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Thursday 23 April 2026
Chinese smartphone shipments to fall below 600 million units in 2026, lowest level since 2021
Rising upstream component costs and weak retail promotions in China, combined with traditional off-season demand overseas, are denting global smartphone supply and pricing. Consumers and suppliers worldwide may face higher prices and reduced availability as Chinese manufacturers trim shipments and prioritize higher-margin models, with implications for emerging markets and device ecosystems
LATEST STORIES
Thursday 23 April 2026
SaiMemory wins NEDO backing for next-generation ZAM memory, partners with Intel

SaiMemory, a next-generation memory developer established by SoftBank, said on April 22 that its development project has been selected for subsidies by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), with the government expected to cover roughly half of the initial development costs

Thursday 23 April 2026
China hands 11.5-year sentence in rare earth, semiconductor data leak case
China is intensifying investigations and enforcement against data leaks in critical sectors across its industrial supply chain, targeting areas such as rare earths, semiconductors, and digital data resources
Thursday 23 April 2026
Volkswagen outlines aggressive EV, AI and capacity reset ahead of Beijing show
Volkswagen's plan to launch 50 electric models by 2030 while cutting global production capacity signals major structural shifts for consumers, suppliers, and markets worldwide. The company is reallocating resources toward rapid localized development, AI-defined vehicles, and software moves that could reshape competition in China while forcing difficult trade-offs across Europe and other regions
Thursday 23 April 2026
Former Samsung Electronics researcher sentenced to 7-year prison term for leaking DRAM trade secrets
A former researcher at Samsung Electronics was sentenced to seven years in prison on April 22 by a South Korean court for leaking core semiconductor trade secrets to a Chinese competitor. The case highlights how chip-making technology is increasingly regarded by governments as a national security asset under strict protection
Thursday 23 April 2026
LG Display approves KRW1.1 trillion OLED infrastructure investment
LG Display approved an investment of KRW1.1 trillion (approx. US$740 million) to build OLED technology infrastructure. The move, running from April 22, 2026, to June 30, 2028, could affect global display supply chains, technology competition, and investment flows in advanced OLED development and will significantly broaden research partnerships worldwide
Thursday 23 April 2026
Shenzhen launches China's first full-stack domestic 14,000P AI cluster
Shenzhen has brought online what project materials describe as China's first 14,000P, 10,000-card AI computing cluster built around a fully domestic technology stack, marking a new stage in the country's push to reduce reliance on foreign hardware and software in large-scale model training
Thursday 23 April 2026
SK Hynix flags persistent HBM shortage as demand outpaces supply
SK Hynix said demand for high-bandwidth memory is expected to outpace supply for several years, underscoring persistent constraints in the AI memory market even as the company ramps up investment
Thursday 23 April 2026
Samsung and SK Hynix race to upgrade China chip plants as NAND demand surges
As the artificial intelligence boom reshapes global computing demand, the memory chip industry is entering a new phase of strain and restructuring — one in which both DRAM and NAND flash are seeing rapidly tightening supply
Thursday 23 April 2026
Interview: Seiko Epson outlines engineered future vision for 2035 amid geopolitical challenges
Amid volatile geopolitical tensions affecting Japan's components, manufacturing, and end-user sectors, Seiko Epson unveiled its Engineered Future 2035 long-term vision. The plan aims to shift Epson from a traditional printer maker into a value-driven company focused on technology innovation and engineering excellence, with improving return on invested capital as a core discipline
Thursday 23 April 2026
Zhen Ding breaks ground on new China site; Zhongji Innolight chairman attends to show support
Taiwanese printed circuit board (PCB) giant Zhen Ding Technology Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for the HD Campus of the "Zhen Ding Technology Group Huai'an Tech City" in Huai'an, China, on April 22. The new park plans to build facilities for high-density interconnect (HDI), modified semi-additive process (mSAP), and high-layer count (HLC) PCBs. Upon completion, the group's total number of factories across four major local parks will reach 23, further strengthening its manufacturing scale in the advanced PCB sector
Thursday 23 April 2026
Japan PC shipments peak on upgrade cycle, correction ahead
Japan's PC market delivered a standout performance in the fiscal year ending March 2026, but underlying demand signals point to a sharp reversal as upgrade-driven momentum fades
Thursday 23 April 2026
SK Hynix builds HBM packaging hub in Cheongju to expand AI memory capacity
SK Hynix has broken ground on a large-scale advanced packaging facility in Cheongju Technopolis, underscoring how the battleground for AI semiconductors is shifting beyond wafer fabrication to the back-end processes that increasingly define performance
Wednesday 22 April 2026
Focus: South Korea builds a semiconductor talent pipeline

South Korea's long-running experiment with job-guaranteed semiconductor education is entering a more consequential phase, with the first large wave of students from expanded industry-linked programmes set to enter the workforce from 2027. The shift is drawing fresh scrutiny over whether a model built around direct hiring pipelines, practical training, and university-industry coordination can do more than produce graduates at scale and whether it can ease the country's persistent shortage of semiconductor design talent

Wednesday 22 April 2026
Samsung reportedly ramps up GDDR6 supply for Tesla but halts 1d DRAM mass production plan
Samsung Electronics is reportedly increasing production of GDDR6 specifically for Tesla starting in April 2026, even as it simultaneously scales back parts of its broader memory product line and halts plans for mass production of its next-generation 1d DRAM due to insufficient yields
Wednesday 22 April 2026
Huawei's wide foldable move sets stage for Apple, Samsung three-way race

Huawei's Pura X Max launch marks a shift in the foldable smartphone market, with competition moving from a Samsung-Huawei duopoly toward a three-way race that includes Apple's expected foldable iPhone. Huawei's early move signals a push to shape the next phase of high-end market leadership rather than simply extend its premium lineup