French market research firm Yole has predicted that fingerprint sensor prices will fall amid increased competition.In a new report, Yole said that the fingerprint sensor market will grow steeply at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19% between 2016 and 2022 in volume into the consumer field.”As the fingerprint market explodes, especially within the smartphone market: this market segment is increasing from US$2.8 billion in 2016 to US$3.4 billion in 2022″, writes Yole.However, it added that a strong competitive landscape, process optimization and numerous emerging technologies will create downward pressure on prices.such an increase in volume is always followed by strong cost pressure, and this is what has happened over the last three years. The average cost of a fingerprint sensor has decreased from around US$5 in 2013 to US$3 in 2016, and even less for low-end technologies.Despite the price pressures, new trends are driving the growth, said the report's author, for example the fingerprint market is today pushed by OEMs requiring all-glass design and waterproofing.”This will lead to the emergence of new technologies like CMOS TFT and ultrasonic detection as new ways to detect fingerprint with a high level of integration”, comments Guillaume Girardin, Technology & Market Analyst at Yole. “These new technologies will clearly reshape the competitive landscape.””Current technologies have now reached maturity, and are threatened by new technologies, which need lower cost to gain momentum”, analyzes Guillaume Girardin. And this is the case for ultrasonic detection, for instance.
Fingerprint sensor prices could fall, says Yole
