CONNECT WITH US
Oct 6
Notebook downturn splits supply chain: ODMs lean on servers, component makers seek new growth
Notebook shipments performed better than expected in the first half of 2026, but the market entered a sharp downturn beginning in September, in stark contrast to previous years, when the month typically marked the start of the peak season.
Quanta Computer shipped 4.2 million notebooks in September 2026, up more than 60% from August. Yet its revenue for the month fell more than 20% because server shipments dropped from the previous month. The company said that server demand remains strong and that monthly shipments normally rise and fall with customer schedules and component supply.
Apple and LG Electronics are reportedly pairing up to create a line of smart home devices, though the devices will carry the LG brand name. The two companies are expanding their reach into the smart home market as both face headwinds in their home product segments.
Discovery Channel's new documentary Engineering Pioneers: Guardians of Flight takes viewers inside China Airlines' maintenance system, showcasing aircraft hangars, engine shops and training centers that the public rarely sees. It follows a Boeing 747 freighter through a weeks-long C Check overhaul and also covers line maintenance performed between flights, non-destructive testing of engine components, landing gear replacement, emergency release tests and mixed reality (MR) training for new maintenance staff.
SpaceX is seeking roughly US$40 billion in financing to fund purchases of Nvidia AI chips, in a deal led by Apollo Global Management that could become one of the largest examples yet of compute hardware being financed as long-duration infrastructure.
Meta and enterprise AI startup Sierra are leading Walmart, Stripe, Shopify, Genesys, Instinct and Rocket in developing an open standard for personal AI agents, aiming to define how software acting for consumers can authenticate, obtain permission and interact with businesses.
Schneider Electric's roughly US$22.6 billion acquisition of US industrial software developer PTC is more than a bid to expand its computer-aided design (CAD) and product lifecycle management (PLM) software lineup. It signals that industrial AI competition is shifting from point automation and smart manufacturing to a platform race spanning product design, engineering, deployment, energy management, operations, and maintenance.
Huawei and Qualcomm announced on Oct. 5 that they had signed a multi-year patent licensing agreement covering technologies including 5G, computing, AI and networking.
LG Electronics' third-quarter results show a company whose mature businesses are generating steady cash, but not enough to meet raised expectations. The company says it will channel earnings from appliances and auto parts into AI data center cooling and robotics.
AMD CEO Lisa Su moved from supply-chain talks in Taiwan to South Korea this week, broadening the chipmaker's Asia push from efforts to secure more CPU, GPU and advanced-wafer capacity to building an open computing ecosystem around its processors, Korean AI accelerators and software.
Rising memory prices are already weighing on 2026 smartphone and notebook shipments, and sustained AI infrastructure investments are expected to keep quotes climbing into 2027. To counter softer buying interest as retail prices rise, hardware vendors like Samsung are pivoting to fresh strategies. Alongside cost controls and broader product line-ups, companies are increasingly prioritizing software differentiation, AI integration, post-purchase services, and aggressive promotion of previous-generation (N-1) models.
Chinese notebook original design manufacturers (ODMs) are rapidly catching up, with supply chain sources saying Huaqin and Luxshare have won major orders from HP and Dell, sending shock waves through Taiwan's supply chain and threatening the future position of Taiwanese ODMs. Industry sources said the impact extends beyond 4-5 ODMs and will also hit more than 100 component suppliers.