Smartphone shipments in the China market reached 112.8 million units in the third quarter of 2017, increasing 18.6% sequentially but decreasing 1.9% on year. China shipments accounted for 31.3% of the global smartphone shipments in the quarter, according to Digitimes Research

Four out of the top-5 notebook brands experienced on-year shipment declines in October mainly because of weak demand from the consumer sector. The vendors turning their focus to boosting profitability from expanding volumes also impacted negatively their shipment performances

Four out of the top-5 notebook brands experienced on-year shipment declines in October mainly because of weak demand from the consumer sector. The vendors' refocusing their strategies onto boosting profitability from expanding shipment volumes also impacted negatively their shipment performances

October 2017 average retail price for 7W LED light bulbs (40W incandescent equivalents) in China decreased 3.2% from August 2017 to reach CNY24.3 (US$3.8), while 9W models (60W incandescent equivalents) also saw pricing drop 27.2% to CNY23.5, according to Digitimes Research

With to a lack of growth momentum in the traditional mainstream TV and monitor markets, most flat panel makers have paid more attention on the development niche applications for large-sized panels such as public information displays (PIDs), automotive display boards and gaming devices, according to Digitimes Research

Global MEMS microphone shipments will increase to 4.8 billion units in 2017 from 4.4 billion units in 2016, and the volume will reach over 5.0 billion units in 2018, according to Digitimes Research

Competition in China's smart speaker market is heating up: Alibaba is pushing sales of its Tmall Genie to the business sector; JD.com is promoting its next-generation smart speaker, the DingDong 2; and Xiaomi Technology has forayed into the entry-level segment with its Mi AI speaker, according to Digitimes Research

Global shipments of tablets are estimated to grow 7.8% sequentially to 45.58 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017 due mainly to brisk market demand for entry-level branded tablets, according to Digitimes Research

Global server shipments are estimated to surge 7.1% on year to 12.65 million units in 2017 and post a higher growth of 8.5% in 2018, due mainly to expanding demand for datacenter servers and significant growth momentum expected in the China market, according to Digitimes Research

Taiwan-based flat panel makers are expected to ship a combined 290 million small- to medium-size TFT-LCD panels in the fourth uarter of 2017, down 8.5% on quarter, due mainly to seasonality, Digitimes Research estimates

Global shipments of notebooks (excluding detachable 2-in-1 models) declined 4.2% on year to 40.79 million units in the third quarter of 2017 as weakening demand in the consumer sector and a corporate reorganization at Asustek Computer offset gains resulting from better-than-expected Chromebook sales and brisk sales of gaming models in China, according to Digitimes Research

The development of on-device edge computing technology is heating up as related makers are seeking technology breakthroughs to address the concerns of privacy and protection of sensitive date when applying deep learning under cloud applications and to lower costs for enterprises to adjust its internal IT infrastructure to cope with cloud environments; or to challenge the restrictions caused by latency, Internet bandwidth limits and insufficient network infrastructure for development of smart applications such as computer vision (CV) and self-driving automobiles