, the report released by market tracker IHS Technology showed.

The report added the revenue from the sector is estimated at $1.7 billion for 2015 but will grow at least $15 billion annually through 2024.

"2015 looks to be a breakthrough year for wireless power technology," said David Green, a research manager at IHS.

The researcher also said around 120 million units of wireless power receivers will be sold in 2015, as South Korea's top tech giant Samsung is ready to release the latest Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones on April 10.

Samsung's new Galaxy S6 series, unveiled earlier this year, boasts the industry's first wireless charging batteries. They are also the first Samsung smartphones that have a built-in battery.

The company claims that a 10-minute charge will give the smartphones about four hours of usage.

"Spurred by sales of the Apple Watch, shipments of wireless power receivers for wearable technology are also expected to rise to more than 20 million units in 2015," the report added.

IHS, however, said there are still challenges for the wireless charging industry, as consumers are still not familiar with such technologies. The researcher claimed its study showed "6 out of 10 consumers" were not aware of the industry.

"Announcements from volume manufacturers will certainly help raise consumer awareness, which in turn can help drive demand; however, the worst-case scenario is not that customers have never heard of wireless charging, but that the only experience they ever had was negative," Green said. (Yonhap)