The rapid development of terminal applications has influenced the optical industry to diversify its business in recent years.

Demand for smartphones and other consumer electronics is on the rise, prompting device assemblers such as Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) and Luxshare Precision Industry to prepare for a recovery period.

Acer, a Taiwan-based consumer electronics company, plans to capitalize on its brand value by opening brick-and-mortar stores in India.

Following the Acer-Indkal Technologies partnership in the smartphone market, Acer CEO Jason Chen clarified that Acer is not re-entering the smartphone market.

Acer made a bold move by partnering with India-based Indkal Technologies to re-enter the smartphone market. Acer's strategic focus is on harnessing India's potential rather than solely concentrating on the highly competitive smartphone market.

From Qualcomm to Microsoft, tech giants are launching marketing campaigns around AI PCs, promising to embed artificial intelligence features into notebooks and desktops. This strategic move is key to Qualcomm's re-entry into the PC processor market, marking an attempted comeback after a previous unsuccessful venture.

The latest survey shows that in the first quarter of 2024, shipments of 5G smartphones equipped with MediaTek's systems reached 53 million units, a significant 53% year-on-year increase.

Samsung Display (SDC) is experiencing rapid revenue growth due to Apple's introduction of the first iPad products equipped with OLED panels. SDC president Joo-Sun Choi anticipates a recovery in the OLED industry starting in the second half of 2024, and there is growing interest in whether SDC will accelerate its investments in IT OLED panels.

India has become one of the most promising markets to sustain Apple's growth. The company, facing stiff competition in China, has reportedly seen its sales in India surge by 33% year-on-year over the past fiscal year.

While China has made progress in some mature processes, it still has a long way to go before reaching IC self-sufficiency, according to industry sources.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone shipments stabilized in the June quarter as the wider smartphone market accelerated its growth, according to independent research.

As the traditional year-end peak season approaches, opinions are divided concerning the actual demand for AI PCs. Optimists anticipate a wave of device upgrades in the second half of 2024, especially in the business market. Skeptics, however, argue that improvements in AI functionality and hardware are still needed, and current high prices may delay mass adoption for another year or two.

Recent years have seen shakeups in the traditional dichotomy of the processor landscape, in which Arm ruled the mobile market with its low power consumption and cost, while Intel dominated the x86 space aimed mainly at PCs and servers.

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of July 8 – July 12.

Xiaomi's India business faced a significant setback in the 2023 fiscal year, with both revenue and net profit experiencing steep declines. The company is now pinning its hopes on a newly unveiled 10-year plan to recapture its former market dominance in the region.

Global PC shipments are expected to stabilize by the end of 2024, spurring a recovery in motherboard and graphics card shipments in the second half of the year, according to industry sources. Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are expected to launch new-generation desktop computer platforms in the second half of the year, which is the peak season for the motherboard and graphics card markets.

Recent rumors stated that Microsoft mandated its Chinese employees to only use iPhones when logging into the company's systems and performing identity verification.

On July 10, Samsung Electronics unveiled its new generation of foldable smartphones. Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 series, along with new products such as the Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch7, and the true wireless Bluetooth earphones Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Galaxy Buds3. Following the announcement, Samsung partnered with telecom and distribution partners to outline pre-sale and sales plans for these products on July 11.

Both major SoC players, Qualcomm and MediaTek, have maintained an optimistic outlook since the beginning of the year. Apple, which initially projected lower sales for 2024, has sparked significant user interest following the unveiling of Apple Intelligence at WWDC. This has led Apple to revise its earlier estimates, adopt a more positive stance, and place additional chip orders.

Order visibility from the consumer electronics sector has increased for Taiwan-based IC design houses, according to industry sources.

Samsung Electronics held its Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event on the evening of July 10 in Paris, France. The company introduced its new generation of foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 series, new smartwatches Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch 7, and true wireless earbuds Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3. Samsung aims to create a brand-new mobile ecosystem through the "AI For All" concept, enhancing operational performance and providing consumers with a better mobile experience.

Xiaomi has officially opened its "lights-out" smart smartphone factory in Changping, Beijing.

Supply chain sources indicate that following the reveal of the new AI platform Apple Intelligence at the WWDC in June and the announcement that it will be integrated into the iPhone 16 series of products, the market anticipates that it will fuel a new wave of device upgrades.

Apple Inc.'s biggest new product in years is not expected to shake off its slow sales start until the release of a cheaper model next year.

Micro LED TVs are considered an important next-gen technology, but their high prices have prevented them from becoming more widespread. Samsung Electronics has made plans to reduce the price of Micro LED TVs, intending to reduce production costs to one-tenth of the current value within the next 2-3 years.