6 major trends and market opportunities for connectors

For the consumer, the connector may be unfamiliar, but it is the most commonly used product for electronics engineers. The connector is an indispensable component in most electronic products. It is responsible for transmitting current voltage or optical signals. It is widely used in aerospace, automotive, industrial, 3C, medical and other industries. According to relevant statistics, the global connector market in 2016 was 53.5 billion US dollars. Driven by 5G data communication, automotive, industrial and other industries, the global connector market demand will continue to grow. It is estimated that the global connector market will reach 60 billion by 2020. US dollars. As China has developed into the world's largest connector market, in recent years, the major industries that drive connector growth are 5G communication, electric vehicle and industrial 4.0, which is a rare market opportunity for connector companies. 

Traditional connectors require three major performances, namely mechanical, electrical and environmental performance. The so-called mechanical properties refer to the performance of the connector insertion and extraction; electrical properties include contact resistance, insulation resistance and electrical strength requirements; and environmental performance requires the connector to have basic temperature, humidity, vibration and For shocks, etc., for these basic requirements, emerging markets also need to be maintained.
In addition to the above basic requirements, the new application market also has new requirements for connectors, that is, new connectors are smaller, more reliable, wireless performance is stronger, and certain intelligence is available. This is a new demand in the market. For enterprises, connectors can only grasp new market opportunities if they meet such requirements. Konnra Electronics believes that, in general, the development trend of connector technology in the next few years is as follows:
Six major trends in connectors
First, high frequency and high speed connector technology
In many 5G communication applications, the connector carries the transformation of optical signals and electrical signals. With the advent of the 5G Internet of Things era, 5G's high data and high transmission requirements are destined to require connector performance upgrades, while high-frequency high-speed Features have become new requirements.
Second, wireless transmission connector technology
In the era of the Internet of Things, wireless technology will also be ubiquitous. In addition to the contact connection method as before, the connector will guarantee the connection of wireless transmission in many occasions such as industry and automobile. After all, the dual protection is the safest.
Third, smaller and more convenient connector technology
Previous connectors used for many contacts, which were populated in many expansion card slots. Of course, in the 5G era, there might be dozens of connectors in a fiber optic device, which required smaller connectors for higher performance connections.

Fourth, higher accuracy, lower cost connector technology
Since the car is very demanding on safety, the car connector is originally a very large market. With the development of electric cars, the connectors will be more demanding in terms of accuracy and cost, and they will be more popular than the previous connectors. .
Five, smarter connector technology
With the advent of the AI era, the connector may not only implement a simple transmission function, but in the future, in the switching power supply, in addition to ensuring the electrical signal data, the connector can perform simple intelligent judgment and protection, output correct data and avoid power supply. Damage, of course, this requires the support of IC technology.
Sixth, the automatic production technology of the connector
In the traditional connector design and production, the artificial part is the main part, and with the development of industrial automation, especially the precision machining, grinding tools and CAD of the connector, these advanced machines will become the main force of the industry.

Connector companies ushered in new development opportunities
As a very basic electronic device, the new market will bring new profit growth points to the slow-growing application market, such as computers and mobile devices. Konnra believes that they are 5G communication, car and In the industrial market, China's connector market is gradually expanding in capacity, maintaining a double-digit growth trend every year with great potential.
5G will be another key factor in the outbreak of the communications market. The connector carries the data connection task between the computer and the terminal in the communication. In the data communication, wired and wireless communication coexist, which is the wireless connector requirement mentioned above. Will increase, the connector will continue to grow in the communication device. In automotive applications, in addition to the need for connectors for automotive entertainment systems and electric systems, in addition to transferring data between engine management systems, equipment, etc., connectors are also required between in-vehicle entertainment systems, electronic devices, and the like. Industrial connectors require greater reliability and performance. With the construction of the Industrial Internet, stronger connectors are needed between industrial equipment and networks, and they have new requirements for connector performance.

Enterprises want to seize these opportunities to get the six technical problems listed above. The connectors do not have to have these technologies at the same time. For different markets, their requirements may be different. As the market advances, these requirements will be gradually implemented.