At present, the trend is for laptops to become thinner and smartphones to achieve features such as "fast charging" and high compatibility. Since the release of Type-C interfaces and 3.5mm headphone interfaces on Apple and Dell laptops in 2016 and 2018, Android phones have gradually shifted towards fully functional Type-C interfaces. As a rising star, the type-c interface not only brings more demand for interface conversion and expansion, but also drives the rapid development of the signal conversion and expansion product market. It can be said that the trend of type-c interface for connectors in the consumer electronics field has arrived; With the increasing attention of the USB type-C interface in the connector market, what are the most beneficial aspects of the industry chain?

One of the beneficiary groups: type-c connector/cable manufacturers. Due to the improvement of technical standards and manufacturing processes, the price of type-c cables with different functions is several times or even dozens of times higher than that of ordinary micro b cables. With the formation of the trend of unified interfaces, high-end type-c cables compatible with multiple functions such as fast charging, high-speed data transmission, Comparison of video converters, etc. will be more significantly scaled up. The unified interfaces will also bring huge market space for transfer lines, And the potential market size of the derived intelligent audio and video opportunities is close to hundreds of billions.

On the other hand, the technical threshold of type-C is much higher than that of ordinary cables, and the market concentration will significantly increase. Especially for fast charging high-speed data cables that support 3A or above fast charging, USB 3.1, etc., there are special requirements for their wire materials and the need for integrated interface control chips, resulting in very few manufacturers that can do it. But the typical Type-C with charging below 3A and USB 2.0 low-speed transmission only requires ordinary wire and no integrated interface chip, which has a relatively low threshold, but the price is also within 10 yuan.

Overall, the manufacturing difficulty of cables is higher than that of terminals. Currently, the only manufacturers capable of producing high-end type-C cables are Lexus, Hon Hai, Zhengwei, Sumitomo, etc. There are dozens of manufacturers with terminal manufacturing capabilities, and even fewer with integrated cable, terminal, and assembly capabilities. This means that the performance elasticity of manufacturers who can participate in the mid to high end market will be considerable in the future.

The second beneficiary group is the fast charging industry chain. Currently, the vast majority of type-C smartphones in the mobile phone market are not truly fast charging, and there is still a lot of room for penetration in the future. Among many Technology roadmap, the fast charging trend of mobile phones should be the low-voltage current raising scheme, that is, evolving towards the Technology roadmap of 5V2A ->5V3A ->5V5A/4.5A ->5V5A. This scheme does not require the use of a dedicated boost chip, with low heat, but only the use of a dedicated wire rod and handshake chip. This can be seen from OPPO R9's recognition of "charging for 5 minutes, calling for 2 hours", We believe that more mobile phone manufacturers will join the 5V5A and 5V5A markets in the future. On computers and televisions, USB PDs will be used more to support high-voltage and high current solutions. Many chip manufacturers such as Ti, Cypress, NXP, and others have also launched corresponding chip solutions that integrate power management and type-c. We learned that in the link of connector line, Luxshare has participated in the main supply chain of several major manufacturers of high current fast charging mobile phones. Are you ready for the 100W fast charging era?

In addition to connecting cables and chips, the fast charging system also requires support from fast charging power adapters and battery/power management systems. In the adapter stage, the requirement for the adapter is further improved by increasing the output power through current or voltage while maintaining the same volume. The fast charging adapter is several times the price of a regular adapter. We have also learned that Shunluo Electronics has made breakthroughs in the field of low-power planar transformer TPP after years of research and development. The planar transformer has high frequency, low shape, small height, and high working frequency, making it very suitable for fast charging transformers. It has planned a transformer automation production line with larger production capacity and has provided fast charging planar transformer solutions to well-known domestic mobile phone manufacturers. The company's power inductance can also be applied in adapters. In addition, the polymer solid Aluminum electrolytic capacitor of Aihua Group is the standard component of fast charging adapter, which is widely used in mobile phone chargers such as Huawei. Compared with traditional aluminum Electrolytic capacitor, the polymer solid aluminum Electrolytic capacitor is more resistant to high voltage and has a longer life. It is one of the manufacturers with the best solid Electrolytic capacitor technology in China. In addition, for the battery part, due to the increase in fast charging current, new requirements have been put forward for the battery pack and BMS power management module, especially the need to add dedicated overcurrent protection functions to the BMS module. In China, relevant beneficiaries include Xinwangda and Desai batteries. For fast charging cells, ATL holds the main market share and can now provide cells with a charging rate of up to 5C.

The third beneficiary group: the intelligent digital audio industry chain, with the elimination of 3.5mm interfaces and the trend of future digital audio upgrades. The demand for thinness, lossless music, noise reduction, motion sensing, waterproofing, etc. has given rise to this market, especially the potential market capacity of intelligent digital headphones and adapters, which will increase several times compared to traditional headphones.

The most beneficial companies for headphones and adapters are those with both acoustic and type-c connector capabilities. Luxshare is the leader of type-c connectors/cables, and has gained experience in making sound units and earphones by investing in Melimet. It is the only company in the market that has the capability of Vertical integration of type-c interface earphones. At present, the company has provided a full set of solutions for LeTV mobile phones that have canceled 3.5mm interfaces, and will participate in the innovation of digital earphones and adapters for future well-known international customers, with great potential performance flexibility. In addition, Goethe Acoustics is the main supplier of headphones for major US clients. It has accumulated years of experience in acoustics and headphones, and is also investing in the research and development of type-c interface supporting technology. It is also the main supplier of digital headphones for future major clients, able to share the growth brought by the increase in unit price. Goethe was still the exclusive supplier of Oculus VR and PS VR, and will also benefit from future high-definition video trends. Another acoustic giant, AAC Technologies, has also launched a corresponding type-c/Lighting headset product.

In addition, Apple's exclusive audio chip supplier CirrusLogic has taken the lead in the audio chip segment. CirrusLogic has released the MFiLighting digital earphone solution and will be the exclusive audio chip manufacturer for future Apple digital earphones and adapter solutions, benefiting significantly. Other traditional audio chip giants such as TI BB, ESS, Philips, etc. will also launch chip solutions with optimized area and power consumption to meet the demand for digital earphones.

The fourth beneficiary group: interface chips, chip links, TI, NXP, Cypress, Via, and Dialogue dominate the fast charging chips. Based on its advantages in power management, TI has launched multiple USB PD chips for mainstream mobile phone manufacturers. NXP provides a Wall to Battery integrated fast charging solution. Silicon Valley Analog and Lattice have their respective advantages in type-c video chips. Analogix launches SlimPort interface chip, mainly used for type-c Display Port AltMode; Lattice, with the help of its acquired company, SiliconImage, has accumulated deep experience in video and is pushing for type-c AltMode to transmit MHL and superMHL solutions. Lattice has released the world's first type-c interface that supports both 4K 60fps RGB/4:4:4 video and USB 3.1 Gen 1 or Gen 2 data in a super MHL solution.

Source: Old U comments