Global smartphone revenue rose 3% year on year to US$114 billion in the third quarter of 2026, even as shipments fell 19%, highlighting a worldwide shift toward more expensive devices. Higher prices supported value, but rising memory costs are squeezing manufacturers' margins and threatening affordability, especially in entry-level markets worldwide.
Nvidia is pitching South Korea's factories as the proving ground for robots trained in simulation. At its AI Day Seoul 2026 event on November 9, the company detailed physical AI projects with Hyundai Motor Group, Doosan Robotics, LG Electronics, and SK Hynix, and signed an autonomous driving agreement with Kakao Mobility, even as a controversy surrounding chief executive Jensen Huang hung over the gathering.
Higher memory prices caused by tight supply weakened demand for consumer electronics, while investment in Wah Hong Industrial's thermal management division weighed on overall third-quarter performance. The company is accelerating development in AI cooling, semiconductor materials, and other high-value applications to reduce its exposure to market cycles.
Catcher Technology is expanding into AI servers and expects server revenue to account for 20% of total revenue by the end of 2026, chairman Allen Horng said. The company also expects to begin mass production of AI PC-related products in the second quarter of 2027 as it offsets continued declines in notebook demand.
Strong AI server demand drove Wistron’s October 2026 revenue to NT$402.6 billion (US$12.2 billion), up 5.73% month-over-month and 1.18 times year-over-year. Revenue for the first 10 months reached NT$3.29 trillion, increasing 99.53% year-over-year and setting a new high for the same period.
Samsung Display (SDC) reported improved results in the third quarter of 2026 as major customers launched new products, but expects rising memory prices in 2027 to push up prices for smartphones and other end products, suppressing panel demand. The company will focus on high-value products, including foldable and gaming displays, to strengthen profitability.
Sony's latest quarter strengthens the case for its emphasis on entertainment platforms and intellectual property, with games and films lifting earnings despite falling console shipments and weaker mobile image-sensor sales. The result also shows why headline profit growth should be considered separately from currency benefits and the absence of earlier charges.
As the PC market outlook deteriorates, Acer subsidiary Acer Gadget is expanding its lifestyle accessories business to cushion the impact of a weaker market. General manager Chung I-chun said lifestyle accessories accounted for about 20% of revenue in the first half of 2026 and rose to 30% in the third quarter, with the share set to increase further as new products launch in the fourth quarter.
India is now an important market for Apple in two ways. It is a growth market where the company set an all-time revenue record in the September quarter, even as overall smartphone shipments fell to a decade low. It is also a production base that, according to industry estimates, assembles roughly one in four iPhones.
Chicony Electronics reported unaudited consolidated revenue of NT$5.647 billion (US$172 million) for October 2026, down 9.1% month-over-month and 24% year-over-year. Persistent global PC component cost pressure, cautious purchasing by brand customers, and continued corrections in second-half PC shipments reduced demand, prompting the company to prioritize profitability, premium product shipments, and expansion beyond traditional PCs.
Acer is set to approve a senior executive reshuffle at its board meeting on Thursday afternoon, with Acer Being Communication general manager Chan-ping Bo reportedly taking over product and procurement responsibilities after chief operating officer Jerry Kao resigned. Bo is familiar with PC procurement and development operations and is considered a suitable successor, according to sources in the PC supply chain.
Hewlett Packard (HP) has appointed Emma Walmsley, the former head of drugmaker GSK, as its next CEO, ending a search that began after the company named an interim leader earlier this year.
Rising global oil prices have driven up food costs, squeezing consumer discretionary budgets for products with higher price elasticity, such as smartphones and consumer electronics. A specialized report from Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) reveals that in 2025, global ICT goods and services exports reached US$3.6 trillion and US$1.4 trillion, respectively. Saturated market demand capped average annual export growth for telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics at just 2.5% and 0.9%, respectively.
US chipmaker Qualcomm will present its latest developments in 6G and AI agent-powered devices at the ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE), held from November 5 to 10 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The exhibition will mark the first public display of what Qualcomm describes as the world's first 6G terminal prototype conforming to the latest 3GPP definition.
Flexium Interconnect chairman Walter Cheng said the company has emerged from the toughest operating downturn of the past two years and expects AI orders for smart glasses and infrastructure to accelerate in 2027, which is also expected to lower consumer electronics revenue to below 50%. The flexible printed circuit (FPC) maker expects its polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) products to enter mass production in 2028 and is targeting a return to profitability in the first quarter of 2027.
Inventec reported October revenue of NT$79.97 billion (approx. US$2.44 billion), down 18.9% from September but up 46.0% from October 2025, setting a record high for the same period. Revenue for the first 10 months totaled NT$822.23 billion, up 43.1% year-over-year, also marking a record high for the period.
Qualcomm's fiscal fourth quarter showed a company whose growth now comes almost entirely from outside the smartphone, but not yet at a scale that can offset a shrinking handset business. Revenue fell 8% from a year earlier to US$10.3 billion for the three months ended September 27, according to the company's November 4 earnings release, as a memory-driven downturn in phone demand weighed on its largest product line while automotive chips grew sharply.
Acer Intelligence Space (ITS) has gained traction in India's home appliance market by hiring a Bollywood star as its brand ambassador and combining competitive pricing with channel expansion. Strong demand for its air conditioners has prompted the company to plan additional major appliances, including washing machines, to accelerate its expansion in India.
Despite a sharp slowdown in the overall PC market in the second half of 2026, Acer's consumer PC shipments to the Taiwan market rose 15% year-over-year from January to October. The vendor expects Single's Day promotions to help maintain full-year shipment growth above 15% for the Taiwan market, while higher average selling prices (ASP) should drive stronger revenue growth.
Apple has given suppliers a shipment forecast of 16 million MacBook Neo units for 2027, about double the nearly 8 million units expected in 2026, according to supply-chain sources.
Apple reported record revenue for its latest fiscal quarter and forecast another record for the current quarter, attributing nearly all hardware-related pressure to supply constraints. However, supply-chain sources say Apple's internal confidence in sales volumes for its 2026 products is not as strong as the company's earnings presentation suggests.
Samsung Electronics is considering a major overhaul of its TV lineup for 2027, replacing technology-based product names with three tiers modeled on its Galaxy smartphones as it looks to increase shipments and expand its services business, South Korea's ETNews reported.
The AI infrastructure boom has driven up memory prices across consumer electronics, dampening sales of smartphones and notebooks while hitting upstream system-on-chip (SoC) developers. With memory prices projected to keep climbing through 2027, industry observers generally expect end-market sales to remain sluggish, testing the resilience and strategy of players across the entire value chain.
A Japanese electronics distributor has stopped accepting new customers because it cannot fully supply its existing ones, Nikkei reported, as demand from AI data centers tightens supply of the conventional DRAM used in PCs.
