Apple officially confirmed on Monday that its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will return from June 8 to June 12, 2026. While the core experience remains online and free for its 34-million-strong developer community, the company is doubling down on a hybrid strategy, hosting a marquee in-person event at Apple Park on opening day.
The expansion of AI data centers is creating new business opportunities that are opening the door for upstarts to challenge industry leaders. A prime example is the four-level pulse amplitude modulation digital signal processing (PAM4 DSP) chip market for optical communications, which is shifting from a duopoly dominated by US leaders Marvell Technology and Broadcom to a more diversified vendor landscape. MediaTek's subsidiary Airoha is now striving to climb this competitive ladder.
The US Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced on March 23, 2026, that it has officially added routers produced in foreign countries to its "Covered List" of equipment and services deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to US national security. This move follows a National Security Determination issued on March 20, 2026, by an Executive Branch interagency body.
A joint R&D team, including MediaTek, Microsoft Research, and other suppliers, has developed a next-generation active optical cable (AOC) based on miniaturized Micro LED light sources. The Active Micro LED Cable delivers copper-like reliability while significantly extending transmission distance.
As 6G is expected to enter commercial use by 2030, the 5G standalone (SA) architecture is regarded as a crucial technological foundation for the transition to next-generation communications. Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) are currently focusing their 5G SA efforts on technical verification and pilot programs in specific areas of the island, though they have yet to announce a detailed timeline for full nationwide coverage.
Samsung Electronics' self-developed mobile application processor (AP) series, Exynos, long criticized for poor performance and overheating issues, is showing signs of revival. The new Exynos 2600, built on the advanced 2nm second-generation process (SF2), has delivered unexpectedly strong performance results compared to its previous chips, laying a foundation for the once-struggling chip line to bounce back.
Samsung Electronics is reportedly discontinuing its premium Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone just months after launch, underscoring the device's role as a technological showcase rather than a mass-market product, according to Bloomberg. The US$2,899 foldable, featuring a dual-hinge design that expands into a 10-inch tablet, will first be pulled from South Korea before sales are halted in the US. Samsung's website has already removed messaging around restocks, listing the device as "sold out."
Samsung Electronics held its 57th annual shareholders meeting on March 18 in Suwon, South Korea, where it unveiled advanced memory products, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), signaling a strategic push to strengthen its semiconductor competitiveness.
Meta Platforms is retreating further from the metaverse, scaling back a once-central pillar of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's long-term vision in favor of a renewed focus on artificial intelligence.
Apple's entry into the foldable phone market, alongside established players Samsung, Oppo, and Huawei, is set to expand consumer choice and accelerate global market growth. The shift stands to affect handset makers, app developers, and component suppliers alike, as competition drives innovation, product variety, and potentially lower prices.
Chao-Chung Kuo, director general of the Department of Industrial Technology at the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), announced that the 6G standard will be finalized by 2029 and urged Taiwan to prepare early across products, systems, and spectrum to secure a position in the global 6G industry.
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