The output value of China's IC design industry sector is expected to exceed US$35 billion in 2018, driven by a combination of positive factors including continued growth in shipments of China-based smartphone vendors, rising demand for consumer electronics devices amid rampant IoT applications, and the appreciation of the Chinese currency, according to Digitimes Research.

Worldwide top-5 notebook brands saw their combined shipments drop around 30% sequentially in April primarily due to seasonal factors, but compared to the same month in 2017, the volumes went up 3%. Digitimes Research believes that the on-year increase was not a result of market recovery, but market uncertainties that had sent vendors' shipments fluctuating much more strongly than usual.

Display products highlighted by China-based flat panel makers at the recently concluded China Information Technology Expo (CITE) show that most of China's panel suppliers are actively developing 18:9 all-screen and profile-cut panels in response to demand from the handset sector, the largest application market for small- to medium-size panels, Digitimes Research has found.

The global LiDAR systems' market for automotive applications is showing an impressive growth between 2017 and 2023: from US$726 million to US$5 billion, it should reach a 43% CAGR during this period, according to Yole Developpement.

Global server shipments (based on motherboards shipped) amounted to 3.4 million units in the first quarter of 2018, slightly down on quarter, but the shipments are expected to rise 9% sequentially in the second quarter, Digitimes Research estimates.

Shipments of smartphone-use application processors in China are expected to increase 17% sequentially to 173.8 million units in the second quarter of 2018, Digitimes Research estimates.

Taiwan's shipments of small- to medium-size LCD panels are expected to grow 8.6% sequentially in the second quarter of 2018, driven by increased panel demand from China-based smartphone vendors for production of entry-level and mid-tier smartphones, as well as orders from India for high-end feature phones, according to Digitimes Research.

In the 5G era, choosing the communication standards is not a core issue, but players need to decide which application market segments should be given priority. None of the 5G technology deployments will come cheap, and competition in commercial 5G operations will be capital-intensive under the "X as a Service" business model.

Pure Storage has worked with Nvidia and Arista Networks to jointly create AI Ready Infrastructure (AIRI) that is able to assist its clients with demand for AI applications.The company's FlashBlade series servers will be the initial product line to feature the infrastructure.

Seen as an extension to the ongoing bilateral trade spats, the US Department of Commerce has imposed a ban on ZTE for sanctions violations, prohibiting American firms from selling components to the China telecom equipment maker for seven years. The move has not only dealt a heavy blow to ZTE, but may also threaten the development of industry value chains.