With the destocking of Microcontroller Unit (MCU) inventories ending, Holtek Semiconductor believes the worst is over for MCUs and has seen its on-hand orders for the second quarter stabilize.
The announcement for Apple's iPad Pro 2024 has been repeatedly delayed, reportedly due to issues related to OLED panels. Despite this, it was recently revealed that the two major South Korean manufacturers, LG Display (LGD) and Samsung Display (SDC), are responsible for supplying OLED panels for the new iPad and will incorporate many new panel technologies not previously used in iPhones.
Thanks to the server supply chain shift out of China due to the US-China trade conflicts, Taiwan's computer production value has grown significantly over the past 5 years. Although China remains the biggest production site of Notebook PCs (NB), manufacturers of high-end servers have returned to Taiwan.
Qualcomm reported slightly stronger-than-expected results over the past quarter, and its upbeat outlook suggests an improvement in the mobile phone industry. Qualcomm also expects the automotive business to play a larger role.
In the first quarter of 2024, Samsung Electronics successfully turned a profit in its semiconductor business due to increased demand for AI-related memory. Coupled with the sales growth of the Galaxy S24 series, the outstanding performances from these two sectors led to a revenue return to the KRW70 trillion level (approx. US$50.85 billion) after 5 quarters.
Many Chinese semiconductor firms have told customers they are raising prices due to rising costs of precious metals, such as gold and copper, according to industry sources.
Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia view software as a crucial element of their future development. The pair targets China's fast-growing connected vehicle market and will collaborate with local tech giant Baidu.
Microsoft Corp. will invest $1.7 billion to build out cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Indonesia, betting on Southeast Asia's biggest economy to spur growth.
Amid sluggish iPhone sales, Samsung Electronics and Chinese smartphone brands have begun to take advantage of this gap and expand their inventory of smartphones and OLEDs to seize market shares. This drove the utilization rates of OLED production lines for mid-to-low-end smartphones at Samsung Display (SDC), BOE, TCL CSOT, and other manufacturers.
