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Monday 20 April 2026

Brands boost wearable device sales to offset smartphone shipment pressure

Rising prices for key upstream components such as memory have dampened global smartphone shipments, prompting brands to boost memory inventory, raise the share of mid- to high-end models, expand China-only flagships overseas, and accelerate sales of accessories like earphones and smartwatches to offset revenue losses and protect margins in the coming quarters.

Monday 20 April 2026

SDC's 8.6-gen OLED approaches 90% yield, expected to supply 2 million panels to Apple in 2026

According to industry sources cited by The Elec, Samsung Display's (SDC) 8.6G OLED line has recently surpassed an 85% yield rate, approaching the industry's "golden yield" threshold of 90%. The initial ramp-up of the line has stabilized, and sample production is currently underway. Mass production expected to begin in June–July 2026. The panels are slated for Apple's 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, with shipments potentially reaching around 2 million units in 2026.

Sunday 19 April 2026

Largan eyes FAU opportunity as smartphone downgrades loom

Optical lens giant Largan held its first quarter of 2026 earnings call on April 16, hosted by chairman En-Ping Lin. The company posted 7% year-on-year revenue growth — but headwinds are building as smartphone makers look to downgrade specifications.

Saturday 18 April 2026

VLSI TSA 2026 explores quantum architecture and AI healthcare innovations

The 2026 International Symposium on VLSI Technology, Systems and Applications (VLSI TSA) kicked off on April 14, gathering over 800 semiconductor professionals worldwide. The conference focused on next-generation core areas including GenAI inference acceleration, wafer-level computing, and terahertz wireless communication, while also delving into quantum computer system architectures and extending the reach of semiconductors to AI-driven cardiac analysis and other smart healthcare applications.

Saturday 18 April 2026

Largan expects full capacity in 2H26; FAU customer details remain undisclosed

Leading optical lens manufacturer Largan Precision held its first-quarter 2026 earnings call on April 16, reporting consolidated revenue of NT$15.54 billion (approx. US$492.37 million) for the quarter. The company cited seasonal factors and market fluctuations for the roughly 10% decline from the fourth quarter of 2025, while noting 7% year-over-year growth.

Friday 17 April 2026

CPU shortage more acute than memory; industry awaits Intel 18A yield improvement

A global CPU shortage is disrupting PC and industrial-computing supply chains, as processors are out of stock even at premium prices, while memory is limited but purchasable. The scarcity threatens notebook and industrial PC availability worldwide and may persist for some time until Intel's 18A process yields improve, industry sources warn.

Friday 17 April 2026

Taiwan and Japan solidify lead in transmission component market for humanoid robots

The rise of new hardware designs for humanoid robots has created fresh opportunities across the supply chain, with linear actuators — which act as the muscles of robots that mimic human anatomy — now becoming key components in this evolution. Amid the ongoing reshuffling in the transmission component supply chain, the consensus among industry players is that Taiwanese and Japanese manufacturers are unlikely to yield their longtime dominant position in the field.

Thursday 16 April 2026

MCU demand pull-in lifts first-quarter sales, inflation risk clouds outlook

The traditional off-season for consumer electronics showed unexpected strength in the first quarter of 2026, with microcontroller (MCU) suppliers reporting a wave of early orders. Customers, facing rising costs and sharp increases in memory prices, have accelerated procurement due to concerns over future supply shortages. This front-loading of demand has effectively brought forward the peak season. Still, industry players caution that inflationary pressure linked to ongoing Middle East conflicts could weigh on end-market demand.

Thursday 16 April 2026

China's homegrown GPU startups gain ground in global AI chip race

China's domestic GPU industry is entering a new phase of rapid commercialization, as leading startups post strong revenue growth while intensifying investment in research, patents, and ecosystem development.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Southern Taiwan Science Park eyes US$94 billion on AI tailwinds

Riding the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and strong demand for advanced semiconductor processes, the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) posted record-high revenue of NT$2.97 trillion (approx. US$94.13 billion) for 2025, up 34.26% from 2024. The figure fell just shy of the industry's original projection of NT$3 trillion, yet the park maintained its leading position among Taiwan's three major science parks.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

China Northern Rare Earth hikes 2Q26 rare earth ore prices over 44%, experts warn of demand destruction

China Northern Rare Earth, the leading player in China's rare earth industry, has raised its rare earth ore (REO) prices for the second quarter of 2026 by more than 44%. Amid geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions, this significant price increase has drawn strong attention across the sector.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Taiwan, Japan team up on advanced materials to power next-gen chips and clean energy

Japan dominates the global market for semiconductor equipment and materials — a strategic chokepoint that its neighbors and partners have long sought to learn from, not just rely on. Taiwan, home to the world's most advanced chip fabrication ecosystem, has spent years building closer ties with Tokyo in materials science. Now, that partnership is entering a more ambitious phase.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Cooling fan makers remain optimistic about 2026 operations

Record revenues and aggressive liquid-cooling rollouts at leading fan makers signal shifting global demand, with server and automotive needs underpinning growth while consumer-linked segments face supply-driven setbacks. The developments could reshape cooling supply chains worldwide, influence data center and EV thermal strategies, and affect component markets for PCs and gaming.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Phison eyes US$1.4B fundraising to tackle severe NAND shortage in 4Q26

Phison Electronics founder and CEO Pua Khein-Seng warned that the current NAND Flash shortage will worsen significantly in the second half of 2026, with an acute supply crunch expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, where "even money can't buy stock." To secure inventory amid this tight market, Phison has broken its no-debt tradition by launching a syndicated loan in March and plans to issue US$800 million in Euro-convertible bonds (ECB), targeting over NT$43 billion (US$1.4 billion) in total fundraising for 2026.

Monday 13 April 2026

Apple reportedly tests four smart glasses designs ahead of 2027 launch

Apple is accelerating development of next-generation wearable hardware, with plans to launch its first smart glasses as early as 2027, Bloomberg reported. The initial product will not include a display, reflecting a focus on hands-free operation and ecosystem integration as the company moves into a market led by Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica.

Monday 13 April 2026

RFID maker Arizon expands market share despite 20% global market decline in 2025

Arizon RFID Technology saw its performance in 2025 impacted by a 20% contraction in the global RFID market last year, with the company posting full-year revenue of NT$3.953 billion (approx. US$124 million), down 14.3% year-over-year. Meanwhile, gross margin fell by 9.9% year-over-year to 22.3%, net profit after tax plunged 73.4% year-over-year to NT$225 million (approx. US$7 million), and earnings per share stood at NT$3.0. Despite the overall market shrinkage, however, Arizon increased its market share by roughly 2pp.

Monday 13 April 2026

Supreme Court ruling stalls Taiwan-US trade deal, zero-tariff car imports in limbo

Taiwan and the US signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) on February 13, 2026, capping 10 months of negotiations. The deal set a reciprocal tariff of 15% without stacking and secured Taiwan the most favorable terms yet under Section 232 for semiconductors. But the US Supreme Court's invalidation of most of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs has since frozen the agreement. Taiwan's Executive Yuan cannot submit it to the Legislative Yuan for review, and the prospect of zero-tariff US car imports has stalled along with it.

Monday 13 April 2026

Taiwan ramps up science park expansion as TSMC growth pushes capacity limits

Powered by surging semiconductor investment—led by TSMC—Taiwan's science parks are nearing full capacity, accelerating government efforts to expand land, infrastructure, and next-generation industry clusters.

Monday 13 April 2026

Sysgration integrates core power technologies in drone push, BBUs to support 2H26 growth

Industrial PC (IPC) maker Sysgration saw consolidated revenue reach NT$292 million (US$9.2 million) in March 2026, buoyed by its three main product lines of backup battery units (BBUs), drones, and IPCs. Although this marks a slight year-on-year decline, the company nevertheless expects monthly revenue to grow going ahead, driven by an optimized product mix and increasing high-margin applications, as demand for AI computing drives expansion in data centers and edge AI deployments.

Monday 13 April 2026

AI server tracker: Taiwanese thermal solution providers entering structural AI growth phase as liquid cooling adoption accelerates

Taiwan's thermal management suppliers are emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments in the AI hardware ecosystem in 2026, even though their absolute revenue scale remains far below that of semiconductor leaders such as TSMC and large AI server ODMs like Quanta Computer and Foxconn.

Monday 13 April 2026

Delta Electronics hits record revenue on AI server, liquid cooling surge

Delta Electronics' record March revenue signals a global shift as cloud providers ramp up AI infrastructure spending, boosting demand for AI server power supplies and liquid cooling. Worldwide operators face pressure to adopt liquid cooling and higher-voltage DC power, affecting data center design, supplier strategies, and procurement across regions and markets.

Sunday 12 April 2026

Murata produces seven automotive MLCCs for autonomous driving and power supply markets

Murata Manufacturing, a leading Japanese passive component manufacturer, announced that it has begun mass production of seven types of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for automotive applications, achieving the world's largest capacitance across various rated voltages and sizes.

Sunday 12 April 2026

Pan-International bets on AI servers as automotive demand growth slows in 2Q26

Pan-International, a Foxconn subsidiary specializing in connectors, reported a year-over-year revenue decline in the first quarter of 2026 due to cautious customer sentiment and stagnant shipments of automotive products. However, the company expects revenues to rise monthly starting in the second quarter, driven by increased orders for AI servers, while maintaining its goal of double-digit growth for the full year.

Saturday 11 April 2026

Catcher adopts cautious outlook, citing supply chain bottlenecks and cost pressures

Despite revenue growth in March 2026, Catcher Technology is maintaining a prudent outlook for 2026, citing supply chain bottlenecks, cost pressures, and uncertain end-market demand.

Friday 10 April 2026

Spingence and Advantech accelerate AI edge deployment plans in South Korea manufacturing

In response to strong demand for data security and on-premises AI deployment within South Korea's manufacturing and semiconductor sectors, Taiwanese AI company Spingence Technology is aggressively expanding into the South Korean market starting this year through its enterprise edge large language model (LLM) platform, Edgestar.

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