According to Digitimes Research's statistics, global tablet shipments amounted to 32 million units in first-quarter 2022 in line with expectation. The volume was the lowest since the COVID-19 outbreak started in first-quarter 2020 as the tablet market sustained pressure from the slow season and rising inflation while no longer enjoying pandemic-driven work-from-home (WFH) and online learning demand.

According to DIGITIMES Research's surveys and analyses, first-quarter 2022 smartphone shipments to the China market fell 26.5% from the prior year level, coming short of the 70-million-unit mark amid weak market demand.

According to DIGITIMES Research's statistics and analyses, China-based smartphone brands shipped a total of 170 million phones worldwide in first-quarter 2022, down 12.9% from the prior quarter with the China market experiencing worsening decline and overseas markets entering slow season and undergoing seasonal adjustment after the year-end shopping season.

According to Digitimes Research's surveys and analyses, first-quarter 2022 smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China-based vendors amounted to 178 million units, increasing 4% from the prior quarter but decreasing 16% from the prior year as Xiaomi, Oppo and Transsion ramped up inventory with their efforts to expand into Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America generating results.

DIGITIMES Research believes Intel investing in advanced process technologies and restarting the foundry services business are strategies that are able to complement each other.

DIGITIMES Research visited the exhibitions at Autotronics Taipei 2022, taking place mid-April, 2022, and summarized this year's event highlights including ADAS sensors and EV components.

This Asia tech industry summary will mainly focus on Foxconn planning to build a 12-inch wafer fab plant in Malaysia while deepening its deployments for MOSFET power semiconductors in Taiwan; and Hyundai and Kia initiating their plan to invest US$16.5 billion to boost EV production in South Korea by 2030.

According to DIGITIMES Research's observations, 2021 global electric vehicle (EV) sales exceeded expectation, surging more than 100% on-year, leading to a shortage of battery materials.