As expected, Apple's late product announcement on May 7 included new iPad Pros powered by the M4 processor and a new Apple Pencil Pro. With these new gadgets now official, industry watchers are monitoring the share of production and projected sales numbers for each iPad model and supply chain coordination. In addition, attention is also on Apple's efforts in foldable smartphones and tablets.
The potential of advanced packaging technology to upgrade chip performance has attracted many Japanese equipment and material suppliers to allocate their resources in this highly specialized field to gain their entry into the high-margin market of advanced chips and Chiplet.
Against the backdrop of a secular slowdown in economic growth and a real-estate bubble burst that added debt burdens, how much longer can China continue to subsidize its industries and realize the dream of building a self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain?
Recently a Delaware-based non-profit media Rest of World interview roused widespread attention and discussion regarding TSMC's Asian management model and hierarchy system.
As the US-China technology war enters its seventh year, with the process of domestic substitution policy of China's semiconductor industry continuing to deepen, China's local Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software products have made considerable progress in recent years and accelerated their development to bridge the 15 years gap with their American and European rivals.
Although US sanctions have significantly slowed down the development of China's semiconductor industry towards the advanced nodes, it is not the time to be content that China is lagging behind the US in semiconductor technologies.
The Taiwan Chip-driven Industrial Innovation Program (TCIIP) has taken a significant step by establishing an office in Prague, Czech Republic, focusing on nurturing chip design talent and attracting IC startups.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are accelerating their investment pace in the US, and are collaborating with universities near factory sites to ensure a steady supply of semiconductor talent.
ASML, a Dutch equipment firm with a stranglehold on lithography equipment and a monopoly on high-end extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure machines, has become accustomed to having tens of billions of euros in backlog orders. First, due to its limited output growth; second, as long as new wafer fabs are built, purchase from ASML will be required.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently concluded his most extensive Southeast Asia (SEA) tour in years, visiting Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore from April 15-19.
Upon TSMC Arizona's signing of a Preliminary Memorandum of Terms (PMT) with the Biden Administration, the decision to manufacture 2nm chips in its third fab and part of the second fab capacities in Arizona has many people questioning the plan.
The consumer electronics market has remained sluggish since 2023, with no evident signs of recovery even after the first quarter of 2024, whether for smartphones, notebooks, or consumer networking devices. Market observers attribute this prolonged downturn to persistently high inflation rates in Europe and the US.
The three major players in advanced chip manufacturing have secured CHIPS Act subsidies by promising to increase investments in fabrication facilities within the United States. With more than half of the direct subsidies in their coffers, they are mandated to introduce cutting-edge 2-nm production lines on American soil.
Samsung Electronics reported profits of US$4.89 billion for the first quarter of 2024. The semiconductor division successfully ended a streak of losses spanning four consecutive quarters. In the quarter, the Device Solutions (DS) division, primarily dedicated to semiconductors, had a profit of approximately US$1.6 billion.
