Novatek Microelectronics is about to hold its earnings call, and what market outlook the top Taiwanese supplier of display driver ICs (DDI) will give for the chip segment is highly concerned by the entire supply chain, given that DDI was the first chip segment to undergo inventory correction, starting as early as the second quarter of 2022, according to industry sources.

All firms with considerable business scales in Taiwan's electronics industry are publicly traded. When they release their tentative annual financial indicators, we can already grasp the growth momentum of the industry, as well as the interactions between different industry sectors and the medium- and long-term outlook. DIGITIMES has again collected data on the ICT product manufacturing, semiconductors, optoelectronics, IC distribution and components sectors, providing readers with a comprehensive picture of the electronics industry and an outlook of the industry trends in 2023.

Taiwan-based e-paper solutions provider E Ink Holdings (EIH) and its associated company Netronix are establishing partnerships with Taiwan-based Readmoo, enabling the Chinese e-book maker to launch its first colored e-book in traditional Chinese recently.

Corning expects glass prices to stay flat sequentially in the first quarter of 2023 but warned of an overall on-quarter decrease in its core business sales.

Taiwan-based makers received export orders totaling US$52.17 billion in December 2022, down 23.2% on year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

VividQ, a Cambridge-based holographic display technology company, announced on January 17 that it is partnering with Dispelix, a Finnish waveguide supplier, to produce a breakthrough augmented reality (AR) technology that will bring AR experience to the next level.

Polarizer maker BenQ Materials has reported December consolidated revenues of NT$1.212 billion (US$39.7 million), decreasing 2.31% on month and 16.83% on year, while fellow maker Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT) had those of NT$714.1 million growing 12.56% on month but slipping 23.30% on year, according to the companies.

Backlit unit (BLU) suppliers Coretronic and Radian Opto-Electronics have reported flat sales performance for 2022. Coretronics ended the year with its revenue ebbing 0.1% from a year earlier, while Radiant Opto-Electronics posted a 3.1% growth.

Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology (TSMT), an LCD surface-mount technology (SMT) solutions provider, has disclosed plans to initiate its capacity expansion projects overseas in 2023.

Car display shipments during 2022 are forecast to remain short of 200 million sheets. Notably, center control display (CCD) shipments are expected to decrease to 95.3 million sheets for 2022, according to forecasts made by DIGITIMES Research.

Samsung Electronics plans to launch 89-inch microLED TVs with microLED panels based on LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) TFT glass backplanes in the third or fourth quarter of 2023, according to South Korea-based media The Elec.

AUO is among the partners of Qualcomm's newly released Snapdragon Ride Flex SoCs by supplying the chipmaker with its large-size integrated display modules for the smart cockpit platform products.

Polarizer maker Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT) originally planned to invest in production of wet separation film of lithium batteries but has decided to temporarily stop investing due to considering the amount of investment and return on investment, according to the company.

Taiwan-based fabless chipmakers have enhanced their efforts to develop high-end chips such as mobile application processors (AP), OLED display driver ICs (DDI), ASICs, wireless communication chips, and high-speed transmission chips, according to industry sources.

DIGITIMES Research estimates that about 18.3 million foldable smartphones are shipped in 2022, with Samsung accounting for 75% of the volumes. The total shipments are expected to rise to 27.8 million in 2023, with Samsung's market share decreasing to 66% due to competition from other major competitors, but the Korean brand will continue to be the industry leader, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest study over smartphones.

AU Optronics (AUO) has teamed up with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) to establish a joint R&D center n Tainan, southern Taiwan to develop advanced display technologies, smart medical solutions, and cross-domain cooperation.

Optical film maker Efun Technology has worked with US-based RealD to develop 3D cinema screens and has become the exclusive supplier of such screens, according to company president Lu Ying-tsung.

Display driver IC (DDI) prices are expected to bottom out in the first half of 2023 and start recovering, according to industry sources.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection component demand is promising thanks to the growing demand for microLED- and miniLED-backlight displays, according to sources at Taiwan-based power device companies.

Taiwan-based polarizer maker Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT) has seen its product ASP stabilize but expects revenues to slip 5% sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Taiwan-based Ledtech Electronics, dedicated to supplying LED components, lights and displays, is optimistic about a 30% on-year revenue growth for 2023 with profitability to rise notably, driven by increasing shipments of LED components with higher gross margins as well as new applications.

U-Best Innovative Technology (formerly U-Best Polymer Industry), a chemical materials supplier, has developed hard coat films for foldable smartphones and has already gone through related product validation with China-based brand vendors, according to the Taiwan-based company.

Taiwan-based DDI (display driver IC) design houses have been faced with increasing price-cut competition from China-based fellow design houses, becoming a much larger challenge than weak market demand, according to industry sources.

Coretronic expects December shipments of LED backlight units (BLUs) as well as projectors and visual solution devices to each increase slightly on month, according to the company.

Corning has unveiled its newest glass innovation, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, as the firm continues to push the boundaries of glass by expanding its Gorilla Glass portfolio.