Apple refreshed its Mac lineup with M5-powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models, signaling a deeper push into on-device artificial intelligence and higher baseline specifications — but at higher prices that are drawing mixed early reactions from media and industry watchers.
Power management IC (PMIC) designer uPI Semi has forecast a widespread shortage in power IC supply throughout 2026, driven by surging demand from AI servers requiring high-performance, high-current-density products. The company also highlighted the rising price of memory components and increased wafer foundry costs on 8-inch and 12-inch lines as key factors impacting operations next year.
South Korea's vibrant startup ecosystem is advancing the country's smart city ambitions through AI-driven infrastructure. Uniqconn—a CES 2026 Innovation Awards Honoree—and Warp Solution have proposed blueprints for distributed AI infrastructure and battery-free smart cities, respectively, aiming to address massive national computing demands and reduce maintenance costs for urban traffic sensors.
Semiconductor industry insiders report that memory shortages and price surges have intensified alongside AI industry growth, pushing some memory prices into an "hourly pricing" model. This development spells a survival nightmare for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lacking bargaining power.
As the US–Iran war threatens to drive up global energy prices, concerns have been growing regarding Taiwan's energy supply, which is highly reliant on imported liquified natural gas (LNG) for generating electricity. Taking into account shipping times from the Middle East, industry experts expect that real impacts on Taiwan's oil and gas imports from the current conflict will begin after March 15. Oil and gas inventories are secure for now, as fuel already loaded and en route will ensure stable short-term supply.
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has advanced legislation that would grant Congress the authority to review and block advanced chip sales to adversarial nations, mirroring the oversight typically reserved for arms deals. This move, alongside the proposed Chip Security Act, has sparked a sharp divide between national security hawks in Washington and semiconductor industry leaders regarding the future of American technological leadership and export control strategies.
Compal Electronics president and CEO Anthony Peter Bonadero said the company anticipates PC shipments in the first quarter of 2026 will fall 15-20% quarter-over-quarter and that Compal is accelerating a structural shift with a goal of non-PC revenue reaching 40% in 2026.
Corning has introduced Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, which the company said is its most durable Gorilla Glass Ceramic to date. The new material will be used on Motorola's next-generation Razr Fold device, marking the first smartphone to incorporate this iteration of Corning's glass ceramic technology.
As artificial intelligence (AI) server applications consume large amounts of tantalum polymer capacitors, the supply-demand gap in the market continues to widen. Kemet, a subsidiary of passive component giant Yageo, has issued another price increase notice, with the new pricing set to take effect on April 1.
As much of the global semiconductor industry remains fixated on AI training accelerators and hyperscale GPUs, US-based AI processor company Blaize is making a different wager in India: large-scale inference embedded in sovereign public infrastructure.
AI search startup Perplexity has released an AI agent called "Computer" that coordinates 19 different models to serve high-value enterprise use cases. The company says the system is designed to exploit model specialization as different models excel at distinct tasks.
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