Global smartphone shipments are expected to experience another quarter of on-year decline in the second quarter of 2022, dropping for four quarters straight since third-quarter 2021.

DIGITIMES Research's statistics and forecast show global smartphone shipments declined for three quarters straight from third-quarter 2021 to first-quarter 2022.

The global wafer foundry industry embraced brisk market demand and raked in a total of exceeding US$100 billion in 2021 revenues, representing an on-year growth of 26%.

DIGITIMES Research believes Intel investing in advanced process technologies and restarting the foundry services business are strategies that are able to complement each other.

DIGITIMES Research visited the exhibitions at Autotronics Taipei 2022, taking place mid-April, 2022, and summarized this year's event highlights including ADAS sensors and EV components.

According to DIGITIMES Research's observations, 2021 global electric vehicle (EV) sales exceeded expectation, surging more than 100% on-year, leading to a shortage of battery materials.

According to Digitimes Research's statistics, global tablet shipments amounted to 32 million units in first-quarter 2022 in line with expectation. The volume was the lowest since the COVID-19 outbreak started in first-quarter 2020 as the tablet market sustained pressure from the slow season and rising inflation while no longer enjoying pandemic-driven work-from-home (WFH) and online learning demand.

According to DIGITIMES Research's surveys and analyses, first-quarter 2022 smartphone shipments to the China market fell 26.5% from the prior year level, coming short of the 70-million-unit mark amid weak market demand.

According to DIGITIMES Research's statistics and analyses, China-based smartphone brands shipped a total of 170 million phones worldwide in first-quarter 2022, down 12.9% from the prior quarter with the China market experiencing worsening decline and overseas markets entering slow season and undergoing seasonal adjustment after the year-end shopping season.

According to Digitimes Research's surveys and analyses, first-quarter 2022 smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China-based vendors amounted to 178 million units, increasing 4% from the prior quarter but decreasing 16% from the prior year as Xiaomi, Oppo and Transsion ramped up inventory with their efforts to expand into Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America generating results.

Taiwan's first-quarter 2022 notebook shipments performed weaker than expected, slipping over 20% sequentially and the lowest shipment level since the second quarter of 2020.

In first-quarter 2022, server manufacturers still struggled with the problem of some low-end ICs being in worse shortage than others and the Lunar New Year holidays slowed down their shipment momentum.