PC vendors are bracing for a repeat of Intel's CPU shortages that had plagued the market for several quarters since mid 2018. Supply might have been improving earlier in the third quarter, but the latest news coming from the supply chain is that Intel 14nm CPU manufacturing capacity is falling short of demand again. But PC vendors may have alternative CPU supplies from China...
With the US suspending the tariff on notebook imports from China until December 15, the pressure on notebook brand vendors pre-stocking extra inventory has been significantly eased, according to Digitimes Research.
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has announced AI Technology R&D Guidelines in a bid to create a reliable environment conforming to international trends of AI R&D and to provide directions for Taiwan AI researchers to follow.
While demand for its 7nm manufacturing node has been strong, TSMC is ready to move its more advanced 5nm process to volume production in first-half 2020 - probably as early as March. The foundry house has been fast developing advanced chipmaking processes. It has also been keen on developing new packaging technology in support of its task to extend the relevance of Moore's Law.
The National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering under government-sponsored the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) has disclosed it is developing a 3D smart city platform for simulating impacts of earthquake disasters on buildings.
Intel in May unveiled plans to launch its 7nm products in 2021, and it is now stepping up efforts towards achieving that goal. It has started placing equipment and materials orders for EUV fabrication processes since August. Meanwhile, TSMC expects 7nm and 7nm EUV manufacturing nodes to be a major growth driver this year, thanks to strong demand chiefly coming from the 5G sector...
Taiwan-based biotech startup VesCir has released a smart personal skin care system integrating IoT, AI algorithm and biomedical technologies to present customized skincare solutions for consumers, according to TC Chang, the firm's AI algorithm engineer.
Some may think Moore's Law is reaching its limits, but for TSMC, it is still very much alive. The world's number one pure-play foundry is already conducting 3nm process R&D. TSMC chairman Mark Liu believes Moore's Law will continue to drive semiconductor growth in decades to come, but Taiwan's IC sector must tackle the problem of engineer shortages that could hinder its growth in the future...
Worldwide shipments of smart feature phones running KaiOS are forecast to climb 65% in 2019, with the Africa market being the major growth driver, according to Digitimes Research.
The global top-5 notebook brands saw their combined shipments rise 5% on month and 2% on year in August, as both Europe and North America entered the peak season, brand vendors started releasing new products and the Intel CPUs shortages were easing, according to Digitimes Research's latest notebook figures.
