Huawei was put into the spotlight after it launched the Mate 60 Pro powered by a secretive SMIC-made SoC. However, it is too early to be optimistic about Huawei's breakthrough from US sanctions.

Akira Amari, leader of the parliamentary association to promote semiconductor strategy, participated in the "2023 Taiwan-Japan technology conversation" forum hosted by the Taiwan Japan Academy on August 25. He discussed how Taiwan and Japan can collaborate in the tech sector. With "national economic security and global semiconductor strategy" as the topic, he analyzed the importance of complementary traits within Taiwan and Japan's tech sectors, the irreplaceable competitive advantage of TSMC, and cooperation within the global semiconductor supply chain.

As the iPhone 15 series is expected to be unveiled next week, China's ban on iPhones from government institutions and Huawei's launch of Mate 60 Pro may be a double whammy for Apple. However, some analysts believe the impact on Apple would be limited as government institutions account for a small part of iPhones' market in China.

Chinese TV makers like TCL and Hisense showcased several new ultra-large Micro LED and Mini LED TV products at IFA Berlin 2023. It appears that they are setting Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics as their benchmarks and intensifying their efforts to catch up.

If Huawei can revive its handset business by rolling out more 5G and other handset-related chips with support from SMIC's 14nm and 7nm manufacturing capability, Qualcomm and MediaTek will be negatively impacted, particularly the US chip vendor, DIGITIMES Research believes.

Taiwan's car components industry, which focuses on exports, has seen its output value hit a record high while challenges like inflation and rising interest rates remain. The Ministry of Economic Affairs said Taiwan will accelerate the development of 5G, EV, biotech and pharmaceutical industry in 2024 to become an essential supplier in the world.

In the high-end OLED TV market, the importance of TV semiconductor technology continues to increase. Recently, not only has LG Electronics made market differentiations with its own TV system-on-chip (SoC) and image upscaling technology, but the Chinese TV vendor TCL has also completed in-house development of SoC for its TVs, drawing attention from various sectors.

Recent reports from South Korean media pointed out that after high bandwidth memory (HBM), Samsung Electronics will develop a new generation of DRAM technology.

The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) has allocated a budget of KRW11.22 trillion (approximately US$84.9 billion) for the year 2024. Based on President Yoon Suk-yeol's principle of "sharing wealth among all," while the research and development budget has decreased, there are budget increases in areas such as nurturing advanced industries like semiconductors, revitalizing the nuclear energy ecosystem, and enhancing export momentum.

Semiconductor equipment firm ASML is seeing a negative effect on US' containment policy towards China. ASML CEO Peter Wennink shared his views on the China issue, as well as export restrictions and protectionism that the company is facing in the Nieuwsuur TV program broadcast on the evening of September 4.

After China-based Midea Group acquired a 100% stake in the Germany-based robotics giant Kuka, the industrial robotics industry is expected to experience a reshuffle.

Amid US sanctions and the visit of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to China, Huawei's Mate 60 Pro, featuring the homegrown Kirin 9000s chip based on SMIC's N+2 process, has sparked much discussion. DIGITIMES Research believes the US may mount new policies to contain China's semiconductor development.

The MEMS and Sensors Forum, part of Semicon Taiwan 2023, was held on September 5. Keynote speaker Prashanth Doreswamy, president and CEO of Continental Automotive Components (India) Pvt., said the primary catalyst of automotive technology development has shifted from horsepower to chips. Next-generation cars rely on electronics to enhance their performance.

Huawei's unveiling of the Mate 60 Pro has shaken the industry. The company has demonstrated to the world, by producing a flagship smartphone featuring most components made or developed by Chinese companies, that it has to potential to be self-reliant and decouple from US technologies.

As generative AI keeps driving demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM), the global DRAM market landscape is also undergoing changes, with SK Hynix's global DRAM market share exceeding 30% in the second quarter of 2023, significantly narrowing the gap with Samsung Electronics and also unseating Micron Technology as the second largest vendor in the market.