Featured Articles
  • Three Companies, One Mission: Reduce Plastics in Electronic Connectors

    The search for a regenerative bioplastic is on! Connector companies partner with a biomaterial specialist to find a viable alternative to petroleum-based plastics for the electronics industry and beyond. Connector manufacturers Harwin and Nicomatic have teamed up with biomaterial innovation specialist The New Materialist to develop bio-based alternatives to petrochemical plastics. Their mission, the NivoraRead More

  • XPO, Addressing the I/O Panel Bottleneck

    Introduced at OFC 2026, the new XPO pluggable modules provide a solution to the challenges of signal density, thermal management, field serviceability, and power efficiency. Continuing advances in artificial intelligence face multiple constraints including power consumption, access to memory, thermal management, and limitations of copper connectivity. Solving these challenges could still result in hobbled systemsRead More

Technology

New Combat Systems Set to Conquer the Future with New Connectivity Options

New battlefield strategies that network dismounted soldiers for “any-sensor, any-shooter” tactics are driving technological changes in digital gear enabled in part by advanced interconnects. By Matt McAlonis, Engineering Fellow, Aerospace Defense and Marine, TE Connectivity, and Franck Kolczak, Senior Business Development Manager-Defense Market, TE Connectivity combat Today’s entertaining real-time-strategy (RTS) games and virtual-reality (VR) headsetsRead More

Military Wearables Trends Require Connectors to Scale Down

The demand for micro- and nano-miniature military connectors is increasing as the military adopts Nett Warrior and future soldier technologies. The military wearables market is expanding rapidly, driven by continuous innovation in small, lightweight products that can be used for navigation, communication, and computing systems, vision and surveillance, and biometric monitoring. These products have typically beenRead More

Growing Demand for Data is Fueling the Automotive Ethernet

The connected vehicle brings freedoms for drivers and passengers but takes a toll on in-vehicle network design and performance. A new Ethernet standard enables lighter, more powerful systems. The old cliché about a car being only a means of getting from A to B doesn’t apply in the 21st century. Today’s cars do so muchRead More

MIPI A-PHY Automotive Interface Helps Integrate Advanced Connectivity

As automotive applications expand to include complex sensor, camera, and infotainment capabilities, a more powerful, design-friendly connectivity specification will help manage the required power and data. As the connected car continues to evolve, essential operational systems are being augmented with new capabilities, such as autonomous functions, driver-assist technologies, advanced safety features, and infotainment systems. ElectrificationRead More

Connector Contact Materials for Elevated-Temperature Applications

Applications that reach high temperatures require rugged connectors that can withstand these harsh operating environments. A variety of spring and contact materials should be considered.  The consumer electronics market segment dominates product manufacture. Consequently, vast sums of design, packaging, and reliability criteria are focused on meeting consumer market buying patterns at the lowest possible cost.Read More

5G Wireless Networks and Connected Cars Advance Interconnect Technology

New connector families have evolved to meet increasing bandwidth and connectivity needs as the rollout of 5G and the era of advanced vehicle technologies approaches. Wireless 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies may eventually affect almost everything we do. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented the mobile broadband standards organization 3GPP from meeting, whichRead More

Eight Steps to Determine the Right Rugged Connectors for Your Harsh-Environment Application

Designing for harsh-environment connectivity elicits a number of challenges. This guide will help you ask the right questions to determine the proper rugged connectors for your demanding application. Rugged connectors are built for harsh-environment conditions. Both the internal and external components of rugged connectors are made to withstand challenging environments, including exposure to moisture orRead More

High-Tech e-Bikes Become the Perfect Alternative to Public Transportation

Innovations from the electric vehicle world, like refined battery systems, sensor-rich technologies, and data gathering capabilities, have helped electric bicycle sales boom in 2020. Electric bicycle manufacturers expected 2020 to be a subdued year, as tariffs pushed up prices on their products. Instead, it has turned out to be a record-setting time for sales. PeopleRead More

Industry in Transition: The Pandemic Inspires Changes Across Technologies and Supply Chains

Distributors have a bird’s-eye view of the complex supply chains that serve the global electronics industry. When the COVID-19 crisis began in China, distributors were among the first to identify the vast impact the pandemic would have on the many markets that depend on the region’s manufacturing capabilities. We spoke with Allied Electronics & AutomationRead More

Four Key Technology Trends Affecting Medical Device and Connector Manufacturers

Medical device manufacturers depend on innovative connectivity products to keep ahead of changes to the regulatory environment, as well as ongoing demand for low-cost, disposable solutions, reusable medical devices, and high-resolution imaging products.  While the quality and reliability of electronic equipment is vital for every industry, it is most critical in the medical industry, whereRead More

Three Key Design Considerations for Wearable Medical Devices

Wearable medical devices are providing life-changing solutions for patient care and represent a major medical market trend. These medical technologies depend on specialized components and systems that are lightweight, low-profile, flexible, and comfortable. Market demand for wearable medical devices is continuing to grow across multiple medical market segments. Leading the charge are wearable, digitally connectedRead More

Four Key Areas Where Wearable Technologies are Pushing Innovation

Miniature interconnects combined with sensors and antennas give designers powerful new means of integrating Internet of Things into flexible new forms.  Tiny wearable technologies are becoming huge. The incredible miniaturization of electronic components, combined with the powerful Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities brought to these systems by miniature sensors and antennas, has resulted in a new wave of wearable technologies. Flexible, stretchable circuits and interconnects bring additional possibility toRead More

2026 World Connector Market Handbook 2025-2031F
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