Global notebook shipments performed better than originally expected, shrinking only 9.5% sequentially and less than 35% on year in the first quarter of 2023, and the volumes will grow back 9% sequentially in the second quarter.

Global server shipments performed weaker than DIGITIMES Research had anticipated, slipping 13.8% sequentially to fall below four million units. Having a lower comparison base in the same quarter a year ago and the fact that brand vendors are expected to begin volume shipments of servers with new CPU platforms, overall server shipments are expected to witness a low single-digit sequential growth in the second quarter of 2023.

First-quarter 2023 smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China-based smartphone brand vendors amounted to 120 million units, plunging 12.1% from the prior quarter and 32.6% from the prior year due to ongoing smartphone demand shrinkage on top of vendors' inventory adjustment and slow season.

Thanks to the four major advantages 800V high-voltage high-power quick-charging has and its feature of a charging efficiency close to fueling a gasoline car, EV makers are growingly devoted to high-voltage quick-charging R&D.

Korea's top three PCB suppliers SEMCO, LG Innotek and Daeduck, after discontinuing their unprofitable PCB products and moving toward high-end IC substrates, have stabilized their PCB revenue and profitability.

Global smartphone application processor (AP) shipments are expected to come to 1.114 billion units in 2023, down 11.8% on year, mainly due to declining smartphone shipments and slow AP inventory depletion.

Global smartphone shipments amounted to above 300 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022 and are estimated to go down further to 263 million units, slipping a double-digit percentage sequentially in both quarters.

The four leading foundries in Taiwan - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics (UMC), Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) - together generated a total of US$89.4 billion in revenues in 2022, soaring 31% from a year ago. However, they still experienced the first on-quarter revenue decline since the COVID-19 pandemic in fourth-quarter 2022.

Global EV sales continued to exhibit prominent growth in 2022, amounting to 9.78 million units, as opposed to the overall automotive sales worldwide that again came short of expectation.

The global top-5 notebook brands, not including Apple, saw their combined shipments rise over 10% on month in February 2023 thanks to a low comparison base in January and channel retailers' inventory replenishment.

China-based semiconductor manufacturers, in the wake of geopolitical risks, are expected to keep up with their capacity expansion strategies going into 2023 with a good number of projects already in construction.

Japan-based firms' investments in their home market in 2022 were more robust than in years past and three main factors were the driver for their relocation back to Japan.