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.
More chipset vendors have become more serious about the development of the commercial drone market and have come out with related IC parts targeting the emerging market, according to Digitimes Research.Qualcomm has introduced its Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight platform for consumer drones and robotics applications. The Snapdragon Flight, which is based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, features 4K high resolution camera support, image enhancement and video processing capabilities.Nvidia has also launched two chipset modules, the Tegra X1 and Jetson TX1, for consumer drone products. The two chipset modules feature strong graphics computing capability which can enhance the visual recognition applications of drones, Digitimes Research noted.Both Qualcomm's and Nvidia's chipset platforms have been adopted by commercial drone makers. The difference is that the Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight solutions are being used as main controlling systems for high-end drones, while Nvidia's platforms are chosen as affixation systems, said Digitimes Research.Digiitimes Research noted, however, that the drone market is young and that the role of vendors in the market has not been solidified at this point.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in March 2015 ended specification of Release 12 (R12) standards which enabled seamless switching between FDD and TD under LTE Advanced, strengthened communication performance of LTE Small Cells and provided preliminary definitions and standards for IoT communications, according to Digitimes Research.While 3GPP R8 and R9 paved the way for smooth transition from post-3G (HSPA+) to LTE (4G) and R10 defined many 4G standards and R11 enhanced LTE functions, R12 and R13 focused on advancement and extension of LTE functionality based on existing LTE architecture and can be regarded as transition from 4G to 5G, Digitimes Research indicated. 3GPP is expected to start R14 specification of preliminary standards for 5G technology in 2016.Benefits from application of carrier aggregation (CA) technology to FDD LTE networks are much more than those from such application to TD-LTE networks.
South Korea is expected to adopt AMOLED display technology, PI (polyimide) plastic substrates, organic TFT driving technology and roll-to-roll process to develop large-size flexible displays in 2016, according to Digitimes Research.Display technology, substrate materials and driving technology are key to flexible displays, Digitimes Research indicated. AMOLED, LCD and E-ink's electronic paper can be adopted for flexible displays, while available substrate materials include plastic, metal foil, ultra-thin glass and paper. As for driving technologies, there are a-Si TFT, low-temperature poly-Si TFT, oxide TFT and organic TFT.For substrate materials, plastic is better than ultra-thin glass in flexibility and more transparent than metal foil and paper. Among different plastic materials, PI is the best in chemical and thermal resistance and insulation.Therefore, the choice of AMOLED, PI, organic TFT and roll-to-roll process seems to be the optimal combination for developing large-size flexible displays.
Utilization rates at Taiwan's top-three IC foundries will fall further to 85.8% in the fourth quarter of 2015 - the lowest level in 13 quarters, according to Digitimes Research.The utilization rate for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics (UMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) climbed to 101.1% in the first quarter of 2015, but started to fall since due to disappointing end-market demand which has dragged down orders from chip suppliers, said Digitimes Research. Utilization rates at the foundries fell to 96.6% in the second quarter and reached 92% in the third.Falliing utilization rates are affecting negatively foundry ASPs in the fourth quarter of 2015, which are estimated at US$1,136.80 compared with US$1,154.20 in the prior quarter, Digitimes Research indicated.The top-three Taiwan foundries are forecast to generate a combined US$7.39 billion in the fourth quarter, down 6.5% sequentially, Digitimes Research said. The quarter also marked the fourth consecutive quarter of decline.The top-three Taiwan foundries' combined revenues for fourth-quarter 2015 will be down about 14.9% compared with US$8.62 billion a year ago, Digitimes Research said. It would be the first time since first-quarter 2012 that the foundries saw a more than 10% on-year decrease.
South Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has been developing guest-host LCD and polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), two new transparent display technologies based on doping red, green, blue and black dyestuff, and expects to finish development in February 2016, according to Digitimes Research.Transparent display technologies include OLED, TFT-LCD, guest-host LCD, PDLC and electro chromic, and Samsung Display and LG Display have been developing OLED transparent display panels, Digitimes Research indicated. While guest-host LCD and PDLC are superior to electro chromic but inferior to OLED in color rendering performance, the two technologies consume less power and have longer service lives than electro chromic and OLED.Global market value for transparent displays will grow from US$1 billion in 2016 to US$2.2 billion in 2019 and further to US$2.7 billion in 2020, Digitimes Research cited ETRI as indicating.ETRI has obtained several patents concerning the chemical structure of dyestuff, manufacturing processes and evaluating methods related to guest-host LCD and PDLC and will transfer them to South Korea-based panel makers after February 2016.
