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.

This Asia tech industry summary will mainly focus on Japan taking a step ahead of Europe and the US in semiconductor policy; Xiaomi focusing on the integration of its smartphone and AIoT products; and Hyundai Kia lagging its five major competitors in operating margin in 2021.

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

This Asia tech industry summary will mainly focus on Geely completing the acquisition of Meizu to bolster its deployments for electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors, low-Earth orbit satellites, and flying cars; Samsung Electronics reportedly cutting production due to low demand; and EV Motors Japan planning to mass-produce electric buses in Kitakyushu, Japan.

This Asia tech industry summary will mainly focus on Samsung Electronics announcing new leadership for its Device Solutions (DS) division; Mitsubishi Electric planning to set up a new plant for factory automation (FA) equipment in India for products exported to Southeast Asia and Europe; and BYD surpassing Volkswagen to become the world's third most valuable automaker.

This Asia tech industry summary will mainly focus on China-based electric vehicle (EV) makers Li Auto, BYD, NIO, and XPeng boosting investment in SiC chips; Sony increasing its CMOS image sensor (CIS) production capacity to surpass that of Samsung Electronics; and South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT announcing five major focuses of the country's semiconductor talent cultivation project.

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%.

This Asia tech industry summary will mainly focus on Samsung Electronics unveiling a KRW450 trillion (US$359.84 billion) investment plan for its semiconductor and biotechnology businesses; China-based smartphone makers Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo deepening their metaverse deployments; and South Korea-based Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution (LGES), and SK On actively exploring partnerships with automakers to build bigger presence in the North American automotive battery market.

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.

This Asia tech industry summary will mainly focus on Foxconn planning to build a 12-inch wafer fab plant in Malaysia while deepening its deployments for MOSFET power semiconductors in Taiwan; and Hyundai and Kia initiating their plan to invest US$16.5 billion to boost EV production in South Korea by 2030.

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.