High-Density Interconnect (HDI) PCBs are favored by smartphone and tablet manufacturers due to their lightweight and thin characteristics. With the trend towards extremely thin designs, HDI has almost become the only choice. In recent years, top-tier smartphone manufacturers like Yan Xing and Yaohua have seen significant order growth, and emerging companies like Tripod and Hua Tong are also showing promising results. The strong demand for HDI in the market has prompted these companies to expand their production capabilities actively.
As the demand for smartphones continues to rise, the market demand for HDI is also increasing. The Apple iPhone 4's adoption of Any Layer HDI technology has further driven industry enthusiasm. In this context, existing HDI production capacity is insufficient to meet the demand for high-end HDI. It is expected that by the end of this year, China's HDI production capacity will increase by 10-20 million square feet. Technical capability will be a key factor for PCB manufacturers in future competition.
The trend towards lightweight and thin 3C electronic products (computers, communications, and consumer electronics) is becoming more apparent. High HDI production capacity and yield levels are crucial for winning market competition. In this trend, PCB manufacturers with advanced technical capabilities will be in a favorable position.
Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) boards, also known as soft boards, provide an ideal solution to the demand for lightweight and thin electronic products. As the application of soft boards in various electronic products continues to increase, their market demand is also growing.
For example, the Apple iPhone uses 10 to 15 soft boards, significantly more than the 5 to 7 typically used in regular phones. Average electronic devices use 5 to 12 soft boards, while the Apple iPad uses about 16 soft boards, greatly stimulating the demand for soft boards. The demand for soft boards is very strong in smartphones, e-books, LED TVs, and laptops.
We believe that soft board manufacturers should fully recognize this trend and adjust their production strategies to meet the growing market demand.
As smart devices pursue lightweight and high-performance designs, the market demand for HDI PCBs and flexible printed circuit boards will continue to grow. PCB manufacturers with advanced technical capabilities and high production capacity will have an advantage in future market competition. To succeed in this rapidly developing market, manufacturers need to continuously improve their technical levels and production capacity.