The global top-5 notebook brands (not including Apple) saw their combined shipments slip 28% on month and over 30% on year in July as the worsening global economy has continued undermining market demand and dimming the industry's outlook.

The global top-5 notebook brands (not including Apple) saw their combined shipments slip 28% on month and over 30% on year in July as the worsening global economy continues undermining market demand and dimming the industry's outlook, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest Notebook Tracker figures.

China-based smartphone brands saw their combined shipments slip 5.2% sequentially and 4.6% on year to come to around 150 million units in the second quarter of 2022, according to figures from DIGITIMES Research's Smartphone Tracker.

Apple is expected to diversify its MacBook production in China to avoid placing all the eggs in one basket, according to DIGITIMES Research senior analyst Jim Hsiao for the Notebook Tracker.

Despite shortages for some ICs in the second quarter, the notebook industry is expected to see oversupply of panels and audio chips, according to Jim Hsiao, a senior analyst at DIGITIMES Research.

Key observation factors for the Asia Enterprise special report of the week of July 30- August 5 mainly focus on Showa Denko Materials' expansions of semiconductor CMP slurry capacity at its plants in Japan and Taiwan; Samsung Display and LG Display announcing separately plans to halt their TV-use large-size LCD panel business in South Korea; and BYD pushing into the passenger EV markets of Netherland, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Japan, Singapore, and Australia.

Key observation factors for the Asia Enterprise special report of the week of July 23-29 mainly focus on the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act; Kioxia's investment in the volume production of the 162-layer 3D NAND flash and the fact that the company remains seriously behind Micron and Samsung Electronics despite the Japanese government's JPY92.9 billion (US$710 million) subsidies; and Baidu's announcement to begin volume producing Apollo RT6 unmanned vehicle, which costs only CNY250,000 (US$37,500) and will accelerate the commercialization of Robotaxi.

Key observation factors for the Asia Enterprise special report of the week of July 16-22 include the utilization of gallium oxide (Ga2O3) epitaxy capacity of Japanese startup Novel Crystal, which is estimated to begin in 2025. Meanwhile, SK Hynix halting the construction of its new plant and Samsung Electronics reducing the production of CIS show the Korean semiconductor companies are turning conservative about the second half of 2022.