LED probing, testing and sorting equipment maker FiTech is ramping up its OEM testing and sorting capacity for miniLED chips, having recently completed the corresponding capacity expansion project.

LED driver IC design-house Macroblock will start ramping up its shipments of miniLED-backlight solutions in the second half of 2021, targeting notebook and large-size TV applications.

More companies in Taiwan, Korea and China are likely to continue committing investments to develop mini/microLED products before 2025, boosting the advancement of the display industry, according to Chan Pin Chong, executive vice president of Kulicke & Soffa Industries (K&S).

Countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia stand a chance of becoming rising stars in the midst of supply chain shifts and the move toward shorter supply chains and localization. Four Indian firms and one Indonesian firm entered Digitimes' Asia Supply Chain 100 (ASC100). By region, Tata Motors at No. 22 in ASC100 is the champion in Southeast Asia and South Asia, followed by Indonesia's Astra International (No. 68) and India's Mahindra & Mahindra (No. 69), Maruti Suzuki (No. 74) and Motherson Sumi (No. 89). ASC 100 is a study based on the companies' revenues, profit and market cap that will be renewed annually.

LED automotive lighting module maker Excellence Optoelectronics (EOI) has reported revenues of NT$288.31 million (US$10.38 million) for May, up 0.15% sequentially and 133.88% on year.

LED chipmaker Opto Tech is likely to see the combined shipment volume of its LED chips and Si-based sensors decrease 4% in 2021, as it is scaling down the proportion of conventional LED components, according to company sources.

Apple is expected to roll out two new MacBook Pro models later in 2021, with shipments slated to kick off in the third quarter, according to industry sources.

Most Taiwan-based supply chain makers included in Apple's miniLED-backlit iPad Pro products have reported robust revenue growths for May thanks to shipment pull-ins from Apple, according to industry sources.

Taiwan's ICT supply chain, especially semiconductor backend houses have seen rising COVID-19 infections among their workers. Around 180 employees of KYEC had been diagnosed for being infected with the coronavirus as of June 5. However, MediaTek is still optimistic about its sales for the second quarter, despite KYEC, a major backend services partner of the chip supplier, had closure of production lines for two days. MediaTek is working closely with KYEC to mitigate the impact. On the other hand, demand for miniLED backlighting boards has been picking up as miniLED-based gaming and creator notebooks have seen rising sales.

Taiwan's PCB makers are accelerating their deployments in the miniLED backlighting boards as more non-Apple notebook vendors continue to roll out new miniLED-backlit gaming and creator notebook models, according to industry sources.

Components shortage has been troubling the PC sector for months. PC brand vendors, seeking to secure components supply, have moved to directly place orders with IC design houses, skipping their ODMs. Apple is expected to unveil two miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro devices later this year. As its present supplier of miniLED backlighting applications is unlikely to be able to fully support the production for the new devices, Apple reportedly has enlisted Osram Opto as a second supplier. Qualcomm is gearing up its deployment in the notebook processor market. Its 5G PC processors are targeting the high-end commercial segment and the lower-end consumer/education segment.

Osram Opto Semiconductors reportedly will become a new supplier of miniLED for backlighting Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup slated for launch in the second half of 2021, according to industry sources.

LED packaging service provider Everlight Electronics plans to spend NT$700-800 million (US$25.2-28.8 million) in 2021 on enhancing its presence in 5G, IoT, EV, miniLED and specialty lighting segments.

LED chipmaker Tyntek expects sales of its sensor components to increase 15% on year to 11.3 billion units in 2021, thanks to robust end-market demand and the availability of new capacity from its new 6-inch fab.

Light guide plate supplier Global Lighting Technologies (GLT) reportedly will kick off its shipments of light guide plates for illuminated keyboards on Apple's new-generation miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro series products in the third quarter of 2021, according to industry sources.

LED packaging service provider Everlight Electronics is optimistic about its business prospects for the second half of 2021, bolstered by clear order visibility and increasing production capacity.

NAND flash device controller and module supplier Phison Electronics has announced its takeover of a real estate owned by LED chipmaker Tyntek in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan.

Taiwan's LED supply chain makers, including Ennostar, Lite-On Technology and Opto Tech, are ramping up their output in line with extending order visibility, according to industry sources.

Qualcomm has just launched its Snapdragon 778G made using TSMC's 6nm process. It is expected to be more popular among midrange smartphones because of its higher price-performance ratio than the 5nm-made 780G series. Taiwan-based backend houses are now gearing up for the latest Qualcomm mobile SoC. In the car industry, business opportunities for smat auto lights are rapidly emerging, and Taiwan has a good chance of playing a major role in the sector, according the CEO of Silicon Application Corp (SAC).

LED module and packaging service provider Edison Opto expects its sales for automotive applications to double in 2021 from a year earlier, which will help boost its gross margin to 25% in the year.

Niche-market MLCC specialist Holy Stone Enterprise has seen clear order visibility through the third quarter of 2021, driven by strong demand for notebook, networking, power supply, gaming and fast charging applications, and its new MLCC capacity will further power its growth after coming online starting the third quarter, according to industry sources.

Global business opportunities for smart auto lights are emerging rapidly, and Taiwan stands a good chance to benefit significantly as a major supply source if the semiconductor, optics and AI software sectors can be effectively integrated, according to Jimmy Chen, CEO of Silicon Application Corp (SAC) Group.

Delivery for the first wave of pre-orders for miniLED-backlit iPad Pro devices are likely to delay due to the issues with supplies for miniLED chips and backlight boards, according to industry sources.

The semiconductor and IT value chains in Taiwan have raised their alerts to the surging COVID cases locally, adopting work-from-home and other precautionary measures, though so far no major infections have been reported among the big companies. Barring COVID impacts, volume production for miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro devices will still have to be deferred because of issues with miniLED supply. Europe-based carmaker Stellantis is set to announce a strategic partnership with Foxconn.

Volume production of Apple's miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro series may have to be postponed to fourth-quarter of 2021 or first-quarter 2022 if the sudden surge in the number of COVID infections in Taiwan continues to worsen, according to industry sources.