There will be an estimated 245.237 billion high-brightness LED chips shipped globally in 2016, increasing 31.8% on year, and the corresponding shipment value will reach US$12.821 billion, growing 3.4%, according to Digitimes Research.Lighting applications will account for 58.7% of shipments, of which usage will be 35.9% for LED light bulbs, 34.7% LED light tubes, 25.6% LED projection lamps and 3.8% LED street lamps, Digitimes Research indicated.Among other applications for high-brightness LED chips, mobile terminal devices will account for 13.4% of the shipment volume, display boards 6.5%, LCD TVs 5.7%, automobiles 5%, tablets 3.2%, notebooks 2.5% and LCD monitors 1.3%.

The China government as of December 2015 finalized investments of CNY1.7 billion (US$257.73 million) in China-based panel maker BOE and CNY1 billion in China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) in order to foster the nation's panel industry and further create competitive supply chain solutions, according to Digitimes Research.The central government and local governments throughout China have been proactive in working with investment firms and banks to provide loans in addition to investments with low return on investments. The strategy is geared toward providing a sound financial structure for China supply chain makers and to give the nation a more complete manufacturing industry.Media reports coming from China and Taiwan have stated the investments will initially be used to develop 8.5G fabs from the two makers despite expected oversupply in the market.Digitimes Research also recently found that while global large-size TFT-LCD panel shipments and revenues in 2015 are expected to decrease on year, BOE will see its large-size panel shipments and consolidated revenues for the year increase 43% and 37% respectively.

According to Digitimes Research, there were several developments that occurred in the smart home family segment throughout the end of 2015 into early 2016. Samsung Electronics announced that its entire 2016 Smart TV line-up will be Internet of Things (IoT) ready and connected with the SmartThings platform. SmartThings is an open platform that allows users to connect, manage and control smart devices and IoT services.Samsung has developed its own IoT hub technology with SmartThings for 2016 SUHD TVs meaning all Samsung's 2016 SUHD TVs will apply IoT hub technology, allowing the TV to act as the controller for the entire smart home. SUHD TVs can connect with and control Samsung devices and SmartThings sensors, as well as more than 200 other SmartThings compatible devices including everything from connected lights and locks to thermostats and cameras, from a wide range of high quality third party manufacturers, according to Samsung.Meanwhile, insurance companies including State Farm and Liberty Mutual have also bumped up efforts to promote smart home features to customers and even offer subsidies to those using the technology due to the advantages the technology has for reducing various risks and dangers in households.Additionally, Digitimes Research said Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) also announced it would be acquiring substantially all of the assets of the UPnP Forum. In exchange, OIC will offer membership to UPnP Forum members. The agreement will streamline and consolidate efforts around both organizations' technologies and infrastructure, leading to increased alignment on standardization for IoT.

Although Intel achieved a good market share in the tablet market in 2014 with an aggressive subsidy strategy, its overall shipments in 2015 only performed moderately instead of seeing strong growth as expected due to it cutting tablet solution subsidies and unsatisfactory smartphone solution shipments in 2015.The main factor that impacted Intel's mobile solution shipments in 2015 was issues with its product mix. Intel planned to phase out its Bay Trail-based solutions starting the second half of 2015, but the successor, Cherry Trail's, high prices and reduced subsidies plus the entry-level SoFIA solution's problems in software and coordination with the manufacturing process, which caused chips to have high power consumption issues, deterred clients from placing more orders, according to Digitimes Research.For 2016, Intel will continue to push its entry-level SoFIA SoC as its main product for the smartphone and tablet markets. The solution will later be integrated with a 4G baseband to help it become more competitive in the market. However, Digitimes Research believes the SoFIA 4G solution's performance will still be weaker than its competitors and Intel will need to rely on low prices and providing subsidies to sell the chips.For the Atom-series product line, Intel will mainly push its Cherry Trail baseband-less solution. The solution is expected to be adopted in some smartphones and will see good demand from makers of dual-OS tablet products as it is one of a few available solutions on the market that offers the performance of a productivity platform.

Since releasing their spring-season digital still camera (DSC) models in the first quarter of 2015, DSC vendors have launched very limited number of new devices, showing that they no longer have much interest in the DSC market, according to Digitimes Research's latest finding.The only exceptions are Sony and Canon, both of whom still released new DSCs every quarter during 2015. In the fourth quarter, both released high-end DSC models featuring large image sensors in order to differentiate their devices from smartphone cameras, Digitimes Research's report noted.After launching its high-end RX10 II and RX100 IV - which use stacked CMOS image sensors with DRAM chips - in third-quarter 2015, Sony released the RX1R II, featuring a full-frame CMOS sensor in the fourth quarter and bringing 40-megapixel resolution into the consumer DSC market.Meanwhile, Canon launched the G5 X and G9 X both equipped with a 1-inch 20.2-megapixel CMOS sensor in the fourth quarter. The G5 X has more features and is targeting mainly the high-end market, while the G9 X is more price friendly and is thinner and lighter.

Apple's iPhone shipments are expected to have registered single-digit percentage growth on year in the fourth quarter of 2015, but shipments are likely to drop 5.2-10.1% on year in the first quarter of 2016 as sales of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus both performed weaker than expected, according to Digitimes Research's latest iPhone report. However, the decline rate of iPhone sales in the first quarter of 2016 will be significant lower than orders to OEM iPhone makers and component suppliers for the quarter.Shipments of iPhone devices grew by an annual growth rate of over 50% from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015 after Apple launched its iPhone 6/6 Plus in late September 2014. Although on-year growth slowed to 36% in the third quarter of 2015, sales of iPhone products accounted for over 60% of Apple's total revenues for four consecutive quarters through the quarter.Digitimes Research attributed the lackluster performance of the iPhone 6s/6s Plus to the impact of their iPhone 6 predecessors, which featured larger screens, and thus attracted high interest among consumers.Consequently, combined iPhone shipments for the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 are likely to lie within a range of 5% up or down as compared to combined shipments the same period of a year earlier, Digitimes Research estimated.Digitimes Research also found that there was a significant gap between the production volume of iPhone 6s/6s Plus by OEM suppliers and the sales volume of these devices by Apple for the third quarter of 2015 (Apple's fiscal fourth quarter of 2015). As a result, a total of 13-15 million iPhone 6s devices will be booked as deferred sales by Apple for the fourth quarter of 2015 (Apple's fiscal first-quarter 2016).Given that OEM iPhone orders for the fourth quarter of 2015 totaled over 75 million units, Digitimes Research believes that deferred sales booking will continue in the first quarter of 2016, widening the gap between end-market sales and orders to OEM suppliers for the quarter.

Taiwan makers' shipments of touch panels used in handset and notebook applications increased 21% and 33.9% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Digitimes Research. Shipments for tablet applications increased only 4.7% due to weak product demand from customers, except Amazon.The tablet market has been shrinking and overall shipments for Apple tablet products 10-inch and below have been weakening. China vendors have also seen their white-box tablet sales decline, which has put a strain on tablet touch panel orders to China.Makers outside of Greater China meanwhile also saw strong handset touch panel shipments in the fourth quarter, surpassing Taiwan makers with overall 28.5% sequential growth, largely as a result of orders from Apple and Samsung Electronics.In terms of technology, demand for on-cell used in various applications has been on the rise, with Taiwan makers' overall shipments of the technology growing 28.5% on quarter during the fourth quarter. Innolux, HannStar Display and Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) have all strengthened their presence in the market, with Innolux bumping up shipments to customers such as Motorola and Asustek. CPT and HannStar meanwhile increased shipments to ZTE, Coolpad and TCL for handset applications.Digitimes Research also noted that China makers' shipments of glass touch panels for handset applications saw only 16.7% growth due to rising demand for touch embedded applications.

Panel makers are expressing growing optimism for the vehicle display segment due to increased demand for smart and connected cars, according to Digitimes Research.Currently vehicle displays are primarily found in high-end units but trends in the market show that entry-level and mid-range cars will also be incorporating the technology in newer released units.As many as six displays found in vehicles are being used for dashboard, navigation and backseat entertainment purposes throughout higher-end vehicles already, which will extend into other car divisions in the future.Pricing for vehicle displays is on the decline and production technology for the segment is improving, which means that more vendors are likely to incorporate vehicle displays following connectivity trends in the car and other vehicle segments.Panel makers also believe that profits from the segment will remain relatively high compared with other segments such as the handset market, which makers are now seeing declining profit margins at around 5-10%.Innolux, AU Optronics (AUO), LG Display and Sharp are all competing makers in the segement and expect steady demand in the first quarter of 2016, added Digitimes Research.

The Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM) under the South Korea Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning has reached one micron level electronic linewidth used in roll-to-roll printing, which will help push Korean makers' in-cell touch panel developments used in large-size and flexible panel applications, according to Digitimes Research.The improved production process will allow for increaed conductivity, leading to steadier printing onto flexible substrates as a result, and also reduce wasted materials used during printing.Most touch sensors use transparant ITO conductive film, which has low conductivity and often not suitable for large-size applications. KIMM's process improves this feature and also allow for increased rolling and curved features for small- to medium-size applications and even large-size units.Digitimes Research said KIMM has been developing the technology in conjunction with LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics primarily in applications 10-inch and above, with aim at the flexible and IoT segments in particular.

Starting out as an OEM subcontracting jobs to laborers working at home 40 years ago, Conquer has now become the leader in fuse components. In the 1970s and 1980s when home appliances were being manufactured for exports, the production of traditional fuses generated considerable revenue for Conquer. Now half of the notebook PCs around the world use Conquer fuses."The history of Conquer's development is an exact reflection of the history of the development of Taiwan's industry," says Poshuo Chiu, Vice President, Conquer Electronics. "Early OEM production for PCBs often encountered problems of incompatible fuse specs or sizes. Subsequently along with the boom in the home appliance sector, Conquer was able to reach a peak in business. Now the close partnership with Delta Electronics where we provide a variety of customized products introduces challenges to our transition to a new phase."Undaunted by the red supply chain, Conquer secures the leading position with superior product offeringsConquer ships nearly 70% of products to China, so when the shipping costs are taken into consideration, Conquer products have no obvious pricing advantage. However, Conquer products still sell like hotcakes on the market because of the company's quick response to changes and superior product quality, both of which underlie Conquer's success.Furthermore, it is generally difficult for traditional passive component makers to undertake transformation. After a smooth business transition, Conquer products are now used not only in home appliances and ICT electronics, but also in Telsa charging posts, dual-wheel scooters, as well as in-vehicle infotainment systems and navigation equipment. Areas of future applications including electric power equipment, high-tech precision instruments, medical equipment, and even aerospace industry are all within Conquer's expansion plans.Conquer raises the barrier to competition by utilizing automated production and fast adjusting business plansAs a matter of fact, after manufacturing at Conquer gradually upgraded to automated production lines, pressure has shifted to its rivals. Although most competitors have production based in China, Conquer relies on its automated production lines, precise production estimates and logistics centers in China to accelerate shipments to customers, which take only one to four weeks, compared to competitors who need at least six weeks to deliver their products to clients. Conquer far surpasses its rivals in terms of both product quality and delivery, so factory location is of no concern.In addition, Conquer is expanding to North American and European markets. Conquer will see its products used in a wider variety of applications and will also make efforts to develop more miniature models to meet the requirements of mobile devices. "Maximizing application areas and minimizing product size is our development goal. The world can expect to see Conquer products in various applications from automobile electronics to energy industry," indicates Poshuo Chiu.Poshuo Chiu, Vice President, Conquer Electronics. With nearly 40 years of development, Conquer has become a world-class fuse supplier. The company is also transitioning to a new era with innovative thinking and implementation, as the second generation of management takes charge of business operations.