Having covered this industry for the past decade, IDTechEx has developed an extensive database of historic and current market data. In this article IDTechEx will do something that is relatively unusual for a market research company to do: publicly compare old forecasts with what actually happened.

Are you fed up with Zoom? Do you want online interactions to feel more... interactive? The metaverse promises a step-change in how society communicates but, without the hardware technology, will ultimately remain a pipe dream.

2021 has been an exciting year for printed electronics, with multiple applications reaching commercial adoption and significant funds flowing into the sector. Even where technologies are not yet commercialized, companies are increasingly transitioning from developing their technology and producing speculative demonstration prototypes to development and qualification projects for specific customers.