MediaTek has announced the Dimensity 1050 system-on-chip (SoC), its first mmWave 5G chipset. Through dual connectivity using mmWave and sub-6GHz, the Dimensity 1050 will deliver the speeds and capacity required to provide smartphone users, said the vendor.

China RF front-end module startup Smarter Micro has secured approval to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the science and technology innovation board (STAR) of China's Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE).

China, the world's leading consumer of semiconductors, is undergoing a third semiconductor shift in tandem with the development of 5G, consumer electronics, and AI. Owing to the shift of the semiconductor industry – growing downstream demand, and strong support from the government, China's IC design industry has grown rapidly in recent years.

Samsung Electronics is reportedly mulling developing a new application processor series exclusively for its flagship smartphones, while having its existing Exynos chip series power midrange and entry-level phone models for other brands, according to industry sources. The Exynos series would compete against mobile APs from MediaTek and Qualcomm.

Qualcomm will soon roll out an enhanced version of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile SoC built using TSMC's 4nm process technology, according to industry sources. Many are wondering if using TSMC's 4nm process will solve the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1's issues with overheating and performance.

NAND flash demand for datacenter applications will be rising robustly, with bit shipments likely to outpace those for handsets between 2023 and 2024, according to Wallace Kou, president and CEO for flash device controller specialist Silicon Motion Technology.

We all live in a connected world with ubiquitous sensors and connected devices. These connected devices are often powered by batteries without direct access to a power supply, which makes power consumption a top concern when choosing the appropriate wireless communication technology for IoT devices.

China-based Goodix Technology, a supplier of fingerprint and touch ICs, saw its revenue and net profit continue to drop in the first quarter, saying its margins were affected by a combination of internal and external factors.

With handset sales in China still sluggish, inventory adjustments for related mobile phone component suppliers may be extended to the end of 2022, according to industry sources.

Flexible PCB specialist Flexium Interconnect has turned conservative about its sales prospects for the second quarter and all of 2022, due to concerns about supply-chain disruptions caused by COVID lockdowns and restrictions in the Chinese cities of Kunshan and Shanghai.

Corning has disclosed its first-quarter 2022 net sales grew 12% year-on-year, reaching US$3.68 billion, but net income for the period dropped 3% to US$581 million.

Apple will no longer be the exclusive customer of TSMC adopting the foundry's advanced integrated fan-out (InFO) wafer-level packaging, which is expected to attract orders for Android smartphone application processors (AP) by 2024, according to industry sources.

Chinese brand mobile phone vendors have further cut chip orders for the second quarter, casting a shadow over the demand prospects for the second half of the year, according to sources at Taiwan-based IC design houses.

China-based BOE Technology has been actively expanding production capacity for smartphone-use OLED panels, aiming to ship more than 100 million units of them in 2022, according to company chairman Chen Yanshun.

Oppo is reportedly working on an in-house application processor (AP) to power its future smartphones, and the chipset is expected to enter volume production in 2023.

Smartphone-use lens module maker Largan Precision expects to complete a new factory in mid-2023, with production to kick off in the second half of that year if installation of equipment is smooth, according to company CEO Lin En-ping.

Samsung Electronics' recent release of its flagship Galaxy S22 smartphone series and successive launch of home appliances and monitors is giving the world a clearer picture of the company's 2022 hardware product promotion and sales strategy.

MediaTek enjoyed strong shipments for AIoT device applications, as well as shipments of its power management ICs and ASIC solutions, which helped offset weakness in its mobile SoC shipments during the first quarter of 2022, according to market sources.

Samsung Vietnam's general director Choi Joo Ho has expressed the intention to incease investment in the country, where about one third of the vendor's products are manufactured, according to a local media report.

Powertech Technology (PTI) has obtained orders for packaging MediaTek's smartphone application processors slated for launch later in 2022, under the chipmaker's strategy to diversify backend service partners, according to backend supply chain sources.

Smartphone-use lens module maker Largan Precision has reported consolidated revenues of NT$3.756 billion (US$132 million) for March, increasing 43.99% sequentially but decreasing 6.34% on year.

MediaTek's testing partners including King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) and Sigurd Microelectronics, and IC test interface specialists, such as Chunghwa Precision Test Tech (CHPT), WinWay Technology and Keystone Microtech, are all participating in MediaTek's new mobile SoC and wireless chip development projects scheduled to complete later this year, according to industry sources.

Apple has been said to be cutting orders of its 5G iPhone SE and AirPods in the second quarter, but Taiwan-based Apple supply chain companies have pointed out that they have yet to receive instructions from customers about revising orders, according to industry sources.

Smartphone demand in the second quarter of 2022 continues to be bleak. Inventory pressure and shrinking consumer spending in China's domestic market mean China-based mobile phone brands are bearing the brunt.

China-based Vanchip, which specializes in RF front-end modules incorporating power amplifiers, plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the science and technology innovation board (STAR) of China's Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) to raise a total of CNY2.487 billion (US$392.3 million).