UMC's acquisition of Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor apparently has fulfilled two of its major strategic purposes: to expand its presence in the Japanese maket and the niche market. Through the wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary, now renamed United Semiconductor Japan (USJC), the Taiwan-based foundry house...

Now that Young Liu has taken the helm, the Foxconn Technology Group (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has begun a series of transformations targeting the business opportunity from 5G, with subsidiaries such as Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), FIH Mobile and Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) all playing...

Taiwan-based IC design houses have seen significant increases in orders for related ICs for 5G phones recently, particularly from first-tier Chinese handset brands, with the ramp-ups likely to result in strong performances for most firms in the first quarter of 2020, according to sources from Taiwan's...

Samsung has carved out a commanding lead in the nascent 5G smartphone market, with the company accounting for three-quarters of worldwide shipments in the third quarter of 2019, according to IHS Markit.

Global shipments of wearable devices totaled 84.5 million units in the third quarter of 2019, an on-year increase of 94.6% and a new record for shipments in a single quarter, according to IDC.

Apple is expected to launch 5G iPhones in 2020, and the next-generation phones may change its antenna board designs to facilitate mmWave transmission. Taiwan-based flexible PCB makers including Zhen Ding Technology and Flexium Interconnect are gearing up to capture orders for flexible...

Huawei Tachnologies is expected to ship 200 million smartphones in 2020 and its fellow first-tier vendors, including Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi, will each ship at least 100 million units, leading to substantial demand for hanset-use lens modules from Chinese clients in the year, according to industry sou...

HTC has reduced prices of its VR headsets and also released a Beta version of Viveport wireless cross-platform streaming services aiming to boost sales during the year-end shopping season.

Smart glasses enabled by AR/MR technologies may gradually replace smartphones, with such a trend beginning to emerge in 2023 according to Tom Liang, chairman for both Taiwan-based smart glasses designer Jorjin Technologies and Taiwan Smart Glasses Industry Association.

TSMC has been fast advancing its manufacturing processes. It is on track to move 5nm node to commercial production in the second half of 2020, and will soon break ground for a 3nm facility where volume production will start in 2022. Next...

As 5G penetration rate is expected to reach 50% in 2023, smart augmented reality (AR) glasses will begin entering the consumer market, according to Digitimes Research.

Motorola has switched orders for flexible AMOLED panels for its new foldable smartphones to Chinese suppliers BOE Technology and China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) from Taiwan-based AU Optronics (AUO) who cannot provide sufficient production capacity, according to industry sources.

Qualcomm has introduced its new 5G SoC lineup - the Snapdragon 865 series for smartphone vendors' flagship models and the 765 series for midrange to high-end ones. But it is the midrange smartphone market segment that is expected to see...

Taiwan-based Nan Ya PCB is expected to double its 2020 capex from NT$3.5 billion (US$114.8 billion) in 2019 to expand capacity for ABF substrates for 5G network applications and SiP substrates for mobile devices, according to industry sources.

The main battlefield in the 5G mobile chip market is expected to shift from flagship models to mostly midrange ones in the first half of 2020, as around 70% of over 200 million 5G smartphones to be shipped next year will be midrange to high-end ones, according to industry sources.

Qualcomm has introduced its new Snapdragon 865 and 765 seies SoC chips designed for 5G-capable Android smartphones slated for launch in 2020. TSMC and Samsung Foundry reportedly are both being contracted to manufacture the chips.

With the arrival of 5G commercialization, China-based telecom carriers and smartphone vendors are expanding their services and releasing new products in pursuit of new business opportunities.

With its share unlikely to see major changes in China's smartphone market, Xiaomi has geared up expanding global presence, with Japan being its next target market.

Handset vendors are demanding significant upgrades to camera lenses, screens, image resolutions and APs seeking to stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

The prospect of 5G definitely looks promising, but players in the supply chain have to make sure they have sufficient support from one another in order to fully enjoy the opportunities promised by the arrival of 5G. Chipmakers and their partners are gearing up to build key...

Chip demand for true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds and earphones is set to remain robust in 2020, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

The commercialization of 5G communication networks will spur the growth of both base station and smartphone markets, which in turn will significantly drive demand for high-performance cooling modules in 2020, according to industry sources.

Xiaomi saw its third-quarter revenues climb to a record high of CNY53.66 billion (US$7.63 billion), driven mainly by strong sales from its IoT and smart home appliance products.

Realme, a sub-brand of Oppo, is likely to be independent of its parent company should its business scale continue to expand, according to Chung Hsiang-wei, chief commercial officer of Realme Taiwan.

MediaTek has launched its next-generation 5G SoC family, Dimensity. The launch made a splash with high-ranking executives from many fellow semiconductor firms, including TSMC and ASE, attending. MediaTek, as one of the biggest IC designers...