DIGITIMES Communications news

Sep 22

US iPhone 18 Pro Max teardown reveals Qualcomm modem, suggesting prior supply-chain commitments

Apple's latest flagship iPhone 18 Pro series is now shipping, and the choice of modem chip has drawn close market attention. A newly released teardown report has revealed an unexpected exception: the US iPhone 18 Pro Max still uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 rather than Apple's newly announced in-house C2 chip.

Vivo unveils X500 strategy to bolster premium phone push

Sep 22

Tmytek lists on Taiwan Innovation Board, pushes 5G/6G, satellite, defense

Sep 22

Huaqin challenges Quanta for Steam Deck ODM order

Sep 22

iPhone Duo takes the baton from 18 Pro to extend Apple's upgrade wave

Sep 21

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MOBILE COMPONENTSQualcomm launches dual Snapdragon flagship platforms for Xiaomi, Honor

Sep 23, 12:37

Qualcomm unveiled two flagship mobile platforms, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, at Snapdragon Summit 2026 in Maui, Hawaii this week, marking the company's first split of its premium Snapdragon lineup into two Elite tiers. Xiaomi, Honor, and Motorola appeared on stage as early partners, with the Xiaomi 18 Pro series and Honor Magic9 series expected to be the first devices and to launch in September.

MOBILE DEVICESPodcast highlights: Apple could take the lead in foldable share

Sep 21

DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin said on his podcast that the foldable's pricing is more consumer-friendly than expected, but Apple's across-the-board price hikes on older models will weigh on iPhone shipments in the second half of the year. He added that the packaging changes for the A20 Pro are the signal that supply chain players should watch most closely.

TELECOM SERVICE, INFRASTRUCTURECHT completes 4th Taiwan-Matsu subsea cable, boosting offshore resilience

Sep 21

Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) announced on September 18 that the nearly 300km-long Taiwan-Matsu submarine cable has been completed, landed, tested, and has officially been added to the Taiwan-Matsu external communications network. The project strengthens communications resilience for the outlying Matsu Islands by adding a third route with redundant backup and improving service stability for residents and public services.

WIRELESS NETWORKINGCompal takes Compal Broadband Networks private to fold networking into its edge AI stack

Sep 19

Compal Electronics is buying out the shares of its listed networking arm, Compal Broadband Networks (CBN), in a cash deal that will end CBN's public listing and give Compal full control of a router and gateway business it wants to pair with its edge AI hardware.

MOBILE DEVICESiPhone 18 Pro sellouts across Taiwan as foldable Duo looms

Sep 18

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series will go on sale on September 18, and Taiwan's major e-commerce platforms and telecom carriers have released preorder results ahead of launch. Data show that demand for premium iPhone models remains strong, with most channels selling out quickly and reservation volumes rising one to two times from the same period in 2025.

MOBILE COMPONENTSMobile SoC battle for 2026 centers on NPUs

Sep 18

More technical details on 2026 mobile systems on a chip (SoCs) from major vendors are emerging, and the biggest changes in chips such as Apple's A20 Pro and MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro are clearly concentrated in the neural processing unit (NPU). Qualcomm also published a technical article on NPU development on September 10, saying its next-generation NPU will expand shared memory capacity to improve access efficiency and speed for model data, helping mobile AI maintain fast response times.

MOBILE COMPONENTSFoldable smartphone panel shipments fall 13% in 1H26 as market shifts to in-fold designs

Sep 18

Global foldable smartphone panel shipments declined 13% year-over-year in the first half of 2026, with the contraction concentrated in clamshell products, according to Counterpoint Research's Quarterly Foldable Display Shipment and Technology Report.

MOBILE DEVICESSamsung Galaxy S27 series rumored to feature 4 models, reshaping flagship lineup with display and camera upgrades

Sep 17

Samsung Electronics is expected to launch its Galaxy S27 series in early 2027, marking what could be its most significant product lineup restructuring in years. Market reports indicate that the newly added Galaxy S27 Pro will substantially narrow the specification gap with the Ultra model. Both high-end smartphones are expected to share top-tier features, including 60W wired fast charging, a 200-megapixel main camera, and the latest M16 OLED display. Samsung will continue to use telephoto cameras, screen sizes, battery capacities, and S Pen support to differentiate the models, establishing a new "dual high-end flagship" hierarchy.

MOBILE DEVICESChina optical suppliers power smart glasses supply chain

Sep 17

China's optical suppliers are playing a growing role in the global smart glasses, VR, and AR supply chain as AI glasses demand accelerates worldwide. Industry sources say more than 80% of smart glasses suppliers are from China, with Chinese vendors covering key areas from camera modules and light waveguides to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and batteries.

MOBILE DEVICESiPhone 18 Pro preorders rise up to 20% in Taiwan as foldable Duo debuts

Sep 17

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are emerging as the main drivers of Taiwan's premium smartphone upgrade cycle, with preorder demand running ahead of last year despite the debut of the company's first foldable iPhone, iPhone Duo. Data Express, an Apple specialist retailer, said on September 16 that the Pro models remain the preferred choice among consumers, while the foldable device is creating a new source of interest in the premium segment.

MOBILE COMPONENTSArcadyan expects third-quarter strength as Wi-Fi 7 upgrade cycle builds

Sep 17

Arcadyan Technology expects stronger revenue in the third quarter of 2026 as the network communications market enters its seasonal peak, with mobile communications leading growth. The Taiwanese supplier is seeing demand from the Americas, while Wi-Fi 7 upgrades, enterprise networking, and new product lines could shape global industry supply.

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