AAC Technologies to catch growth in wearables market

AAC Technologies Holdings, the leading supplier of miniature acoustic products to Apple, is looking to become a major provider of key components for wearable computing devices, or "wearables", as this new market grows over the next few years.

"We should be able to capture the business opportunity in the wearables platform," Richard Mok Joe-kuen, an executive director of the Shenzhen company, told the .

Mok said wearables represented one of the addressable smart device markets for the company's range of acoustic products - mini-speakers, receivers and speaker boxes - and non-acoustic components, such as antennas and so-called haptics for touch control. AAC also makes microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones.

Mok declined to identify specific customers that are expected to launch wearables from the second half of this year but said: "I would be disappointed if we do not see AAC components going into that market."

Speculation is rife that technology giant Apple will introduce its first internet-linked wearable product, a highly anticipated "smart watch", next week in the United States as part of its launch of the latest iPhone model.

A sample smart watch project on AAC's website showed the various components that it can supply, including MEMS microphone, vibrator, speaker, structural ceramics and metal structure, and miniature antennas for near-field communications, wireless power, 3G and 4G mobile, Wi-fi, Bluetooth and global positioning system connections.

Technology market research firm IHS has forecast the global shipments of wearables to reach 130.7 million units by 2018, from 51.2 million last year. This market comprises five segments: military, industrial, so-called infotainment, fitness and health care.