Digitimes Research saw the supply-demand gaps for notebook panels, IC chips and processors all exceed 10% in the second quarter of 2021, and will see improvement in some components in the third quarter of 2021.
The first-half 2021 shipments are expected to come to 650 million units while whole-year 2021 shipments are estimated to arrive at 1.32 billion units, up 6.4% from the prior year.
Notebook and tablet shipments are both expected to increase from a year ago in 2020 due to demand from stay-at-home activities, while those of smartphones will slip. In 2021, notebook shipments will stay flat on year, but tablet will decline, while smartphone volumes will rise thanks to 5G's commercialization.
The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in labor shortages and shipment disruptions in China's supply chain, but Digitimes Research believes if the epidemic gets under control, China-based top-4 smartphone brands' shipments are expected to drop 19.5% on year in the first quarter of 2020, while smartphone AP shipments to China will fall 11.4% on year during the period.
The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted production and weakened consumer confidence, with all ICT sectors bracing for major declines in shipments. Digitimes Research has conducted analyses on three mobile device sectors, namely notebooks, smartphones and tablets in the wake of the outbreak. The Special Report offers the latest updates about production statuses and shipments outlook for 2020 for each of the three sectors.
Notebooks, smartphones and tablets are expected to see mixed shipment performances in 2019. Notebook shipments will grow mildly while smartphones and tablets will both see shipments drop. In 2020, only smartphone shipments are expected to grow.
Global all-in-one (AIO) PC shipments will continue shrinking in 2019, following 2018's around 2% on-year drop. With issues such as US-China trade tensions and Intel's CPU shortages, and Lenovo and Apple having been cutting their orders, Taiwan makers are also expected to see their related shipments to be impacted.
This Digitimes Research Special Report offers global shipment forecasts for three major mobile device market segments - smartphones, notebooks and tablets - for the year 2019 and beyond.
This Digitimes Reserch iPhone Shipment Analysis and Forecast Special Report provides an insight into Apple's pricing strategy and shipment outlook for the newly introduced iPhone models, as well as the overall iPhone lineup.
Digitimes Research estimates that 2016 was another down year for the global notebook market, with shipments dipping below 150 million. While the market will continue shrinking in 2017, the drop will be much less dramatic, as Windows 10 adoption in the enterprise will drive corporate demand. This Digitimes Special Report examines key factors in the notebook industry, including products, vendors and ODMs, that will affect total shipments in 2017 and through 2021.
In 2016, global tablet shipments will drop 4.8%, compared to a decline of 17.9% in 2015. With the exception of Microsoft and Huawei, most brands will see flat growth or a small decline in shipments. Some other key trends that Digitimes Research expects to see in 2016 include a continued drop in demand for 7-inch consumer price-friendly Wi-Fi tablets or tablets with phone features; increased popularity of Microsoft's Surface series and Windows 10; and slight on-year growth for Apple.
Global notebook shipments dropped 9% on year in 2015 and the volume in 2016 is expected to drop further by 2.6% to reach 154 million units. Although Windows 10's new functions will trigger some PC replacement, Chromebook will see a small shipment growth and the Wintel's China supply chain will be able to further reduce entry-level notebooks' costs, the shipments in 2016 will still be impacted by the facts such as Surface-like 2-in-1 devices' penetration into the notebook market and the merger of Japan-based notebook vendors. Worldwide notebook shipments are expected to grow slightly in 2017 but the market decline will resume again in 2018.
