Global server shipments, after reaching the peak of 2020 in the second quarter, are estimated to have slipped 6% sequentially in the third quarter as demand began to turn weak and will drop further in the fourth quarter.

Notebook and tablet shipments are both expected to increase from a year ago in 2020 due to demand from stay-at-home activities, while those of smartphones will slip. In 2021, notebook shipments will stay flat on year, but tablet will decline, while smartphone volumes will rise thanks to 5G's commercialization.

According to Digitimes Research's observations, 2020 global tablet shipments will show flat growth from the 2019 level as the COVID-19 pandemic spurs explosive stay-at-home demand. With unfilled demand for tablets gradually satisfied and a high comparison base in 2020, tablet shipments in 2021 will decelerate and drop 10.5% on year.

Following three consecutive years of declines in 2018-2020, global smartphone shipments are expected to grow by a double-digit rate or 150 million units in 2021.

Global server shipments are expected to see a CAGR of 6.7% from 2020-2025, driven by demand for datacenter, HPC, AI and 5G related applications.

Notebook shipments are expected to grow over 20% on year in 2020 thanks to demand from stay-at-home activities in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Second-quarter 2020 global tablet shipments amounted to 39.65 million units, surging 60.5% from a quarter ago and 21.4% from a year ago, outperforming expectation.

Second-quarter 2020 smartphone AP shipments to China-based vendors amounted to 169.9 million units, down 20.6% year-over-year but up 25.8% quarter-over-quarter.

Smartphone shipments to the China market in second-quarter 2020 were doubled sequentially, as the coronavirus pandemic in China was eased, while the economy was benefited by the re-opening and new phones were being launched.

Taiwan's notebook shipments picked up 82.2% sequentially and 27.3% on year to arrive at 42.68 million units in the second quarter of 2020.

Second-quarter 2020 global server shipments enjoyed a strong growth thanks to soaring demand for cloud computing services and from the work-from-home (WFH) segment in addition to shipments deferred from the prior quarter and early inventory preparation to cope with the resurgence of the coronavirus outbreak.

Global tablet shipments are forecast to climb 45.5% sequentially and 9.9% on year in the second quarter of 2020 thanks to a recovery in the related supply chain's capacity in China and educational tablet orders deferred from the first quarter.