The display industry is having a tough time this year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. But makers in the upstream supply chain are having extra pressure from South Korean LCD panel vendors' moves to close production lines, reducing demand for glass substrates and other materials. In China's handset market, which has also been hard hit by the pandemic, major local vendors are learning from Apple's marketing strategy as shown in its launch of the new iPhone SE, and are banking on low-price 5G smartphones to shore up their sales. But much uncertainty is still lying ahead in the handset market. Taiwanese handset-use HDI board makers still see significant orders at present, but visibility beyond second-quarter 2020 is opaque.
Glass substrate landscape changing in line with reductions in Korea LCD fabs: The global landscape for the supply of display glass substrates is changing along with the moves by Samsung Display and LG Display to gradually withdraw from the LCD panel market.
Huawei, Xiaomi roll out cheaper 5G phones in China: Competition in China's 5G phone market has extended to the entry-level to mid-range segments earlier than expected as vendors including Huawei, Xiaomi and Hisense have rolled out 5G models priced between CNY2,000-3,000 (US$280-421), according to market observers.
Taiwan handset HDI board makers cautious about 2H20: Taiwan's makers of handset-use HDI boards have yet to feel the pinch of waning handset sales so far this year and are expected to enjoy stable shipments through second-quarter 2020, but they are cautious about prospect for the second half of the year, according to industry sources.
