LED automotive lighting module maker Excellence Optoelectronics (EOI) has secured module orders for 11 new car models thus far in the first quarter, with prospects to push its operations back to a growth track in 2023.
Paul Peng, chairman of AUO, is likely to be elected as the new chairman of Ennostar when the LED chipmaker holds its board meeting at the end of May this year, according to industry sources.
Macroblock, an LED driver IC design house, has cut into the supply chain of the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) OEM market with its offering of miniLED backlight driver ICs, according to industry sources.
LED chip and sensor suppliers Tyntek and Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor (TASC) are conservative about their prospects for the first half of 2023 due to sluggish demand from the consumer electronics sector, according to industry sources.
Apple has actively been developing micro LED technology since it acquired LuxVue in 2014 and aims at initial application of micro LED panels to sports-use Apple Watch Ultra in 2024-2025 and then will extend application to iPhone, iPad and MacBook eventually. In the meantime, some Taiwan-based makers have also been developing micro LED technology and stand a chance of becoming second suppliers for Apple after Austria-based ams Osram.
Taiwan-based LED makers, including automotive lighting module maker Laster Tech and packaging service provider Edison Opto, have stepped up factory expansions in Taiwan amid the growing trade dispute between the US and China.
LED lighting ODM Tons Lightology expects end-market demand to start picking up between the end of the second and third quarters, even though the global economy remains uncertain, according to company sources.
LED chipmaker Ennostar expects sales to start picking up in the second quarter of 2023, from the likely lowest level of the year in the first quarter when sales are tamed by off-peak seasonality.
Coretronic has secured new sub-subcontract orders for OLED tablet products, with related production set to begin in May-June, according to the LED BLU supplier.
LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar will complete its first micro LED epitaxial wafer production line at the end of 2023 and start trial production in the first quarter of 2024, with sample products in initial certification process by then, according to Lee Biing-jye, chairman of Ennostar, which is the parent company of Epistar.
AUO has continued to increase its patented portfolio for mini/microLED display technologies as the Taiwan-based panel maker moves to deepen its deployment in the high-value-added display segment.
LED backlight unit (BLU) specialist Darwin Precisions has stepped up its deployment in the QFN leadframe sector, optimizing its photo etching and electrochemical capability, according to company chairman Michael Tsai.
LED automotive lighting module makers Excellence Optoelectronics (EOI) and Edison Opto expect demand to hit a bottom level in the first quarter of 2023 and then rebound in the following quarter.
Coretronic, a manufacturer of LED backlight units (BLU), will kickstart the volume production of its second plant in Vietnam in October this year. The initial output will target TV applications.
LED automotive lighting module maker Laster Tech has reported consolidated revenues of NT$501.9 million (US$16.7 million) for January, slipping 33.21% on month and 10.68% on year.
Most Taiwan-based miniLED suppliers are conservative about their prospects for the first quarter of 2023 due to low seasonal demand and reduced workdays.
China-based LED chipmakers are about to restart increasing the capacity for their miniLED production in anticipation of a gradual increase in demand in the second half of this year, according to sources from the equipment supply chain.
Taiwan-based LED chipmaker PlayNitride is considering manufacturing microLED chips using 8-inch wafers, with subcontract trial lines likely to become available in the first half of 2023, according to industry sources.
While micro LED technology is in continued development for application, the technology is unlikely to become a competitor for electronic paper (e-paper), according to chairman and CEO Johnson Lee for e-paper maker E Ink Holdings.
Apple has been reportedly developing micro LED technology for initial application on Apple Watch Ultra, expected to be launched in 2024. Since current production cost for micro LED panels is very high and display performance of such panels for use in smart watches will not be substantially differentiated from that of OLED panels, Apple's developing micro LED technology is motivated by the huge potential of extending application of the technology from smart watches to AR/VR devices, smartphones and large-size displays over the next 5-10 years, thereby taking the global lead in the technology.
China-based TV vendor Hisense has stepped up investing in the upstream LED supply chain, looking to enhance its in-house developed miniLED and microLED display technologies, according to industry sources.
