5G is reaching the mass market. Is it an opportunity for RF front-end legacy players? Will the Chinese companies be part of this dynamic?

LYON, France - June 17, 2021 | “A sharp transition toward 5G is ongoing in mobile devices.” asserts Cédric Malaquin, Technology & Market Analyst, RF Devices & Technology at Yole Développement (Yole). He adds: “The number of 5G phones will more than double in 2021 compared to 2020. This is a significantly faster penetration rate than the LTE standard 10 years ago. And 5G is leading to an unprecedented increase in content of RF devices, while previous radio standards still need to be supported”.

As a result, hundreds of RF components must be fitted into handheld format devices. This is now impacting mid-tier and entry-level phones, not only flagships. 5G features implemented in handsets focus on improving download speed and make the uplink more robust. In addition, there is an entirely new radio path created at mmWave frequencies, though this only applies to flagships right now.

The cellphone industry has entered a transition toward 5G.

First use cases of the technology have matured and MNO are proposing new services to the consumer. MNOs are strongly motivated to invest more resources and to demonstrate 5G’s added value to the consumers, as 5G is not the first thing they are thinking about. In addition, MNOs have developed advantageous commercial 5G packages, particularly in China, adding some more motivation to consumers to upgrade.

In this context, 5G has strongly penetrated the smartphone market in 2020 and is expected to further grow as the network is expanding in China, in Europe and in the USA.

A 5G phone is relatively more complex than a 4G phone at the RF front-end level. Therefore, it’s worth analyzing the technical trends and anticipating future changes to understand this complex market better. Indeed, as for every new air standard, 5G represents a significant opportunity for industry players to differentiate, innovate and win the market in the end.

Released today, the Cellular RF Front-End Technologies for Mobile Handset 2021 report gives Yole’s analysts view on the RF front-end market evolution and its associated ecosystem.

In addition, the reverse engineering and costing company, System Plus Consulting, offers in-depth semiconductor technologies analysis, including RF solutions in its Smartphone Design Win Quarterly Monitor. Read the dedicated article here. Also, the company proposes a technical and cost overview of the evolution of RF front-end module technologies integrated in 5G mmWave and Sub-6 GHz Phones in 2020 in the RF Front-End Module Comparison 2021 – Vol. 2 – Focus on 5G Chipset report.

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