SAN FRANCISCO – The global flexible electronics market was $20.9 billion in 2015, and is estimated to reach $87.2 billion by 2024, says Grand View Research.

Escalating demand for compact and lightweight electronic devices is anticipated to fuel growth over the forecast period. Flexible batteries, displays and memories are a few products realized with the adoption of this technology. The technology provides ample opportunities in the area of smart textiles, which is the future of wearables, says the firm. Government support is also anticipated to impact industry growth positively.

Healthy demand for smart glasses, e-books, smartphones, smart watches, and e-papers is expected to catapult market growth over the next eight years. The technology facilitates electronic systems to be stretched, rolled, and flexed, minimizing design issues associated while developing compact, portable and miniature devices. The style and functionality of wearable devices is anticipated to witness a transition over the next eight years, with companies such as Samsung, Apple, Nike and Google investing heavily in this segment, thereby providing avenues for discovering novel applications incorporating this technology.

The consumer electronics segment accounted for over 55% of the overall revenue in 2015. 2014 witnessed the onset of new curved televisions, smartphones, and other electronic devices; a trend that gained traction in 2015 and is expected to impact flexible electronics demand favorably from 2016 to 2024, owing to high penetration in the wearables segment.

The display segment is projected to grow at a CAGR exceeding 16% over the forecast period, attributed to the ability of these products to curve, roll, flex, conform and fold, enabling a new intuitive user interface. Further, companies are progressing toward the use of plastic displays as an alternative to glass displays, which provides opportunity for future growth.

Wearable devices segment accounted for over 40% of the overall revenue in 2015 and is expected to witness a healthy demand over the forecast period. This increase is primarily ascribed to an upsurge in demand for fitness or activity trackers, as these products are well-positioned in the market with a promise of tracking productivity, physical activity, heart rate, sleep, etc.

The Asia Pacific flexible electronics market accounted for over 20% of the overall revenue share in 2015. Research capabilities and aggressive investments by major industry players such as LG and Samsung Electronics are anticipated to drive regional growth over the forecast period.

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