China-based vendors shipped 128.6 million smartphones globally in the first quarter of 2016, decreasing 20.2% on quarter but increasing 33.3% on year and accounting for 41.5% of the global total, according to Digitimes Research.Of the shipments, 45.6 million units were shipped in overseas markets, slipping 40.7% on quarter but growing 27.3% on year, Digitimes Research indicated.Huawei Technologies was the largest vendor shipping 25.7 million smartphones in the first quarter, followed by Oppo with 15 million units, BBK 12.5 million, Xiaomi Technology 9.2 million, TCL Communication Technology eight million, ZTE 6.2 million, Coolpad six million, GiONEE 5.9 million, Lenovo 5.4 million and Meizu with 3.8 million units.Huawei accounted for 25.4% of first-quarter smartphone exports, TCL 14.5%, Lenovo 9.2%, ZTE 9%, Oppo 6.4%, GiONEE 3.3% and Xiaomi 2.6%.

Taiwan-based TFT-LCD panel makers shipped 49.42 million large-size (9-inch and above) panels during the first quarter of 2016, decreasing 17.8% on quarter and 17.9% on year and accounting for 33% of the global total, according to Digitimes Research.In comparison, South Korea-based makers, Samsung Display and LG Display, had combined large-size panel shipments for the first quarter slip 14% on quarter, while combined shipments for Japan- and China-based makers declined 20% and 5%, Digitimes Research indicated.Of large-size panels shipped by Taiwan-based makers in the first quarter, 35.23% were used in notebooks, 30.82% in TVs, 21.63% in monitors, 9.59% in tablets and 2.73% other applications.Among Taiwan-based makers, AU Optronics and Innolux accounted for 48.5% and 47.1%, respectively, of first-quarter shipments.

Taiwan-based makers shipped 270.477 million small- to medium-size TFT-LCD panels in the first quarter of 2016, slipping 4.8% on quarter and 6.2% on year, according to Digitimes Research.a-Si TFT-LCD panels took up 90.5% of the shipments and LTPS panels 9.5%, Digitimes Research indicated. In terms of application, handsets accounted for 74.4% of shipments, tablets 6.5%, automotive displays 5.6%, digital cameras 3.3% and PNDs 2.8%.Chunghwa Picture Tubes was the largest maker accounting for 36.3% of shipments, HannStar Display 31.5% and Innolux 17.4%.Shipments in the second quarter are forecast at 307.647 million panels, increasing 13.7% on quarter and 7.1% on year.

Taiwan-based makers shipped 7.35 million LCD TVs in the first quarter of 2016, decreasing 28.2% on quarter and 1.7% on year. 62.2% of shipments were ODM/OEM orders and 37.8% OBM, according to Digitimes Research.Asia accounted for 42.4% of the shipments, North America 37.9%, Europe 18.4% and other markets 1.4%, Digitimes Research indicated.In terms of screen size, below 32-inch models accounted for 9.2% of shipments, 32-inch ones 23.0%, 39-inch 2.6%, 40- and 43-inch 26.6%, 46- to 49-inch 7.7%, and 50-inch and above 30.9%.TPV Technology was the largest maker taking up 55.8% of the shipments, followed by Foxconn Electronics with 20.4%, AmTran Technology with 7.8%, Compal Electronics with 7.1% and Wistron with 5.2%.Shipments in the second quarter are forecast at 7.994 million units.

Japan-based Nichia continued to rank the number one LED packaging service provider globally in 2015 with related revenues reaching US$2.72 billion, or about 200% higher than those generated by the second to fourth largest vendors, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan-based Everlight Electronics ranked second with revenues totaling US$895 million in 2015, followed by Seoul Semiconductor with US$893.1 million, Osram Opto Semiconductors US$881.9 million, LG Innotek US$693.6 million and Cree US$578.2 million.In terms of revenue growth rate, China-based Hongli Opto-Electronic and NationStar Optoelectronics led all LED packagers, with their revenues growing 60.3% and 25.5%, respectively, on year in 2015. Both companies plan to continue to ramp capacity in 2016, Digitimes Research noted.In fact, Nichia's 2015 LED revenues were lower than those it generated a year earlier, affected mainly by lower-than-expected demand for LED backlight products in emerging markets, particularly in China, where sales shed 32.2% on year in 2015. The operating margin of Nichia's optical semiconductor business stood at 28% in 2015, down 1.5pp from a year earlier.Hongli's high revenue growth rate recorded in 2015 was attributed to its capacity ramps and the acquisition of fellow company Smalite Optoelectronics, said Digitimes Research, adding that the company plans to ramp its capacity to 3.2 billion units a month in the first half of 2016. NationStar will also expand its LED packaging capacity in 2016.Osram's revenue growth rate in 2015 was the third highest among all LED packagers, led by automobile-use and invisible LED products. Seoul Semiconductor also saw its revenues grow significantly in 2015 thanks to new clients from the handset sector. However, LG Innotek and Cree both suffered a decline of over 20% in 2015 revenues.

Taiwan-based ODMs, OEMs and OBMs together shipped 19.041 million LCD monitors in the first quarter of 2016, decreasing 10.6% on quarter but increasing 3.7% on year and accounting for 66.9% of global total, according to Digitimes Research.The corresponding shipment value of US$2.063 billion slipped 12.2% on quarter and 3.5% on year, Digitimes Research indicated.15- to 17-inch LCD monitors accounted for 3.8% of the shipment volume, 18- to 19.5-inch ones for 21.8%, 20- to 21.5-inch 29.3%, 22- to 26-inch 35.8%, and 27- and above 9.1%.TPV Technology was the largest Taiwan-based maker accounting for 52.6% of the shipment volume, followed by Qisda 22.1%, Foxconn Electronics 16%, Wistron 8.9% and Compal Electronics 0.4%.Dell was the largest client, followed by HP, Lenovo, Acer and Asustek Computer.

Sony is the largest CMOS image sensor vendor worldwide and its products mainly go to the consumer sector. Weakening demand for smartphone has impacted the business's recent performances, but Sony has been strengthening its car-use image sensor technology after acquiring Toshiba's image sensor plants in Oita, Japan. With growing popularity for driving assistance systems, Digitimes Research expects demand for car-use image sensors to pick up and reach a scale of US$900 million worldwide by 2020.In the short term, from 2016-2018, most countries will include automatic emergency braking systems as an item for evaluating car safety, and in 2018 night sensor functions are expected to be included. Strengthening image sensor's ability will become a key direction for image sensor makers. As for the long term, by 2035, one in every four cars will feature semi-automatic or full-automatic driving technology and each of these cars will use up to 19 image sensors.Digitimes Research expects the car-use image sensor market to grow from US$440 million in 2015 to US$900 million in 2020. Sony's developments for car-use image sensor are focusing maintaining stable black level in high-temperature environments, reducing signal noise, developing high dynamic range imaging and enhancing image recognition in bad weather.

Samsung Display and LG Display have been actively promoting PID (public information display) applications for digital signage, shipping large Ultra HD panels and transparent panels, and forming international partnerships via mergers or joint ventures, according to Digitimes Research.Samsung Electronics in March 2015 acquired YESCO Electronics, an LED sign and display subsidiary maker of US-based Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO), while LG Electronics has established a joint venture, LG MRI, with US-based digital display/array supplier Manufacturing Resources International (MRI), Digitimes Research indicated.To improve operational convenience of digital signage platforms, Samsung Electronics has offered Samsung Smart Signage Platform to free digital signage from connection with PCs or multimedia players, while LG Electronics uses webOS purchased from Hewlett-Packard (HP) to enable control of digital signage content via smartphones or tablets.

Shipments of Oculus' first virtual reality (VR) device, the Rift CV1, will be delayed to August due to a shortage of parts. While Oculus is reluctant to reveal which components are in short supply, Digitimes Research's sources indicate that there is a shortage of its customized Fresnel lenses.Additionally, digital games running on the Rift have been cracked. Impeded by both hardware and software issues, the Rift CV1 may find it difficult to compete with the HTC Vive for the title of the best-selling HMD (head-mounted display) VR device in 2016. Sophisticated optical design for the lenses and an unsmooth manufacturing process at a new supplier have resulted in a low yield rate of Fresnel lenses, affecting shipments of the Rift. The issue is unlikely to be solved promptly as the optical features, display and chassis of the VR device may have to be re-designed, Digitimes Research commented.While the optical designs, including the use of AMOLED panels and Fresnel lenses, for the Vive and the Rift are comparable, HTC has managed to maintain a smooth and sufficient supply of parts and components at its supply chain, optimizing its expertise gained from the manufacture of smartphones, said the sources.The shipment ratio of the Rift CV 1 and HTC Vive in the global PC market in 2016 is expected to stand at 3:7, and the situation could turn worse for Oculus if it fails to address the supply issue fast enough, Digitimes Research believes.

SoC-based graphics cards were the most widely adopted GPU product in 2015 with a market share over 70%. CPU with integrated GPU was the second-largest GPU products, but its market share has been dropping every year because of the PC market's weakening demand. Shipments of discrete graphics cards have also been dropping along with the weakening PC shipments, but AMD's and Nvidia's new GPU architectures are expected to help heat up related shipments in 2016. AMD's new architecture, which has advantages in supporting DirectX 12, will give AMD a chance to narrow its gap with Nvidia.Although AMD's GPU product types and shipments are both far higher than those of Nvidia, AMD is only seeing thin profits from product lines such as semi-custom and APU products, while its discrete graphics card business has been seriously suppressed by Nvidia. However, in 2016, with better control in graphics technology standards and a product schedule that catches up with competitors, Digitimes Research believes AMD will be able to gain market share from Nvidia.Nvidia has high shares in high-end and professional graphics card markets. Although the company has withdrawn from the mobile communication chip market, its operation in high-end embedded applications such as car electronics products will continue to contribute strong profits. However, the company is expected to face rising pressure in the discrete graphics card market in 2016.For the SoC-based GPU, mobile communication chips, which are mainly application processor (AP), account for the largest share in the product sector and ARM is the largest player in the AP GPU market with an over 50% market share in 2015.GPU IP player Imagination is losing market to ARM as it is seeing issues pushing its mid-range products, causing demand for its products in China to drop and it only had a market share of 18.3% in 2015.Qualcomm also saw its market share in the AP GPU market decline in 2015 because its high-end products achieved weaker-than-expected sales. However, Qualcomm's share is expected to rise in 2016.