As we embark on a new year of business, it is a great time to reflect on the top electronics developments. Specifically, these trends dominated the electronics industry in 2021. In 2020, people widely used consumer electronics to facilitate remote interaction, entertainment and productivity. As a result, the market for electronics has continued to grow.

Furthermore, COVID-19 remained at the forefront of our minds last year. Projections suggest that many pandemic-related changes to the way we live and work will continue in the long term. For example, enhanced gesture recognition, contactless capabilities, medical equipment and smart home devices improve our day-to-day lives. These are clear examples of ongoing digitisation.

Consequently, coronavirus has been the catalyst for the next stage of the digital era. It advanced technological innovation worldwide, from lockdowns to remote working. So, what are the main electronics trends that emerged in 2021? Furthermore, how has the electronics manufacturing industry overcome challenges to manage the rapid proliferation of electrical devices?

As digitisation ramps up, consumers expect their electronics devices to provide uninterrupted connectivity. Moreover, they want to enhance efficiency and generate accurate real-time data, which the IoT facilitates.

The IoT is all around us. IoT device propagation forecasts suggest there will be 75 billion IoT connected devices in use by 2025. This is nearly a threefold increase from the IoT installed base in 2019.

Currently, there are six main categories for wireless IoT tech: low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), cellular, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, radio frequency identification (RFID) and various mesh protocols. Therefore, this technology enables the connection between global networks of devices, sensors, machines, buildings and more through the internet.

The extensive rollout of super-fast 5G will also facilitate superior connectivity to allow us to build a ‘smarter’ world. We will see IoT features in everything from cars and homes to workplaces and entire cities. Plus, not only do we find IoT in our homes and offices, but it is also becoming a driving force in manufacturing. Specifically, data from sensors and IoT-enabled devices optimise factory functions, manage logistics chains and reduce downtime.

As technology evolves and electronics components become more compact, intelligent and connected, electronics designers find new ways to digitise everyday items. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to drive demand for consumer electronics. Consequently, the wearable technology market exhibited strong growth in 2021.

Wearable technology developers integrate physical electronics with mobile apps to create digitally enhanced, portable products that assist daily activities. For example, innovators combine the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) with the IoT and virtual reality technology. Thus, more and more high-end gaming and mixed or virtual reality products have entered the market. From smartwatches that track fitness activity to biosensors that record medical data, the possible applications of this technology are endless.

There has also been a particular increase in the demand for wearable devices for the healthcare sector. Digital health technology monitors patients’ health, recording anything from blood oxygen and sugar levels to heart rates. Ultimately, this helps to register early warning signs of illness. By providing real-time health data, medical professionals can make more informed diagnoses and treatment decisions. Furthermore, they stay connected with their patients, which became especially important during the pandemic when in-person assessment was limited.

Another primary area of expansion within electronics in recent years has been robotics development. Thanks to advancements in AI, what was once a novel idea has become a practical reality for many applications. Indeed, logistics, manufacturing, construction and healthcare industries have embraced robotics to support operations. For example, drones were used for medical applications in cities during the first year of the pandemic. They successfully delivered samples and reagents from hospitals to laboratories.

Robotics is also crucial for flexible automation in manufacturing facilities. Factory robotic automation involves using industrial machinery to perform routine manufacturing tasks, such as welding, assembly, and quality control. Consequently, this frees up human workforces to carry out other, more complex tasks. Not only does this reduce human error and improve productivity, but it also helps mitigate skills and labour shortages. These issues heavily face the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

Now that robotics’ overall safety and performance has been demonstrated, 2022 will be the year robot delivery really takes off.

Despite a challenging year for the automotive industry in the wake of supply chain disruptions, the demand for electric vehicles is rising. As one of the top electronics developments, the automotive industry continued to evolve fast.

According to a report on the market outlook for EVs in 2021 and beyond, the industry was expected to grow 66% over last year. Since leading automotive companies committed to removing fossil fuel cars by the end of the decade, experts predict that EVs will represent 48% of all new vehicles sold in 2030.

However, the automotive industry continued to face crippling shortages of semiconductors and other essential electrical components in 2021. As such, automotive electronics manufacturers have shifted their focus to ensure they can provide a reliable supply of printed circuit boards (PCBs). Ultimately, this meets the demand for enhanced entertainment, navigation and safety features in cars in the future.

We are proud to support the technological innovations sweeping the electronics industry by supplying high-quality products and services for multiple markets. To speak to a member of the team about your next project, get in touch today.