EMS provider Qisda has worked with affiliated BenQ Guru Software to develop an AI-based platform for monitoring chain retail store operationss, according to Michael Lee, general manager for Qisda's Business Solutions Group.The platform integrates AI-based data analysis, analysis of operational performance, visual analysis of images, environmental quality monitoring, and flexible allocation of human resources, with all data and information displayed on a dashboard to facilitate the headquarters' decision-making, Lee said.Qisda has also worked with MoMagic Technologies, a startup specializing in AI-based mobile advertising, to develop online monitoring of public opinions and digital footprint, with the results on the platform.Public opinions and keywords from leading social networks are colelcted and analyzed, providing clouds of keywords for reference for precision marketing and helping enterprises cope with public relation risks.Digital footprint provides visualized data on differences among weekly volumes of visitors at a retail store and distribution of visitors' stay at the store.

Global tablet shipments are expected to move at full throttle to reach a level not seen in recent years in the third quarter of 2020 after seeing such shipments shoot up 60.5% sequentially and 21.3% on year to 39.65 million units a quarter earlier, according to Digitimes Research.Factors including sufficient production capacities available at ODMs, rush orders that are deferred from the second quarter to third, and re-stocking demand from channel operators will help drive shipment momentum for the third quarter.Looking back to the second quarter, Apple remained the top vendor, followed by Samsung Electronics and Huawei. Amazon outraced Lenovo to take fourth palce and could become number three in the third quarter thanks to seasonal effects.In terms of product size, 10-inch and above models accounted for 80% of total tablet shipments in the second quarter, with the ratio of 7-inch ones being reduced further, Digitimes Reseach figures show. The proportion of 7.x-8.x-inch models is expected to edge up by 2pp in the third quarter due to increased shipments of smaller-size products by Amazon.As the sequential growth for Apple's iPad devices, which feature GF2 touch solutions, was higher than that of non-Apple products, the ratio of tablets that come with GF2 touch edged up in the second quarter. However, models featuring GFF touch solutions will gain a larger share in the third quarter as tablets coming from Amazon will mostly be based on GFF touch.Shipments from Foxconn Electronics alone accounted for over 50% Taiwan's ODM tablet shipments in the second quarter thanks to a ramp-up in its shipments of iPad mini and iPad Air 3 products.

Smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China are expected to grow 9.3% sequentially in the third quarter of 2020, driven by a pick-up in shipments of 5G-enabled phones in China and a mild improvement in overseas demand for smartphones, according to Digitimes Research.Shipments of smartphone APs to China totaled 170 million units in second-quarter 2020, up 25.8% on quarter but down 20.2% on year, Digitimes Research figures show.The sequential AP shipment growth was lower than the staggering growth in handset shipments to the Chinese market in the second quarter, as Chinese vendors' handset shipments to the Indian market declined, curbing the growth for AP shipments to China for device production. The annual decline resulted from the higher base built up a year earlier by Huawei advancing AP purchases ahead of the US trade ban.In terms of second-quarter smartphone AP shipments by suppliers, MediaTek secured the top spot with a 38.3% share, bolstered by strong buying from Huawei. Qualcomm ranked second with a 37.8% share and HiSilicon Technologies followed with a 21.8% share.MediaTek is expected to see its share in China's smartphone AP market move higher in second-half of 2020 thanks to Huawei stepping up purchases of its 4G and 5G SoCs at the expense of HiSilicon's share.While smartphone AP shipments in China are expected to post a sequential gain in the third quarter, the quarterly AP shipments will still see a contraction of 12.7% annually as the lingering pandemic continues to dampen consumer demand for handsets.In terms of process technology, the share of smartphone APs shipped to China made on the 6/7/8nm nodes dropped to 32.4% in the second quarter and will continue to fall in second-half 2020 with Qualcomm and HiSilicon rolling out more 5nm chips.

Global shipments of 5G-enabled smartphones are expected to reach over 250 million units in 2020, accounting for over 20% of global smartphone shipments for the year, according to Digitimes Research's latest estimation.Digitimes Research also maintains its April forecast that global smartphone shipments for 2020 will contract 15.2% to 1.15 billion units as global economic activities remain weak amid the lingering impacts of the pandemic.Shipments of 5G phones in the China market alone will total 170 million units in 2020 as Chinese handset vendors have been keen on rolling out entry-level and mid-tier 5G models to spur replacement demand in the local market.5G models will account for 52.7% of total smartphones shipped to China in 2020 and two-thirds of the total 5G phone shipments shipped worldwide in the year, Digitimes Research's figures show.Bolstered by stronger-than-expected 5G phone sales, China's smartphone shipments are likely to stay flat or fall slightly in second-half 2020 as compared to a year earlier, finishing out the year with a 10.3% decline in its smartphone shipments.5G phone shipments outside China will reach only 82.3 million units or below 10% of global smartphone shipments in 2020 as the rollouts of 5G networks in most other parts of the world have been delayed by the pandemic.Overall smartphone shipments outside China also took a hit from the virus experiencing a 25.9% on-year decline in second-quarter 2020 and are expected to come out the year with an on-year decline of 17.1%.

Hantop Intelligence Tech has developed ultrasonic machining module for CNC processing of various composite materials, according to company founder and CTO Michael Chen.Many new materials have come into use, such as SiC and GaN for automotive semiconductors, Chen said. Composite materials are increasingly used in place of traditional aluminum alloy to reduce aircraft weights and more wearable and harder materials are used to make artificial joints and dentures, he added.Conventional CNC machine tools are designed to process metallic materials, and using them to process new materials, mostly with fragile textures, will result in high friction, reducing efficiency and quality of processing, Chen noted.Ultrasonic machining technology, in addition to high-speed rotation of main axes, features reciprocation of cutting tools in a fixed direction at frequencies of 20,000-40,000 times per second to let resonance effect disperse cutting force to reduce resistance, Chen explained.The Taiwan-based firm adopts non-contact power transmission technology, similar to wireless power charging in principle, for its machines, Chen indicated.The modular design enables users to add modules onto any CNC machine tools without purchasing entire machine tools to save cost, Chen indicated.Hantop was spun off from National Chung Hsing University under sponsorship of Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in 2018.Hantop founder and CTO Michael ChenPhoto: Chloe Liao, Digitimes, August 2020

Taiwan makers' share of global notebook panel shipments is expected to rise further in second-half 2020 after hitting a high of 43% in the second quarter of the year, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan's panel makers have been making headway in the notebook segment, leveraging their advantages in the manufacture of mini LED-backlit notebook panels and other models for gaming and Chromebook applications.Overall, shipments of large-size LCD panels (9-inch and above) by Taiwan-based makers (excluding Sharp) totaled 64.38 million units in second-quarter 2020, up 35% sequentially and 10.8% on year, driven by growing demand for IT devices supporting remote work, study and entertainment, Digitimes Research figures show.With stay-at-home activities becoming a new normal in the wake of the pandemic, panel demand for Chromebook devices alone will more than double on year in the second half of 2020, with Taiwanese makers being the primary suppliers.Taiwan's makers also have advantages in the manufacture of monitor panels, particularly those for gaming and curved monitor applications, with AU Optronics (AUO) alone seeing its shipments of curved monitor panels spike over 40% on year in the second quarter.AUO, which ranks second for curved monitor panel shipments globally, will benefit from the top vendor Samsung Electronics' decision to withdraw from the LCD panel market.Notebook applications as a proportion of Taiwan's large-size panel shipments will increase to 38.1% in second-half 2020 from 36.6% a year earlier; monitor panels will remain at over 20%; and TV panels will drop by 2pp.

Global shipments of servers are estimated to contract 5.6% sequentially in the third quarter of 2020 due to a deceleration in demand for cloud servers from datacenter operators and for enterprise servers, according to Digitimes Research.In second-quarter 2020, worldwide server shipments spiked 27% on quarter to 4.55 million units, driven by fulfillment of orders deferred from the first quarter and strong demand for cloud service and remote work applications amid the coronavirus pandemic.But server shipments to Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Amazon are expected to trend downward in the third quarter as their inventories still stay at high levels following strong pull-ins of shipments in the second quarter. In addition, enterprise server vendors Dell, Lenovo, Inspur and Supermicro will also see their clients in the US and China cut expenses in second-half 2020.Digitimes Research estimates global server shipments for the first three quarters of the year to grow 17% on year due to a low comparison base for the same period in 2019, though first-quarter 2020 shipments were disrupted by the outbreak in China and third-quarter demand is slowing down.As datatcenter operators and enterprise users are expected to further cut their server shipment pull-ins in the fourth quarter, overall global server shipments for 2020 are expected to grow at only 6.8% to over 16 million units.

Bracing for fresh US trade bans, Huawei is making contingency plans, increasing purchases of third-party mobile application processors for its 5G smartphones, according to Digitimes Research, as it looks to maintain its product competitiveness, stable supply and profitability. Apple, one of Huawei's major rivals in the smartphone space, is set to launch its 5G iPhones later than usual. PCB suppliers expect to see their shipments peak for the new iPhones in fourth quarter 2020. TSMC, a major foundry service supplier for Apple and many other device vendors, has offered a rosy outlook for its business in second-half 2020. TSMC's materials and equipment suppliers are set to see strong results as well. Huawei diversifying purchases of 5G APs: Huawei is increasing the proportion of mobile application processors (APs) from third-party suppliers for its smartphones, reducing use of Kirin chips from its subsidiary HiSilicon Technologies, as a contigency against the US trade ban, according to Digitimes Research.PCB shipments for new iPhones to peak in 4Q20, say sources: Taiwan's PCB makers in the supply chain for Apple devices will see their shipments for new iPhones not peak until the fourth quarter this year as Apple has confirmed its iPhone 12 lineup will debut later than normally scheduled in September, according to industry sources.Silicon wafer materials and equipment suppliers see orders pull in from TSMC: With TSMC scaling up its 7nm and 5nm chip output, related silicon wafer materials and equipment suppliers have seen significant orders from the pure-play foundry and are ramping up their shipments to fulfill the new orders.

Global shipments of AIO (all-in-one) PCs increased 28.7% sequentially to three million units in the second quarter of 2020 thanks to fulfillment of orders deferred from the first quarter by production disruptions amid the coronavirus outbreak. But AIO PC shipments are expected to see a sequential growth of only 4% in the third quarter as notebooks have become mainstream models for remote work and education applications, according to Digitimes Research.With shipments of other desktop PCs losing momentum amid economic downturns, the ratio for AIO PCs among overall shipments of desktops rose to 15% in the second quarter and is expected to advance further in the third quarter.HP saw its AIO PC shipment volume outstrip other vendors in the second quarter due partly to fulfilling the most deferred shipments and partly to replacement demand. HP and Lenovo together commanded over 50% of the global AIO PC shipments in the second quarter.HP will see a slowdown in its AIO PC sales in the third quarter, but Apple is expected to sustain its sales momentum in the quarter thanks partly to its launch of new offerings, with its shipments likely to reach the same level as HP's.Among AIO PC ODMs, Quanta Computer saw its second-quarter shipments surge 56% sequentially on drastic increases in shipments to HP and Apple, with its global market share rising to over 40%.Wistron's second-quarter shipments posted an even higher sequential increase of 80%, driven by strong momentum for shipments to HP, Acer and Lenovo.Compal Electronics witnessed second-quarter shipments expand 37% sequentially on increased orders from Lenovo and Asustek.Both Quanta and Compal are expected to register sequential growths of over 10% in third-quarter AIO PC shipments, according to Digitimes Research.

Huawei is increasing the proportion of mobile application processors (APs) from third-party suppliers for its smartphones, reducing use of Kirin chips from its subsidiary HiSilicon Technologies, as a contigency against the US trade ban, according to Digitimes Research.Multiple sourcing for mobile APs is a necessity for Huawei to maintain its product competitiveness, stable supply and profitability, and the Chinese vendors is likely to add 1-2 vendors to its supplier list for smartphone APs.While Taiwan-based MediaTek is already a third-party 5G AP supplier for Huawei, the possibility is high for the Chinese vendor to also purchase 5G APs from Qualcomm if the US chipmaker is able to obtain a US license to ship to Huawei.Huawei has ramped its purchases of MediaTek's midrange Dimensity 800 5G SoCs for the production of its Enjoy and Honor smartphones since the second quarter of 2020 and may also start buying MediaTek's high-end 5G APs in second-half 2020 and 2021.Digitimes Research has found that Qualcomm were selling more of its premium Snapdragon 865 APs than MediaTek's Dimensity 1000 chips in China in the first half of 2020 thanks to its brand and product image.Samsung Electronics and China's Unisoc Technologies could also be alternative sources of 5G APs for Huawei, but the two firms will face challenges for selling chips to the Chinese top smartphone vendor. Samsung is a strong competitor of Huawei in the global smartphone market, while Unisoc still lags other rivals in terms of technology development.Shipments of 5G phones in the China market are expected to reach over 170 million units in 2020 and will continue to grow in 2021.