【PCB Information Network】According to reports from South Korean media ET News, there are rumors in the industry that Apple will launch its new smartphone, the iPhone 7 (tentative name), in the fall of 2016, which will feature chips using FOWLP packaging technology, making the new iPhone lighter and reducing manufacturing costs.
Previously, Apple decided to implement FOWLP packaging in the Antenna Switching Module (ASM); it is understood that Apple has recently also decided to adopt FOWLP packaging for the Application Processor (AP).
If this is true, Apple will be the first company to decide to use FOWLP packaging for major components in smartphones. The ASM chip is responsible for receiving signals at various frequencies and provides switching functionality; the mobile AP acts as the brain of smartphones or tablet PCs.
FOWLP packaging is a type of semiconductor packaging technology that does not require printed circuit boards and can be directly packaged on the wafer, resulting in lower production costs, thinner profiles, and better heat dissipation. Apple’s decision to adopt this technology is aimed at manufacturing lighter, thinner, and better-performing phones at a lower cost.
Since Apple can sell over a hundred million iPhones a year, if it adopts FOWLP packaging in the future, it will undoubtedly impact the demand for printed circuit boards.
In the printed circuit board market, printed circuit boards used for semiconductors are considered high-value-added products. The global market size for semiconductor printed circuit boards was approximately $8.4 billion in 2015, but in light of new technologies and Apple’s decisions, it may be difficult to maintain the same market size in the future.
Industry predictions suggest that although only Apple has decided to use FOWLP packaging for ASM and AP at present, the technology may be expanded to other components in the future, and other companies may follow suit, making the shrinkage of the printed circuit board market merely a matter of time.
A relevant person from KPCA (Korea Printed Circuit Association) stated that the continuous development of semiconductor technology will inevitably impact the market size of printed circuit boards, and it is essential to quickly develop new products in markets such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or wearable devices to mitigate the impact brought about by the advancement of semiconductor technology.
Source: Electronic Product World
