Taiwan makers' TV shipments reached 7.16 million units in the second quarter of 2021, up 14.3% sequentially, as related makers had strengthened their component procurement via overbooking.
Unisoc will see shipments of its smartphone application processors for use by China-based handset companies climb 152% on year to 68.2 million units in 2021, enabling it to unseat HiSilicon as the third largest smartphone AP supplier, according to Digitimes Research.
In terms of the global electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, Taiwan-based ICT makers are relatively competitive in EV components and sub-systems and less competitive in batteries, according to Digitimes Research.
Although Europe's four major telecom operators - Vodafone, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefonica - had signed memorandum of understanding on the implementation of O-RAN based networks in Europe in early 2021, Rakuten Mobile's ongoing operating losses have put uncertainty to O-RAN's future.
China's top-3 OSAT providers - Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET), Tongfu Microelectronics and Huatian Technology - are expected to see their combined revenue surge over 20% on year in 2021, according to Digitimes Research.
With software defined vehicles emerging as a new trend for the auto industry, automotive operating systems and software programs will become a new field of competition in the market, prompting related players to step up the development of relevant solutions, according to Digitimes Research.
The popularity of Bluetooth LBS (location based service) apps is rising as the related applications can be used for direction-tracking or as electronic fences to trace and analyze the footprints of confirmed COVIC-19 cases, helping curb the spread of the coronavirus, Digitimes Research has found.
The development of on-device AI chips for smart speaker applications is gaining momentum as brand vendors are incorporating those chips into their speaker products to improve related real-time voice services and sound quality and enhance the protection of user privacy by reducing the reliance on cloud applications, Digitimes Research has found.
The ongoing shortage of notebook-use chips, panels and other components is expected to improve substantially in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Digitimes Research.
US cable operators Comcast, Charter, AT&T and Verizon have seen huge growth in users as remote learning and working are still dominant. Meanwhile, small and medium DSL Internet providers who do not offer high-speed Internet connectivity are struggling, seeking bankruptcy protecion or suffering huge declines in revenue. These DSL providers are now being subsidized by the US government to upgrade to fiber network. This year, the US telecom market will continue to robust growth, as the US government plans to funnel US$3 billion out of the Biden administration's US$1.9 trillion COVID relief bill into paying for low- and middle-income families' Internet bills.
Smart manufacturing and remote collaboration have been in hot demand since the pandemic hit the manufacturing industry. Augmented reality (AR), for one, can be integrated into both remote and on-site operations and can help improve efficiency. However, site regulations and evaluations of benefit must not be overlooked. Manufacturers should go through trial phases before investing in advanced AR wearables, 5G private network, AR software, etc.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will see their combined sales of memory products (mainly DRAM and NAND flash chips) increase 16.7% sequentially to KRW26 trillion (US$23.3 billion) in the second quarter of 2021, buoyed by rising chip ASPs, according to Digitimes Research.
