The US-China trade war has put Huawei, and in general the smartphone market, in limbo. Huawei has sharply cut orders for flagship smartphones, according to supply chain information available to Digitimes Research. The woeful smartphone market means bad business for both device vendors and their upstream partners, with mobile chip suppliers reporting low visibility. But Asustek Computer has identified an area - namely gaming - that it is banking on to rejuvenate its smartphone business.
Huawei cutting flagship smartphone shipments, says Digitimes Research: Following its decision to axe orders for its entry-level and low-end smartphones that use non-Kirin processors in May, Huawei also began cutting orders in early June for its flagship smartphones including the existing P30 series and the upcoming Mate 30 series, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst Luke Lin.
Order visibility for mobile chips unclear: The order visibility for Taiwan-based IC design houses for the third quarter of 2019 is unclear with prospects of seeing demand from the handset sector further soften later on, as the US-China trade row continues, and global macroeconomics begins to take the hit, according to industry sources.
Asustek sees smartphone business head towards recovery: Asustek Computer's smartphone business is expected to recover gradually thanks to strong demand for its new ZenFone 6 and the upcoming launch of its second-generation ROG Phone in the third quarter, according to company chairman Jonney Shih.