Samsung Electronics' smartphone business has hit the rocks. In 2022, Apple captured eight spots in the list of top 10 best-selling smartphones, while Samsung managed to occupy only 2 spots with 2 entry-level models. Its premium, models such as the Galaxy S series, were nowhere to be seen. Samsung is urgently looking for a strategy to boost profits through high-end phones.

With the rise in components for smartphones and the increasing US dollar exchange rate, India's smartphone has become more expensive, disrupting the budget segment and leading to more financing schemes launched by brands.

With Sony attempting to secure additional sensor chip orders for Apple's iPhones, Taiwan-based epitaxial wafer manufacturers and other III-V IC suppliers are optimistic about demand from the Japan-based IDM, according to industry sources.

Following mobile phones, smartwatches, and wireless headphones, the India-based contract manufacturer Optiemus Electronics is expanding its manufacturing portfolio to include laptop manufacturing amid an increasing PC adoption resulting from trends in digital transformation and remote working and learning.

GaAs (gallium arsenide) foundries are considering cutting their quotes to land power amplifier (PA) orders from RF IDMs, which are looking to replenish their inventories, according to industry sources.

Sales of handsets in the Taiwan market have been brisk recently, defying the industry's conservative outlook for a sluggish performance on the ground of high market penetration and rising inflation.

According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the Thai smartphone market declined by 21%, ending 2022 with 16.6 million shipments, marking the lowest number of units sold in a year since 2014. Shipments fell 23% on year or to 4.2 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022.

NAND flash revenue will continue to decline into the first quarter of 2023 despite lower drops in memory ASPs, according to a recent TrendForce report.

Xiaomi, which has maintained its top position in India's smartphone market for four years, lost to its arch-rival Samsung Electronics in the last quarter of 2022, and Xiaomi is looking to mimic Samsung's strategy to regain ground in the world's second-largest smartphone market.

India is reportedly planning to force smartphone manufacturers to allow users to remove pre-installed apps and require prior checks by regulators before releasing system updates of major mobile operating systems, which could affect manufacturers operating with low margins and extend system update release timelines.

Chipmaker MediaTek and Kontron, a global provider of IoT and Embedded Computer Technology (ECT), announced on March 14 that Kontron is integrating MediaTek's Genio 1200 and Genio 700 chipsets into its new modules for IoT applications.

Despite global inflation hitting the disposable income of the world's population, smartphone brands that target the premium market performed relatively well in India during the past year.

Last year proved to be tough for the global CMOS image sensor (CIS) market, with revenue registering an on-year fall for the first time in a decade, Counterpoint Research said in its recent report.

Apple reportedly reshuffled its management team and promoted a head of its Indian market, making India a separate sales region, a sign of the India's growing importance to Apple, which has seen double-digit sales growth in the South Asian nation.

TSMC saw revenue generated from orders placed by its largest customer increase over 30% on year to NT$529.65 billion (US$17.3 billion) in 2022, accounting for roughly 23% of the foundry's total revenue for the year. The proportion decreased from 26% in 2021, however, according to information published by the Taiwan-based company.

Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) chairman Young Liu recently visited India, highlighting the electronics manufacturer's production diversification strategy.

According to the IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the Australia smartphone market remained flat with 7.38 million units in 2022, a meager growth of 0.1% on year.

China-based brand smartphone vendors are showcasing a variety of high-end and foldable models at MWC 2023, making a renewed push to enhance their presence in the European market.

As India's smartphone market is bracing for a potential leadership change amid a prolonged weak demand, Realme is looking to expand its offline reach and invest more in R&D.

Young Liu, chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn), is in India meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The next-generation iPhone slated for launch later in 2023 will be powered by Apple's custom-designed 3nm SoC fabricated by TSMC, marking the market's long-awaited transition from 5nm to 3nm chips for Apple's iPhones, according to industry sources.

Qualcomm reportedly will remain the sole supplier of modem chips for Apple's iPhones this year. However, in a recent interview, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said he expects Apple's in-house 5G modem would be ready in 2024.

Mobile World Congress (MWC), with its 2023 edition set to open on February 27, is no longer just a showcase of smartphone devices, according to DIGITIMES Research. MWC over the past few years have showcased advanced solutions for wireless communication and AR/VR headsets. O-RAN and satellite communication have also caught much attention. DIGITIMES, after collecting opinions from analysts and ITRI, expects MWC 2023 to exhibit three major directions in terms of products, services, trends and technologies.

Handset TDDI (touch/display driver integration) chip prices will continue to fall in the first quarter of 2023, but at a slower rate, with the price drops nearing an end, according to display driver IC specialist FocalTech Systems.

Fifth-generation (5G) subscriptions increased by 446 million in 2022 versus 592 million for 4G, thirteen years after 4G's initial launch. Omdia research conducted ahead of the Mobile World Congress discovered that only 31% of mobile operators offered 5G in 2022. This is expected to rise to 59% by the end of 2023 with 4G expected to dominate for many years.