As the industry enters the stocking phase ahead of new smartphone launches, mobile chip customers are undergoing an inventory adjustment period. The supply chain indicates that this demand correction has cascaded from IC design down to foundry, packaging, and testing — expected to significantly dampen order growth for Taiwanese OSAT players such as ASE, SPIL, and KYEC heading into the consumer peak season.
Samsung Electronics is planning to increase the prices of certain smartphone models released in 2025, marking a rare move amid rising global chip prices and fluctuating exchange rates, which are driving up key component costs.
Rising demand for computing power from generative AI and the semiconductor industry's move toward high-performance computing are reshaping the smartphone supply chain, with global implications for device availability, pricing, and component sourcing as memory prices rise, capacity shifts toward AI workloads, and smartphone production forecasts point to substantial declines ahead.
The used mobile phone recycling market in China has recently heated up, with even non-functional old phones being collected at significantly higher prices than before. This surge is driven by a severe global shortage of consumer-grade memory chips.
Huawei has recruited a leading scientist from a German research institute, raising concerns among the German government and academic circles. According to Nikkei Asia, Martin Schell, formerly director of Germany's Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), announced his departure and moved to the UK in March to become research director at Huawei's Bragg Research Center.
Demand for optical communication modules driven by artificial intelligence is exceeding supply, prompting FIC Global (FICG) to accelerate capacity expansion in Malaysia and China, the company said.
Senao International's cautious 2026 outlook, outlined at a March 27 investor briefing, signals global repercussions for device makers as inflation, chip shortages, and high smartphone penetration reshape demand. The Taiwanese distributor plans to pivot toward AI-capable smartphones and the used-phone market to sustain revenue amid slowing shipments and rising component costs.
Core component costs for smartphones are surging at unprecedented rates, threatening the survival of low-priced models in the market. Nikkei reports that prices for two essential memory types—DRAM (mainly LPDDR) and NAND flash—are soaring faster than ever before.
OnePlus said its India chief executive Robin Liu will step down effective March 31, as the company faces declining shipments and ongoing restructuring within its parent group, according to company statements and multiple media reports.
Samsung Electronics officially announced a transformative update to its Quick Share solution, marking a historic shift in the mobile industry by introducing native compatibility with Apple's AirDrop protocol. Beginning March 23, 2026, the South Korean tech giant is rolling out this cross-platform functionality, starting with the newly released Galaxy S26 series. This move represents the first time a Samsung smartphone has natively bridged the gap to Apple's notoriously closed sharing ecosystem, effectively ending years of digital isolation between Android and iOS users.
Apple is planning to unveil a major overhaul of its Siri voice assistant at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8, according to Bloomberg. The new Siri features aim to advance the company's AI strategy as competition in the AI chatbot and agent space intensifies. The upgrade is expected to transform Siri from a simple voice assistant into a full AI system, and will be released as part of the iOS 27 and macOS 27 operating system updates.
More coverage
