Faced with underwhelming demand for ultra-thin smartphones such as the Galaxy S25 Edge and Apple's iPhone Air, Samsung Electronics has reportedly canceled the development of its planned Galaxy S26 Edge, originally scheduled for a 2026 launch. The move underscores the company's shifting strategy amid growing concerns over the commercial viability of slimmed-down smartphone designs.

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with China's Minister of Commerce Wentao Wang on October 16, 2025, once again emphasizing that Apple will continue to deepen its presence in the Chinese market.

Following Vivo's launch of its X300 flagship earlier this year, Oppo introduced its Find X9 series on October 16, 2025, aiming to strengthen computing power, energy efficiency, and imaging performance. Notably, Oppo increased the telephoto camera resolution to 200 million pixels (200MP) and partnered with Sweden-based Hasselblad to develop the first-ever teleconverter lens designed for smartphones.

Taiwan's leading telecom operators posted strong operational performances in September 2025, driven by the sales surge from the new iPhone 17 launch, ongoing 5G user upgrades, and rising ARPU (average revenue per user). This momentum lifted revenues and profits across the board.

Apple has announced its latest system-on-chip (SoC), the M5, marking a major step forward in the company's in-house silicon roadmap. Built on third-generation 3nm process technology, the M5 powers Apple's newest 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro, delivering notable gains in graphics, CPU efficiency, and on-device AI processing.

Apple is lobbying the Indian government to amend income tax rules that could otherwise impose billions of dollars in taxes on its iPhone operations, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The issue centers on the machinery Apple provides to its contract manufacturers, including Foxconn and Tata, to assemble iPhones locally.

Vivo has positioned itself at the forefront of advancing smartphone photography by incorporating teleconverter lenses as standard accessories in its flagship devices. Oppo is expected to adopt a similar approach with its upcoming Find X9 series, signaling a potential shift among high-end Android manufacturers to prioritize telephoto lens enhancements in premium models.

Vivo unveiled its new X300 flagship series in Shanghai on October 13, 2025, highlighting deepened collaboration with Zeiss to differentiate and enhance imaging and video recording capabilities. The company also launched OriginOS 6, optimizing the user interface and AI integration to strengthen brand and product competitiveness.

On October 9, 2025, China announced expanded export controls on rare earths. In response, US President Donald Trump vowed to impose 100% tariffs on goods from China starting in November. These rare earth controls have a considerable impact on the tech supply chain, one being the optics industry.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that the new iPhone Air will open for preorder in China on October 17, with official sales beginning on October 22. The announcement was made during Cook's public appearance in China, where he promoted the device through a live stream on the popular platform Douyin, known internationally as TikTok.

MediaTek reported steady revenue growth in September and the third quarter of 2025, largely supported by the strong performance of the Dimensity 9500. Despite a drop in quarterly revenue, the decline was less severe than market analysts had anticipated. However, the Taiwanese chip design leader is expected to encounter considerable challenges in the final quarter amid a sluggish consumer market and delayed contributions from its application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) business.

Samsung Electronics announced on October 14 that its consolidated revenue for the third quarter of 2025 is expected to reach KRW86 trillion (US$60.25 billion), with operating profit anticipated at KRW12.1 trillion, according to its preliminary results. The figures represent a 15.3% increase in revenue and a 158.6% rise in operating profit from the previous quarter, and an 8.7% and 31.8% increase year-on-year, respectively.

China's eight-day Golden Week holiday saw a record number of travelers hit the roads and rails, but the spending spree ended there. The hoped-for boom in consumer electronics never materialized, leaving retailers with sluggish sales and signaling that Chinese households are prioritizing experiences over goods amid a shaky economic recovery.

Following China's 2025 Golden Week, major brands Oppo and Honor announced upcoming smartphone releases featuring advanced imaging and AI enhancements to stimulate demand. Despite promotional efforts, the third quarter of 2025 showed only a modest 2.3% year-over-year shipment growth, reflecting ongoing market challenges.

Largan Precision CEO Adam Lin provided a wealth of insights regarding robotics and smartphone lenses at Largan's third-quarter online investor conference.

In recent years, China's traditional industries and those with lower technical barriers have faced intensifying competition, with bad money driving out good. This trend threatens long-term industrial development and competitiveness. Taiwan's industry value chains face similar challenges amid tariffs, exchange rates, and geopolitical risks, compounded by worsening competition among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is imperative to take action now to tackle the problem.

In the high-stakes arena of silicon carbide (SiC) innovation, a quiet transformation is underway. While much attention has focused on non-Chinese supply chains entering advanced packaging with 12-inch SiC wafers, a new frontier has emerged: a Chinese startup has reportedly broken into Meta's AI glasses supply chain with its 12-inch SiC wafer technology.

Samsung Electronics is set to release a new high-end foldable smartphone designed specifically for the Chinese market, aiming to break into China's price-competitive smartphone landscape by focusing instead on flagship devices.

Apple is set to launch a 7.6-inch folding iPhone in 2026, with Samsung Display (SDC) expected to be the exclusive supplier of its OLED panels, capturing about 40% of Samsung's total foldable panel shipments.

Huawei smartwatches have recently seen a steady rise in sales in the Japanese market, particularly favored by middle-aged and elderly consumers. Retail channels indicate that since April 2025, when Takuya Kimura became the brand ambassador, the number of customers aged 40 to 70 has noticeably increased. Many have chosen Huawei smartwatches as their first smart wearable device, mainly focusing on health monitoring features that meet their needs.

Taiwan's used phone market is showing signs of warming up. The growth is driven in part by a wave of device upgrades following the launch of Apple's iPhone 17 lineup. It has been further fueled by "phone recycling month" programs in October, during which telecom operators and retail channels actively promote trade-in and recycling programs.

The year 2025 has brought many changes to the mobile industry. Apple launched its self-developed modem chip in the iPhone 16e, followed by Xiaomi's Xuanjie O1, its high-profile self-developed system-on-chip (SoC). Although Qualcomm has repeatedly emphasized it is not competing with customers, warning signs from downstream clients can no longer be ignored.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. posted robust revenue results for September 2025, reporting NT$837.068 billion (US$27.55 billion), driven by increased demand for AI servers and shipments of new consumer products centered on the iPhone 17 series. The company's performance surpassed market expectations and demonstrated sustained growth momentum entering the second half peak season.

DJI, a long-standing leader in consumer-grade handheld imaging devices, is facing a new wave of competition from major consumer electronics players. Recent reports indicate that smartphone manufacturers such as Oppo have initiated internal projects focused on handheld smart imaging devices, including action cameras and panoramic cameras, aiming to compete with products from DJI and US action camera maker GoPro.