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Jul 3, 15:20
Apple plans five iPhone launches to capture market share amid component shortages

Apple is reportedly planning to launch at least five new models by this time next year, with the company expanding its foldables' production. Amid surging component prices and a weakening smartphone market, these moves may be a bid to gain market share while rivals are on the back foot.

With supply chain inventory normalization largely complete, Sonix Technology (Sonix) has seen business momentum recover. The MCU supplier is benefiting from resilient demand for microcontrollers used in medical monitoring devices and steady shipments of multimedia image-processing chips, giving it better order visibility for 2026 than in previous years. Meanwhile, the company's drone business has entered niche commercial and industrial applications, providing a stepping stone toward higher-end markets.
Taiwan Network Authentication Co. (TWCA) on the 1st joined Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone Telecommunications, First Bank, E.SUN Bank and Bank of Taiwan SME to launch the new-generation MID+ mobile identity verification service. The rollout was presented as part of the government-backed push for technology-led anti-fraud cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Apple's iPhone lost momentum in China in the first five months of 2026, while domestic smartphone brands largely preserved their home-market advantage. The shift came as volatile memory prices, changing pricing strategies and government subsidies made competition in China's handset market harder to predict.

Large-size display driver ICs (DDIs) were a key revenue driver for many DDI suppliers during the first half of 2026. Taiwanese manufacturers said early notebook inventory build-up beginning in the first quarter of 2026, together with television restocking ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, allowed large-size DDI shipments to outperform the traditional seasonal slowdown.

The smartphone market's traditional peak season in the second half of 2026 remains under close watch. However, Android smartphone vendors—particularly Chinese brands—have reportedly begun another round of shipment forecast cuts, reducing projections by 10-30%. Procurement is expected to become increasingly conservative for mid-range and entry-level models, leaving inventory build-up for the peak season largely concentrated on flagship and premium devices.
Fire-Boltt is expanding beyond wearables into smartphones, a move that could shape India's budget-device market and add another local contender to a segment dominated by Chinese brands. The launch may matter globally as rising component costs, local manufacturing, and ecosystem-building become central themes across emerging markets.

Despite rising concerns over memory price hikes, Apple's PCB supply chain has seen little change to the company's 2026 order pull-in schedule as of the second quarter, according to people familiar with the PCB industry.

Ericsson Taiwan president David Chou said the rapid expansion of AI applications and sustained enterprise investment in cloud computing are making mobile networks a critical layer of the AI era, with AI, cloud and mobile connectivity now forming an interdependent technology stack.
Huawei's planned July price increase shows that China's smartphone cost crunch has moved from supplier negotiations to consumer pricing, even for a domestic brand gaining market share.
Every major consumer electronics company has raised prices this year. The reason, in almost every case, is the same: memory costs have surged, driven by AI data center demand that has overwhelmed global DRAM and NAND supply. Apple raised prices on its MacBook and iPad lines, too. However, to group Apple's move with everyone else's is to miss what is actually happening.

Chinese smartphone camera lens suppliers expect global handset shipments to remain under pressure through 2027, even as Apple prepares new devices.