Cellphone IC Sales Overtake Those For PC

Although both cellphone and PC ICs are experiencing revenue growth, thanks to higher memory prices (up 53% for DRAM and 28% for NAND flash), it is cellphones which will be the largest application in 2017, according IC Insights. The researcher predicts that cellphone ICs will generate turnover of $84.4 billion in 2017, up 16% YoY, while PC IC growth will be just 9% to $80.1 billion. Cellphone ICs have also seen more demand because of a 5% increase in smartphone shipments. The gap between ICs for cellphones and those for PCs is expected to widen in the next few years, with cellphone ICs generating $92.1 billion in 2020 and PC ICs bringing in $83.8 billion.