Consumer Tech to 'Gradually Recover' From Pandemic: ABI

Consumer technology shipments showed some resiliency amid large-scale disruption to production lines and supply chains caused by the pandemic, said ABI Research Wednesday. Shipments will “gradually recover in 2021 as the impact of the pandemic starts to wane, consumer confidence returns, and device supply chains bounce back,” said analyst Khin Sandi Lynn. She highlighted ultra low-power machine learning chipsets and devices supporting ultra-wideband (UWB) networks as major consumer technologies expected to “take-off” in 2021. Consumer devices supporting UWB, including cellular devices, smart home appliances and automotive, will reach 286 million units globally, said the researcher. Demand for wireless connectivity propelled shipments of Wi-Fi routers, wireless hot spots, gateways and Wi-Fi customer premises equipment last year, as consumers looked for more robust Wi-Fi networks to support home-based work and learning, streaming video services and online gaming, noted the analyst. She also sees 5G growth (see 2103170055).