Taiwan's large-size TFT LCD panel shipments (excluding Sharp's) for first-quarter 2021 slipped 3.4% sequentially but grew 51.5% on year to 72.25 million pieces, according to Digitimes Research.Shipments of notebook-use panels from Taiwan vendors saw a smaller sequential decrease of 2.6% in the first quarter, thanks partly to AUO and Innolux remaining among the world's top-3 vendors for the segment and partly to HannStar Display switching part of its capacity for handset panels to notebook ones, Digitimes Research's numbers show.In the first quarter, Chinese panel makers saw their shipments continue rising to 45% of global total. By contrast, Samsung Display's LCD panel shipments for TV and monitor applications shrank sharply in the quarter, as its LCD production lines in South Korea were being converted to produce QD-OLED panels and its plant in Suzhou, China was undertaking an ownership transfer to China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT).Digitimes Research estimates overall demand for LCD panels will stay strong in the second quarter, with the quarter's shipments of large-size panels from Taiwan suppliers expected to spike 3.5% sequentially and 16.2% on year. The sequential growth, however, is likely to be lower than the industry average as AUO has part of its equipment undertake annual maintenance, apart from shrinkages in demand for white-box tablets.Second-quarter shipments for TV and IT applications will see higher sequential increases than other applications in the second quarter as demand for stay-at-home activities will stay robust amid rebounding global virus infections.In terms of capacity expansion, Taiwan panel makers are expected to focus more on increasing capacity for notebook applications through the end of 2021.

EMS giant Foxconn, taking a step further in its transformation, has formed a joint venture with passive component maker Yageo for the development and sales of what they call "small ICs" - semiconductor chips with ASP lower than US$2.00. Meanwhile, TSMC has seen orders from Bitmain pick up for 5nm chips used in cryptomining. TSMC is also expected to make 6nm processors for Sony's redesigned PS5 games console.Foxconn, Yageo to form semiconductor JV: Foxconn (Hon Hai) Technology Group and Yageo have announced plans to form a joint venture for the development and sale of semiconductors.TSMC sees orders for cryptomining chips pick up: Bitmain, a vendor of bitcoin mining ASICs and equipment, has placed 5nm chip orders with TSMC with production slated to kick off starting the third quarter, according to industry sources.Suppliers to gear up for PS5 redesign: Suppliers including foundry TSMC are expected to kick off production for the redesign of Sony's PlayStation 5 (PS5) games console between the second and third quarters of 2022, according to industry sources.

Changes in consumption habits are urging retailers to accelerate the pace of smartization. Under this trend, the weight carried by POS systems and kiosks, which play important roles in the operation of physical stores, will gradually increase. As a major IT system provider for retail and catering industries, DataVan International Corporation recently acquired industrial computer manufacturer Maincon Corporation in order to strengthen product layouts and service capabilities.DataVan International Corporation's Executive Director Mao-cheng Hsu of the Technology Department and Vice General Manager Yi-ching Chen of the General Administration Department both expressed that the two companies will perfectly complement each other in the areas of technology and product marketing, leading to more comprehensive solutions for clients.DataVan International Corporation has many years of experience in the fields of IT systems for catering and retail industries, including POS systems and kiosks. The company's overall business performance has maintained steady growth despite the fact that many clients have been merged into other companies during the wave of mergers and acquisitions that started in the past few years. Yi-ching Chen stated that the company's main target markets are mostly occidental countries, and the x86 architecture is the focal point of its technology. Recently, the company has decided to expand into the Asian market and increase the proportion of its Android products, therefore, the decision to acquire Maincon Corporation was made. DataVan International Corporation has acquired 60% of Maincon Corporation's equity for now. Mao-cheng Hsu also stated that Maincon Corporation not only has all-round marketing networks in several Asian markets including Japan and Southeast Asia, but also has established great collaborative relationships with local major manufacturers. In terms of technology, Maincon Corporation has a strong foundation in the Android field. In recent years, Maincon Corporation has seen positive results of its substantial investment in AI; it already has practical solutions that can be implemented. These strengths will complement DataVan International Corporation.After the acquisition of Maincon Corporation, DataVan International Corporation will use Maincon Corporation's marketing networks in Asia to allow its products, including POS and kiosk systems, to smoothly enter the local markets. In addition, Maincon Corporation's Android and AI technologies will be utilized to create smart retail solutions, which will also be promoted in the existing European markets. Mao-cheng Hsu mentioned that Maincon Corporation has many successful cases of smart solutions under its belt. It previously worked with NESIC, a subsidiary of Japanese IT company NEC, in launching a smart epidemic prevention system. In addition to its success in the retail industry, Maincon Corporation also has substantial achievements in other fields, including industrial control and transportation. In the industrial control domain, the company has worked with AsusTek Computer in building an industrial safety surveillance platform; in the transportation domain, the company has assisted Malaysia in building a smart transportation system.Regarding future plans, Yi-ching Chen believes that smartization is an irreversible trend in the market, so DataVan International Corporation will integrate AI technologies and launch smart POS terminals as well as other retail equipment. In fact, in 2018 the company had already developed a smart solution that builds AI machine vision into POS machines. It allows quick product identification and speeds up checkouts. However, the global market was affected by the pandemic in 2020, forcing product plans to be suspended. Depending on market recovery, the plans will resume in the future. Moreover, DataVan International Corporation will also launch POS machine models with remote monitoring. The function enables mangers to control POS devices located at different places and get hold of the devices' operating statuses via an online platform.In addition to smart POS systems, DataVan International Corporation also plans to extend its technology into other areas of the retail industry, including warehousing and logistics. Mao-cheng Hsu mentioned that, as the retail industry steps into the O2O era, online and offline transactions have begun to be tightly integrated. This trend has made it difficult for a POS system to satisfy the demands of a physical store. Upstream and downstream systems, including logistics and warehousing, must integrate to allow the seamless flow of information. This aids the creation of more diverse services. For example, smart shelves can enable the warehousing system to automatically generate the data of purchases, inventories and sales, which can be utilized by the store and logistics service providers.In another project of DataVan International Corporation, the company worked with an American client in creating an inventory-tracking smart robot system. Robotics and kiosks are the two main technologies integrated in this system. During the opening hours of a store, various product information and services are provided through kiosks; at night, robots automatically go around the store and track the types and numbers of products on the shelves. At present, DataVan International Corporation has shipped the kiosks to the United States, and the integrated inventory-tracking smart robot system is still in progress. In the future, aided by Maincon Corporation's AI technology, DataVan International Corporation will optimize the functions of the robots and market the product to the European market. Mao-cheng Hsu and Yi-ching Chen both stated that this project is the best example of how DataVan International Corporation and Maincon Corporation complement each other with their strengths. Projects similar to this one will emerge quickly as the pace of smartization accelerates in the retail market. DataVan International Corporation will use this investment plan to expand the company's operational arrangements and satisfy market demands with integrated solutions.DataVan International executive director of Technology, Mao-cheng Hsu (right) and vice GM of General Administration, Yi-ching Chen (left) both express that the strengths of their company and Maincon will complement each other; DataVan will let this investment plan be the core of the company's operational arrangement expansionPhoto: Digitimes, April 2021

Demand for white-box servers from datacenter operators has been growing fast, with Taiwanese ODM's shipments already accounting for more than one third of the world's total server shipments in 2020, according to Digitimes Research's latest Server Tracker quarterly report. Earlier this year, foundry house VIS set its 2021 capex budget at NT$5 billion, a sharp increase from last yea's level. Now it has raised the capex budget further to NT$8 billion to fund its capacity expansion. With persistently strong demand for ICs, silicon wafer supplier GloabalWafers expects sales momentum to remain robust through 2023.White-box ODMs see increasing penetration in global server shipments: White-box server ODMs such as Quanta Computer and Wiwynn saw their shipments to datacenter operators account for more than 38% of the global total server shipments in 2020, up 8pp from that in 2017, and the percentage is expected to rise further to 46% in the first half of 2021, according to Digitimes Research's latest figures from the Server Tracker.VIS raises capex outlook for 2021: Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) has raised its capex budget for 2021 by 70% to NT$8.5 billion (US$303.8 million), with plans to purchase more fab equipment supporting its long-term expansion projects.GlobalWafers expects silicon wafer demand to stay robust through 2023: Taiwan-based GlobalWafers has reported sequential growths in first-quarter shipments for silicon wafers of all sizes, and expects sales momentum to stay strong through 2023.

Taiwan's shipments of small- to medium-size LCD panels are expected to edge up 3.7% sequentially but decline 15% on year in the second quarter of 2021, after reaching 188 million units in the previous quarter, Digitimes Research estimates.The shipment volumes for the first quarter were down 2.4% sequentially but up 12.1% on year.While the sequential growth forecast for the second quarter is to be fueled by seasonal demand, the growing adoption of OLED panels for smartphone and tablet applications will contribute to the sharp annual reductions for LCD in the quarter, Digitimes Research notes.For the second quarter, Taiwan's LCD shipments for handset applications are forecast to grow 5.4% sequentially thanks to a ramp-up in the shipments by HannStar Display for feature phone panels.Taiwan's shipments of small- and mid-size LCD panels for tablets are expected to see a significant sequential decline in the second quarter due to shortages of related IC parts and reduced demand from some major clients, including Amazon.For all of 2021, Taiwan's shipments of small- and mid-size LCD panels are likely to fall 6.8% on year to 790 million units, Digitimes Research forecasts. The growing adoption of OLED for smartphones will continue to erode the market of LCD, and the increasing sizes of tablet panels, coupled with a shortage of driver ICs, will affect shipments for mid-size applications.

Smartphone shipments totaled 94.6 million units in the China market in the first quarter of 2021, up 9% sequentially and 99.6% on year, Digitimes Research has found.First-quarter smartphone shipments by Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo were their highest records for the same quarter, thanks to their stockpiles of handset chips and other components in advance, according to Digitimes Research.Huawei's smartphone shipments continued to dwindle in the first quarter, and shipments from Honor, a spun-off of Huawei, did not come in significant volumes as the vendor plans to launch mainstream models in the second quarter.Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Apple were the top five brands in China's handset market in the first quarter, accounting for a total of 91.8% share. Including Honor, the top-six brands accounted for 98% of the market.Looking ahead, most brands, except for Honor, are likely to see their shipments scale down in the second quarter due to the shortages of parts and components.Overall smartphone shipments in the China market are forecast to fall 19.3% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, Digitimes Research forecasts.

Backend service providers face as much as a 50% shortage of packaging materials from until June as a result of production issues at Japanese suppliers. MediaTek is prioritizing shipments for 5G chips, telling its Chinese handset clients that it is cutting output for 4G offerings amid tight foundry supply. Despite tight foundry capacity, TSMC has promised more support for the car industry. Demand for automotive chip probing services is expected to stay brisk throughout the year.OSATs face increasingly tight supply of packaging materials: OSATs have been notified by their Japan-based packaging materials suppliers including Showa Denko about a potential supply shortfall of as much as 50% between May and June, according to industry sources.MediaTek to scale down 4G mobile chip shipments: MediaTek has notified its China-based smartphone clients that it will scale down shipments of 4G chips in 2021 due to tight capacities at foundry houses, according to industry sources.Automotive chip probing demand to stay robust through end-2021: Wafer probing service providers have seen the visibility of orders for automotive chips extended to the end of 2021, as TSMC has committed capacity support to chip vendors, according to industry sources.

Global tablet shipments totaled 35.95 million units in the first quarter of 2021, down 22.7% sequentially, but 45.5% on year, meeting Digitimes Research's forecast in January.IC shortages only have had minor impacts on the tablet market, which has still been following its seasonal pattern. The sequential shipment decline in the first quarter was due to slow-season effect and volumes in the second quarter are expected to continue suffering from seasonality, witnessing a sequential drop of 6.6%, Digitimes Research's figures show.The global top-4 tablet brands in the first quarter were Apple, Samsung Electronics, Amazon and Lenovo. Huawei, which was a top-4 brand in 2020, dropped out in the first quarter of 2021 and will stop shipping tablets after the second quarter.Honor, which Huawei spun off, is unlikely to see any major improvement in tablet shipments in the short term as it will need some time to imporve its brand recognition.In the second quarter of 2021, Lenovo will ascend to third place and relegate Amazon to fourth, while Microsoft will become the fifth largest tablet brand worldwide.Apple's shipments will stay stable in the second quarter thanks to the release of its new iPad Pros, while most non-Apple brands will witness sequential declines in second-quarter shipments.White-box tablet vendors are being hit seriously by IC shortages with market shares taken over by brand vendors' inexpensive models. As a result, white-box tablets may be at risk of disappearing from the market in 2022.With Amazon's inexpensive tablets largely replacing white-box tablets in the first quarter, the shipment share of 8.x-inch tablets significantly increased from a quarter ago, causing the share of 10-inch and above tablets to slip. However, thanks to the release of the new iPad Pros, the shipment share of 11-inch and above tablets will grow to nearly 20%, a new record level.Taiwanese ODMs' tablet shipments slipped sequentially in the first quarter of 2021 due to reduced orders for the previous-generation iPad Pros, but the volumes will pick up in the second quarter thanks to orders for the new iPad Pros. Taiwan-based ODMs' combined shipments will also account for more than 40% of global tablet volumes.

Shipments of smartphone application processors for use by China-based handset vendors reached 212 million units in the first quarter of 2021, increasing 0.2% from a quarter earlier, according to data compiled by Digitimes Research.MediaTek remained the top smartphone AP vendor in China in the first quarter, with its share increasing 9.4pp to account for over 50% of total shipments. On the other hand, Qualcomm saw its market share slide 6.9pp during the same period.Smartphone AP shipments to the China market are likely to grow 9.6% sequentially and 29.2% on year in the second quarter, as replenishment demand from Chinese handset vendors remains robust. MediaTek and Qualcomm are gearing up to expand their shares in China's AP and power management (PWM) IC markets.However, Qualcomm will continue to feel shipment constraints from its production partner Samsung Electronics in the second quarter due to the tight capacity of 5nm and 8nm process nodes at the Korean semiconductor firm, Digitimes Research expects.MediaTek is expected to widen its lead on Qualcomm in the second quarter, as the Taiwan-based chipmaker is likely to enjoy high shipment growth for its 4G smartphone APs in China due to their high price/performance ratios plus strong capacity support from foundry houses.China-based Unisoc is likely to outrace domestic rival Hisilicon Technologies to become the third largest AP vendor in the local market in the second quarter.

US-based AI startup Beyond Limits will set up an R&D center in Taiwan in 2021, according to the company's Taiwan general manager Chang Chung-yi.Beyong Limits integrates numeric and symbolic AI to create cognitive AI, its core technology.Cognitive AI features the technological capability allowing human and machine intelligence to complement each other. Even in unfamiliar or unknown environments, cognitive AI can be used to make simple and efficient decisions via human-like thinking models, according to the company.Beyond Limits' business model is to develop software solutions specifically for use in certain industries, with such solutions eventually evolving to SaaS (software as a service) modules. That is, Beyond Limits provides industrial AI solutions to help enterprises solve problems in decision-making process.Beyond Limits has been extending application of cognitive AI from energy and manufacturing industries to industrial IoT, medical care and finance.While focusing on the North America and the Middle East markets, Beyond Limits entered the Asia Pacific market in 2020, setting up offices in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.In Taiwan, Beyond Limits will initially focus on Industry 4.0-based smart manufacturing.Beyong Limits Asia Pacific COO Tuan Le (from left), executive chairman David Liu and Taiwan general Manager Chang Chung-yiPhoto: Company