Worldwide tablet shipments dropped 9.4% sequentially and 13.2% on year to reach only around 40 million units in the second quarter of 2016. This was due to overall weak demand for tablets; seasonality; dropping sales of Wi-Fi-only tablets, tablets with phone functionality and 2-in-1 devices; and shortages for key components such as panels.

Shipment of mobile application processors for smartphones and tablets in the China market are expected to grow 18.6% in the second half of 2016 from those shipped in the first half of the year due to seasonal demand and inventory build-ups for the first quarter of 2017, according to Digitimes Research.

Panasonic has started production at new automotive Li battery factories in Japan, the US and China and is expected to maintain the status as the global largest maker. In addition, Panasonic has extended production to LED automotive lighting, according to Digitimes Research.

Global tablet shipments will bounce back 16.3% sequentially to reach nearly 47 million units in the third quarter, but the volume will still be down over 10% compared to the same quarter a year ago, showing the market is still in no condition of recovering, according to Digitimes Research.

China's mobile application processor (AP) market is forecast to reach a total of 166 million units in the second quarter of 2016, up 7.8% sequentially, according to Digitimes Research.

Qualcomm will manage to extend its lead in the smartphone applications processor market in the second half of 2016 thanks to its competitive high-end and mid-range solutions, according to Digitimes Research.

The Japan Revitalization Strategy 2016 calls for the development of key technologies related to the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), including IoT, robot and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and also aims to push Japan's GDP to reach JPY600 trillion (US$5.992 trillion) by 2021 by focusing on a number of emerging industries such as self-driving, medicare and smart factories...

China is set to improve the self-sufficiency rate for ICs in the nation to 40% in 2020, and could even exceed the target ratio, according to Digitimes Research.

The top-5 notebook brand vendors saw their combined shipments drop 32% on month and the top-3 ODMs together saw a decline of 25% in July due to increased channel inventory pileup, weakening demand for Chromebooks because of the slow season, vendors' conservative shipments prior to the release of new Wintel products, and the fact that some vendors started aggressive price competition in Europe and...

Shipments of white-box tablets are expected to reach 39 million units in the second half of 2016, a 30% increase compared to those shipped in the first half of the year, buoyed by an easing in component supplies and pricing, as well as an expected pick-up in demand from the US and Europe, according to Digitimes Research.