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Thursday 18 September 2025
Commentary: China's tech industry eyes global expansion at homegrown expos
A pair of major technology expositions in China has concluded, offering a look into the country's tech supply chain, which is navigating US trade tensions with a firm commitment to self-reliance. The China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE) and the SEMI-e Shenzhen International Semiconductor Exhibition underscored both the ambition and inherent challenges facing the industry
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Wednesday 17 September 2025
Commentary: Handcuffing workers shocks South Korea; MAGA strategy risks backfiring
On July 30, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would reduce the "reciprocal tariff" rate imposed on South Korea from 25% to 15%. In return, South Korea pledged to invest US$350 billion in the US, with 90% of the investment profits returning to America. However, by mid-September, hundreds of South Korean workers were handcuffed and detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to visa violations. Could this incident severely damage Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) agenda
Wednesday 17 September 2025
Commentary: Smartphone chipmakers rebrand as Qualcomm, Apple, MediaTek, and Xiaomi refresh product names to stay competitive
Qualcomm will unveil its latest Snapdragon flagship mobile platform next week and has officially confirmed the chip will be called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The move comes as part of a wider trend in the smartphone supply chain, where companies from Apple to MediaTek and Xiaomi have embraced renaming strategies across software, chip platforms, and flagship devices. The wave has fueled speculation that a lack of innovation is prompting the industry to turn to rebranding in search of renewed consumer attention
Wednesday 17 September 2025
Aiming to become the next Google: Q&A with Taiwan Mobile president Jamie Lin
Taiwan's telecom industry has entered a new era of three-way competition following the mergers of Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Star Telecom, and of Far EasTone (FET) and Asia Pacific Telecom, ending the fragmented market landscape. In an exclusive interview with DIGITIMES, Taiwan Mobile president Jamie Lin emphasized that with the core telecom market stabilized, the future development paths of the top three operators will diverge significantly, with the decisive factor being their new businesses
Wednesday 17 September 2025
Exclusive interview: NXP prepares October CEO change, underscores Taiwan’s edge-AI ecosystem
Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors plans to complete its CEO transition by October 2025. Current CEO Kurt Sievers, who will remain in the position until then, made what is likely his final visit to Taiwan as chief executive during SEMICON Taiwan 2025. Incoming CEO Rafael Sotomayor also attended the event and met with Taiwanese partners as part of the planned leadership change
Wednesday 17 September 2025
NXP outlines SDV, robotics, and smart-glasses plans as new leadership prepares to take charge
Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors plans to complete its CEO transition by October 2025. Current CEO Kurt Sievers, who will remain in the position until then, made what is likely his final visit to Taiwan as chief executive during SEMICON Taiwan 2025. Incoming CEO Rafael Sotomayor also attended the event and met with Taiwanese partners as part of the planned leadership change
Saturday 13 September 2025
Commentary: China's chip sector faces the citizenship question
Talent has long been the defining currency in the global semiconductor race. For decades, Chinese-born engineers with deep overseas experience drove China's rapid catch-up, fueling its chip ambitions through a steady flow of returning expertise
Friday 12 September 2025
Commentary: MicroLED is lighting up display industry, but can it open new doors?
AUO recently announced a collaboration with leading satellite navigation and smart wearable brand Garmin to launch the world's first smartwatch featuring microLED display technology, the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro microLED. The new watch is equipped with a 1.4-inch, 326 PPI high-resolution screen that offers high brightness, ultra-high dynamic contrast, and saturated colors, ensuring clear visibility even under strong light or extreme conditions—making it especially suitable for outdoor sports and adventure needs
Wednesday 10 September 2025
Commentary: Decoding the new semiconductor world order
The semiconductor landscape has fundamentally shifted. As we move from 2025 to 2026, three forces dominate global technology discourse: semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and the Trump administration's trade policies. In Japan and South Korea, semiconductors are aptly called the "rice of industry"—and in our data-driven economy, this metaphor has never been more relevant
Wednesday 10 September 2025
Commentary: YMTC's decade-long march, leadership shifts, and the undercurrent of China's memory substitution drive
YMTC, China's leading NAND flash producer, has unveiled a US$2.9 billion Phase III venture in Wuhan, signaling its determination to scale up capacity and sharpen its edge in next-generation memory chips. The move not only underscores Beijing's backing of a national champion but also raises the stakes in the intensifying global memory race
Tuesday 9 September 2025
Research Insights: Global auto market forms multi-track pattern
The global automotive market reached total sales of 44.42 million units in the first half of 2025, marking a year-over-year increase of 2.7%. Among these, the combined sales volume of the three major markets—China, the US, and Europe—totaled 27.48 million units, accounting for 61.9% of the global share, and they remain the core of the worldwide automotive industry
Monday 8 September 2025
Commentary: Intel's Faustian bargain trades independence for survival
The Trump administration recently announced it would acquire nearly 10% of Intel's shares, becoming its largest shareholder. This move marks one of the most notable government interventions in a private company since the US government's bailout of the automotive industry during the 2008 financial crisis
Friday 5 September 2025
Commentary: As Trump heightens global tensions, Taiwan needs to consider industrial policy responses
US President Donald Trump's imposition of reciprocal tariffs and aggressive "Make America Great Again" measures has deepened political and economic rifts even among allies, undermining long-standing trust and reliance on the US. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Tianjin, China, on September 1 brought together major powers including China, Russia, India, and Iran. This was soon followed by a grand military parade on September 3, during which the heads of state of North Korea and Russia joined Chinese leaders, in an alarming threat to global peace
Friday 5 September 2025
Commentary: Advanced AI packaging driving semiconductor industry toward 'virtual integration'
Advanced packaging is rewriting the rules of the semiconductor industry. According to DIGITIMES Research, in 2024, global AI data center accelerators (covering GPUs and ASICs) have seen advanced back-end packaging costs reach US$4.1 billion, accounting for 46% of the total process cost structure—nearly matching wafer foundry costs at US$4.8 billion. This has caused the front-end process share to drop significantly to 54%, leaving only an 8% gap between the two
Friday 5 September 2025
Analysis: BOE supplies over 40M OLED panels for iPhone, testing supply chain management
For Apple CEO Tim Cook, returning to the White House in early August 2025 and announcing a US$600 billion investment plan over the next four years was a strategic move that pleased President Donald Trump. Trump responded by stating that any production or factory commitments made in the US would qualify for tariff exemptions, temporarily easing Apple's larger crisis
Thursday 4 September 2025
Tech Forum 2025: US-based server assembly surges as Taiwan's EMS leaders navigate rising costs and trade uncertainties
The Trump administration's tariff policy announced in April 2025 is reshaping global server supply chains, prompting Taiwan's leading EMS firms—Foxconn, Wistron, Quanta, Inventec, and Mitac—to accelerate US expansion. Concentrating investments in Texas and California, these companies aim to localize high-margin components while navigating rising costs and tariff-driven uncertainties