A powerful earthquake in Taiwan has rattled nerves in the tech industry, raising concerns about potential disruptions to global chip production. The 7.4-magnitude tremor, the strongest to hit the island nation in decades, forced major chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to evacuate some factory personnel.

Chip Shortage Fears Rise After Taiwan Earthquake

While TSMC assures its workers are safe and initial inspections revealed no major damage, a full assessment is still underway. The company’s safety protocols triggered evacuations, potentially causing production delays.

This news comes at a time when the world is already grappling with a chip shortage. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in the global supply chain, leading to a scarcity of semiconductors used in everything from smartphones to supercomputers. Any production hiccups at TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, could further strain the already stretched supply chain.

The impact on major tech companies like Apple and NVIDIA, who rely on TSMC for their chips, remains to be seen. However, a prolonged disruption could lead to price hikes for consumers as chip scarcity worsens.

The earthquake also highlights the risk of overreliance on a single region for chip production. Taiwan’s geographical location on a major fault line makes it susceptible to frequent earthquakes. Calls for diversification of manufacturing locations have been growing in recent years, especially in light of the ongoing tensions between Taiwan and China.

While the immediate impact of the earthquake appears to be minimal, the tech industry is watching closely as TSMC assesses the situation. Any production delays could exacerbate the existing chip shortage and have a ripple effect on consumers worldwide.

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We live in a world where convenience is king, food delivery services like Uber Eats have become household names. They bring your favorite meals right to your doorstep, a luxury that’s become a part of our daily lives. But here’s something to chew on: how these deliveries are made is just as important as the food itself, especially when it comes to the environment.

A $30 million investment spells big things for this partnership

Enter the innovative partnership between Uber Eats and Gogoro in Taiwan. This isn’t just a business deal; it’s a game-changer for how food gets to us. With a hefty investment of around $30 million, this collaboration is shaking up the delivery scene by prioritizing sustainability.

Gogoro, known for its smart electric scooters and unique battery swapping system, is at the heart of this green revolution. This partnership gives Uber Eats couriers in Taiwan special deals on these eco-friendly scooters and easy access to battery stations. Why does this matter? Because it’s a big step toward cleaner city air and a healthier environment.

Think about it: every time a meal is delivered on one of these electric scooters, it’s one less gas-guzzling bike on the road. That means less pollution and a cleaner Taiwan. The aim is to double electric deliveries from 20% to 40% by 2025. It’s ambitious, but with over 600,000 Gogoro riders already in Taiwan and a million-plus batteries, it’s not just a dream.

This move is not only good for the planet but also makes sense for couriers. Electric scooters are easier to maintain, cheaper to run, and way friendlier to use. Plus, swapping a battery is quicker than filling up a tank. It’s a win-win.

So next time you order a meal from Uber Eats, think about the journey it’s made. Thanks to partnerships like this, your late-night snack could be helping to reduce emissions and pave the way for a greener future in food delivery. That’s food for thought!

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(Via)

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The Realme C51 has just been announced in Taiwan. The company’s latest launch is a budget-grade smartphone model, which features some notable specs despite its low price tag. So let’s have a look.

Realme C51 Specifications

The Realme C51 sports a 6.7-inch IPS LCD panel that offers HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. The display also offers a 180Hz touch sampling rate and up to 560 nits of peak brightness as well. Under the hood, the smartphone is equipped with the UNISOC T612 SoC, which is the same chipset that powers the Realme C53 model that was recently announced in India. The C51 and C53 appear to be quite similar in terms of design and specifications. It also features a similar design on the back with a dual camera setup.

Although, this model only offers a 50-megapixel primary shooter, unlike the 108-megapixel sensor on the C53. Meanwhile, the front houses an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. The processor is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded by up to 2TB via a MicroSD card slot. A large 5,000mAh battery pack that supports 33W SuperVOOC fast charging. Other notable features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Android 13 OS out of the box, and measures just 7.99 in thickness and weighs 186 grams.

Pricing & Availability

The Realme C51 arrives in two color variants in Taiwan, namely Mint Green and Carbon Black. It has a price tag of NT$ 3,990, which is roughly around 127 US Dollars for its lone 4GB + 64GB variant. The device is set to go on sale in Taiwan starting tomorrow (25th July 2023).

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Tensions between China and the USA continue at full speed. This situation negatively affects the diplomatic relations between the two countries and the commercial relations in the region. According to the statements of MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai, political tensions are pushing some manufacturing companies to talk about expanding some of their supply chains beyond Taiwan.

Rick Tsai: Supply chain are gradually leaving Taiwan

Taiwan is one of the leading technology centers in the world. The headquarters of many important companies, such as Asus, MediaTek and TSMC, are located here. In addition, supply manufacturers, which are very important for technology companies, are also located here. This situation contributes to the development of commercial relations in the region and the development of technology in Asian countries.

However, according to MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai, some of the “very large (equipment manufacturers) will require their chip suppliers to have multiple sources, like from Taiwan and from the U.S., or from Germany or from Europe.” Tsai said that if it continues like this, they need to find different sources for the same chip in the future and underlined that the change is not large-scale.

Will MediaTek shift production out of Taiwan?

While MediaTek’s most advanced smartphone chips are manufactured in Taiwan, the company also has overseas plans. Tsai said some of the older chip models were manufactured by GlobalFoundries Inc, which has factories in places like the US and Singapore. The company is pushing to expand its business in the US and wants to increase sales several fold.

MediaTek will also manufacture at Intel’s Ireland and TSMC‘s Arizona facilities. However, these preparations seem more like being ready for the worst than shifting production. Tsai also said it was unrealistic to move away from Taiwan completely, the world’s most important region for advanced chip manufacturing.

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(Source)

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Taiwan has just imposed a ban of all export of modern chips to Russia and Belarus. The government made the decision due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian forces.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has shared a list of all high tech goods that will be banned from export to Russia and Belarus earlier this week (Via DigiTimes). The ministry also announced that these new high tech products will also be barred from Belarus since it might help Russia in bypassing these sanctions. So now, companies from these two regions will no longer be able to purchase certain semiconductors products like microprocessors or even microcircuits.

This includes the kind that feature a performance speed of 5 gigaflops or above, have a frequency rate that is higher than 25MHz, an external interconnection with a data transfer rate of 2.5 MB/s or greater, more than 144 pins, or a basic propagation delay time of lower than 0.4 nanoseconds. In simpler terms, Russia and Belarus are basically no longer able to source modern technology that were manufactured in Taiwan.

Apart from modern chipsets, Taiwan will also not sell chip production related equipment to these nations as well. In other words, they can’t source equipment to produce their own chips as well. This includes alignment and exposure equipment for wafer production, scanners, and even scanning electron microscopes.

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After multiple sanctions from the US barring Chinese tech giants like Huawei from accessing advanced semi-conductors from manufacturers like TSMC, China has started heavily investing in domestic solutions for its semi-conductor needs.

Now, in a recent development, Taiwan authorities have raided ten Chinese companies suspected of illegally poaching chip engineers and other tech talents (via Reuters). Taiwan, which is the home to the world’s largest manufacturer of advanced semi-conductor, TSMC, has recently been proactive in countering illegal poaching efforts by Chinese companies that might threaten Tawain’s global semiconductor dominance.

The Investigation Bureau said it raided ten Chinese companies or their R&D centers which operate in Taiwan without approval earlier this week. It said nearly 70 people have been summoned for questioning in a joint crackdown across several cities including the capital Taipei and the island’s semiconductor hub, Hsinchu.

The bureau has issued a statement saying “The illegal poaching of Taiwan’s high-tech talent by Chinese companies has badly impacted our international competitiveness and endangered our national security,” the bureau added that technology is vital to Taiwan’s security and has urged people to “stay high on alert” for such Chinese activities.

The companies currently under investigation have not been named, but the bureau has informed that it includes integrated circuit design firms and electronics parts makers.

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With the recent launches of the Realme GT Neo 3 and Redmi K50 series, it seems that MediaTek is gunning for the top spot among the flagship Android SoC market with its Dimensity 8100, Dimensity 9000 processors.

However, it seems that MediaTek still has one more flagship Dimensity SoC up its sleeve for 2022 Android devices. MediaTek has officially announced its latest addition to the Dimensity flagship family — the MediaTek Dimensity 1300. 

The MediaTek Dimensity 1300 is the official successor to last year’s flagship MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chip as the Dimensity 1300 builds upon the successes that the Dimensity 1200 has achieved last year while providing some minor tweaks and improvements. The MediaTek Dimensity 1300 slots in at a higher price bracket than its Dimensity 800 and 900 series counterparts, and a lower price bracket than its higher-end siblings, the Dimensity 8100 and Dimensity 9000. 

The Dimensity 1300 features an octa-core setup, with 4 Cortex-A78 cores (1 Ultra A78 Core, running up to 3GHz, and 3 A78 Super Cores, up to 2.6GHz) and 4 Cortex-A55 efficiency cores, scaling up to 2GHz. The Dimensity 1300 runs on TSMC’s 6nm process and has support for 64-bit applications. Powering the graphics onboard is the ARM Mali-G77 MC9 CPU which is just as powerful as last year’s Dimensity 1200 GPU.

Moving onto the upgrades, the Dimensity 1300 has an improved ISP over last year as it now supports up to 200MP sensors, and hardware-accelerated AV1 decoding for faster 4K streaming. But that’s not all, the ISP also provide improvements to low-light shots as its artificial intelligence utilises real-time 3-exposure fusion for the best shot. 

Other technical specifications of the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 are also what you expect from a flagship Android SoC: Support for 16GB of 4266Mbps LPDDR4x RAM, UFS 3.1 Support, Support for 2520 x 1080 168Hz displays, and support for 5G on Dual SIMs.

The MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset is expected to debut in markets soon in the upcoming OnePlus Nord 2T and Redmi Note 12 series slated to launch in Q2 2022. For more news on the latest Chinese devices, stay tuned to Gizmochina for your daily source of Chinese tech news.

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(Source, Via)

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The Taiwanese media outlet, Economic Daily News, reported on January 15 that TSMC and MediaTek are looking to recruit 10 thousand more employees (8000 TSMC and 2000 MediaTek employees respectively) into their workforce in 2022.

For those who don’t know, besides being known as the tech giants in the chip-making business, TSMC and MediaTek are also the top 2 highest valued companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Besides bringing forward innovation and advancement in the technology industry, both companies also play a crucial role in Taiwan’s regional economy. 

To combat the ongoing chip shortage, the world’s largest chip manufacturing company, TSMC announced back in April 2021 that TSMC was going to invest 100 billion USD over the next 3 years to increase its chip manufacturing capacity to meet the market’s high demand. The money was going to be invested into building new plants globally, increasing the capacity of production in its current plants, and also incorporating new semiconductor manufacturing technology into its machines for faster production.

With more factories popping up, it is to no one’s surprise that more manpower is needed to monitor and to run all these machines. Initially projected by analysts to recruit over 10 thousand more employees into the company in 2022, TSMC is now instead projected to recruit over 8000 employees. As for more details, TSMC is said to reveal more about its 2022 recruitment plan in the Taiwan Campus Recruitment Event happening soon.

As for MediaTek, the company had 19,300 employees as of December 2021, and compared to its workforce of 17,300 in April 2021, the company had recruited 2000 more employees in the span of 8 months alone. Today, MediaTek has become a multinational with over 1000 employees in India, around 500 in the United States, and several researchers employed across Japan and across the European continent.

As for MediaTek sales numbers in 2021, it was great news all around for the company, With the release of its Dimensity chips such as the Dimensity 1100 and Dimensity 1200 in early 2021, the company managed to rake in 493.41 billion NTD (17.91 billion USD) of revenue last year and its sales growth reached a new peak of 53.1% YOY (year-on-year). 

In relation to the news above, TSMC and MediaTek are also close partners in the semiconductor industry. In November 2021, MediaTek officially announced its industry-leading Dimensity 9000 SoC last year, built on TSMC’s 4nm process. The chip was the first SoC to use Cortex-X2 high-performance cores and was the first SoC to run on the latest ARMv9 architecture.

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(Source)

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TSMC has been working on launching its 3nm process technology sometime next year, with risk production of the node already being underway. But now, a new report has suggested that the company might already have plans to shrink its process node even further.

According to a WccFTech report, the world’s largest contract chipmaker is seeking to build a second 2nm production facility on a gold course next to the Zhonke Park in Taichung, Taiwan. Apparently, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s CEO, C.C. Wei paid a surprise visit to the Taichung city government last week. The mayor of Taichung, Shiow-Yen Lu, stated that the cost to set up this new 2nm fab might be a staggering 1 trillion New Taiwan Dollars (roughly 36 billion US Dollars).

Another major hurdle is that city officials are concerned about the environmental impacts of this facility. On the other hand, the production site would also create a number of new jobs and bring an inflow of money to the region as well, helping in its development. Thus, the mayor suggested that the chipmaker use renewable energy for the electricity requirements of this plant.

Since mass production through its 3nm process is expected to start in the second half of 2022, the production of the 2nm process would possibly be in 2025. With the smaller process node, the number of transistors inside the chip can be raised again, making it more energy efficient as well. However, it is still too early to tell if the plans to build the 2nm production site will actually go through, so stay tuned for more updates.

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Taiwan has just given TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) the green light for its plans to set up a new chip plant in Japan. The approval was given Taiwan’s Investment Commission earlier this week.

According to TaiwanNews, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission stated that the Taiwanese chipmaker’s plans were approved since the firm’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities is still at least a generation ahead of its Japanese counterparts. In other words, the world’s largest contract chipmaker does not face risks regarding its high end chip process technology being leaked to its rivals.

Notably, the new project has TSMC work together with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (SSS) in the form of a joint venture as Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM). The chip site will be situated in the Kumamoto Prefecture and will manufacture the less advanced 22nm and 28nm process based chips that are used in microcontrollers and image sensors. Meaning, the chips being produced will have a wide variety of applications in industries like consumer electronics to even automobiles as well.

As of right now, the initial capital expenditure for the new facility is expected to be around 195 billion New Taiwan Dollars or roughly about 7 billion US Dollars. Furthermore, the project has also garnered strong support from the Japanese government, which is also seeking to strengthen its position in semiconductors at the moment. Out of the 7 billion US Dollars, TSMC is set to invest around 2.12 billion US Dollars, while SSS will invest around 500 million US Dollars in the joint venture. The construction of the site is planned to start next year and is expected to be completed sometime in 2024.

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India is in talks with Taiwan over a deal regarding chip production. The new discussions would have both countries enter into a semiconductor manufacturing agreement, bringing a new chip plant to India.

According to a Bloomberg report, the talks are related to chip plant and new trade deal between both nations. However, this move might spark new frictions with China. As per sources close to the matter, the officials from New Delhi and Taipei have met in recent weeks to discuss a possible agreement that would bring a chip plant to India. This chip manufacturing site would have an estimated worth of 7.5 billion US Dollars and would supply the nation with various components related to 5G to even electric cars.

As of right now, India is also surveying potential locations that can provide this site with sufficient water, land, and manpower. Furthermore, the country also seeks to provide financial support of 50 percent of the capital expenditure from 2023. This would also includes other benefits like tax breaks and other incentives as well. Notably, the officials from Taipei also wanted fast progress on a bilateral investment agreement that would include lowered tariffs for various products that are used to make semiconductors.

Unfortunately, the Office of Trade Negotiations in Taiwan declined to comment on the matter while India’s trade ministry has yet to provide a comment regarding this matter. The report added that Taiwan has long sought a trade deal with India, however, official in New Delhi have been reluctant due to rise of new frictions with China caused by this move. For those unaware, China considers the island nation as its territory.

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Just a few days back, ASUS launched its latest gaming smartphones — ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5s Pro in its home market China. The phones, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G SoC, are targeted at the high-end market.

The newly launched smartphones are the successor to the ASUS ROG Phone 5 series, which was launched in March this year. As per the reports, ASUS accounted for about 90 percent market share in Taiwan’s gaming smartphone segment in the first half of this year.

With the updated ROG Phone 5s series powered by the latest chipset available in the market, it appears that ASUS is trying to ensure that it offers top-of-the-line specifications and improves its lead in the market.

The company has confirmed that the ROG Phone 5 series, as well as the newly announced ROG Phone 5s series, will be released in Mainland China. Expanding to more regions will allow the Taiwan-based company to sell more units of its gaming smartphones.

As per the company’s estimates, it managed to sell around 500,000 units of its smartphones in the year 2020, and this year, the company is aiming to sell 800,000 to 1 million units and it seems quite achievable for the brand at this time.

ASUS only has a presence in the high-end premium smartphone segment and is no longer selling budget or mid-range smartphones. Although there’s a Zenfone lineup of flagship smartphones, the popular offering from the brand remains the ROG Phone gaming lineup.

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The world is currently facing a chip crisis, with semiconductor shortages affecting industries and economies across the globe. Now, the chip shortage has neared the ‘Danger Zone’ as wait times for shipments have reached a new record high, but Taiwan promises to keep supplying chips across the globe.

According to a Bloomberg report, the chip shortage has even hampered recovery of economies post the Coronavirus pandemic and has caused a major gap between chip orders and deliveries. At the moment, the wait times have reached a whpping 17 weeks in back in April 2021. This is indicative of the fact the clients are struggling to secure a stable supply, as per a research by Susquehanna Financial Group. The 17 weeks lead time is the highest the group has ever recorded and has even marked the situation as the ‘danger zone.’

Amid this crisis, the Taiwanese government has pledged to work on providing the world with a steady chip supply despite the growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the government also adjusted its GDP projections for this year, raising it by 4.64 percent in preparation of a global ‘scramble for semiconductors’ that will cause a surge in exports, as per an SCMP report.

Currently, the global chip shortage has affected variou indutries including automobiles, smartphone, home applicances, and other as well. Just in this year alone, automakers are expected to lose out on a reported 110 billion US Dollars in sales. So, it remains to be seen how the situation plays out as many chip makers are rushing to start the operations of new chip plants to raise chip supply in various regions.

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Earlier today (14th April 2021), Taiwan said that its chip based firms will comply with the new US regulations, which had Washington add seven Chinese companies into its economic blacklist.

According to a Reuters report, these companies include China based supercomputing firms, which the US Commerce Department said were “involved with building supercomputers used by China’s military actors, its destabilizing military modernization efforts, and/or weapons of mass destruction programs.” For those unaware, blacklisted companies or other firms on the list are required to apply for licenses from the Commerce Department and face strict scrutiny when they seek permissions to receive items from suppliers based in the US.

At the moment, Taiwan is a major supplier of semiconductors for various industries across the globe. Now, Taiwanese Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua stated that the local chip firms will follow US rules and regulations, saying that “Our companies, whether producers or exporters, must accord with our country’s rules. Of course the United States has new rules, and our companies will pay attention and accord with the key criteria of the U.S. rules.”

Notably, the addition of the seven new firms into the blacklist arrives amid rising frictions between China over Taiwan. Furthermore, the tensions are also high amid the global shortage of semiconductors that has affected various industries around the world and disrupted supply chains globally. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available regarding this matter or any other important developments.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s leading contract chipset manufacturer, was recently rumored to increase its pricing by 15 percent because of the on-going chip shortage.

However, the first quarter of the year is about the end and the company has not yet raised the pricing. But a new report coming from United News claims that TSMC could raise the price of its 12-inch wafers by $400.

This could result in a 25 percent price hike which will be an all-time high record. It’s noteworthy that the company has shifted to 5nm process nodes for the chipsets, making them more powerful and energy-efficient.

During the second half of next year, a Taiwan-based company is expected to start shipping 3nm chips. The next-generation process node is forecast to deliver 25%-30% more power and 10% to 15% more performance at the same power levels.

Because of the strong demand for the chips and low supply, TSMC has walked back the discounts that it offered to its customers. But the company is facing other situations that are beyond its control and adds to the company’s expenses.

A lack of rain has created a serious water shortage and the city where TSMC is based received only half the amount of rain in 2020 compared to the previous year. This has forced the company to arrange for water tankers at its facilities.

If TSMC decides to hike wafer prices by 25 percent and cancel the previously negotiated deals with the companies, the smartphone makers could end up shelling more money than they budgeted for and that cost can be passed to the customers.

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TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) has just signed a deal for more than 100 water tankers as the situation is expected to worsen in Taiwan, which is suffers from a drought.

According to a WccfTech report, the world’s largest contract chip maker has ordered over 100 water tankers for a deal worth 200 million Yuan (roughly 30 million US Dollars). The move from the company arrives to deal with the water shortage in the nation’s Hsinchu province. This situation is expected to further worsen over the coming months, which will also likely lead to rising costs of these water tanks. The report also as Taiwanese fabs’ attempt to fight the ongoing drought in Taiwan.

For those unaware, the island nation did not experience any typhoons last year, which is causing a water shortage that is depleting the current water reservoirs in all of its region. Back in February, TSMC had ordered each tanker at a cost of 1,000 US Dollars, although, the exact figure of the company’s orders was unknown. In other words, the order for 100 water tankers might just be the start for the company, which would also inevitably lead to higher costs on the company.

An old report from 2019 also reveals that TSMC’s daily consumption of water during the year was around 156,000 tons per day. But, this figure has likely risen by a notable degree. Notably, Taiwan had recently assured that the nation will be able to keep its chip makers running till May, with its current supply of water. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information regarding the matter.

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Taiwan has assured that it has sufficient water reserves left to keep its semiconductor based tech giants running till late May 2021. This includes major chipmakers like TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).

According to a Bloomberg report, the news arrives as the nation faces one of its worst droughts in decades. The local government offered assurances that it can keep its chipmakers running as they wait for monsoon rains to arrive. At the moment, the region is expected to have enough water to supply its public and industry till later this year. Although, precipitation for the year is expected to fall short of historical averages, as per estimates from Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua.

As of right now, the drought has yet to affect or in any manner impact operations of TSMC or any other companies. For those unaware, Taiwan has been suffering from the worst drought in 56 years, which is a threat to its water intensive sectors of the economy from chipmakers to even textile factories and farms. This has also led to heightened levels of concern as it arrives amid a shortage of semiconductors that have led to halting the production of automobiles from companies like General Motors, Volkswagen, and more.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen stated in a social media post that the government will do everything in its power to stabilize supply. Productions of chips generally require a large amount of water and power. Meanwhile, the US, Japan, and Europe have urged the Taiwanese government to do all it can to keep the supply of chips study to relieve the delay in production for automobiles across the globe.

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Germany has been facing a shortage of auto chip supply and has asked Taiwan to urge its local manufacturers to help in easing this issue. Apparently, the shortage of semiconductor chips has affected the former’s automobile industry.

According to a Reuters report, the shortage has hampered the economic recovery of Germany after the Coronavirus pandemic. At the moment, automobile manufacturers across the globe have been shutting down their assembly lines due to issues with the delivery of semiconductors. A few of the cases seem to have stemmed from the actions of the former US President Donald Trump’s administration, and their efforts against the Chinese chip factories.

As per the report, the shortages have affected automobile giants like Volkswagen, Ford Motors, Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor, Fiat Chrysler, and even other car manufacturers as well. In a letter, the German Economy Minister, Peter Altmaier asked his Taiwanese counterpart Wang Mei-hua regarding this issue. The letter was to address the current issue that also included the Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, in the talks.

For those unaware, TSMC is also one of Germany’s largest chip supplier. Altmaier stated that “I would be pleased if you could take on this matter and underline the importance of additional semiconductor capacities for the German automotive industry to TSMC.” The letter aims at getting additional capacities at TSMC to deliver semiconductors in both the short and medium terms. Furthermore, the German automobile is already in talks with TSMC about raising deliveries, which have been “very constructive” so far.

RELATED:

• TSMC reportedly planning to increase automotive chips pricing by 15%
• Samsung and Tesla partners to make 5nm chip for autonomous driving
• Trump’s clampdown on Chinese tech firm leads to chips shortage for automakers

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POCO, which started off as a sub-brand of Xiaomi, has today confirmed that the company will be hosting a launch event on 21st January which will be broadcast online. At the event, the company will officially launch the POCO M3 smartphone.

This is the same launch date for the POCO M3 smartphone in Indonesia. For those who are unaware, the smartphone was first launched in November last year as the successor to the POCO M2 and carries a starting price of $129.

The phone features a 6.53-inch IPS LCD waterdrop display and offers Full HD+ screen resolution and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The phone also comes certified with TUV Rheinland’s Low Blue Light Certification.

Under the hood, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC, which is clocked at 2.0GHz. It comes packed with 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. We expect the phone to have multiple variants based on memory configuration in Taiwan.

EDITOR’S PICK: Honor smartphones may get support for Google Mobile Services in the coming months

Coming to the camera department, the device has a triple-camera setup on the back that consists of a 48MP f/1.79 primary camera. It is coupled with a 2MP macro camera and another 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there’s an 8MP f/2.0 selfie shooter.

As for the software, the device comes with an Android 10 pre-installed along with the company’s own MIUI 12 custom user interface on top of it. The phone is powered by a massive 6,000mAh battery and supports 18W charging.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro flagship smartphone to reportedly have 120x zoom support

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Realme has just launched two new 5G smartphone in Taiwan. The new smartphones are the company’s efforts to expand its presence and market share in the region and feature MediaTek processors.

The two new 5G enabled handsets includes the Realme X7 Pro and Realme 7. Both devices sport MediaTek’s Dimensity chipset that supports the newer and faster bandwidth. Looking at the higher end model first, the Chinese tech giant’s Realme X7 Pro features MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ SoC, and will start for a price of 13,999 New Taiwan Dollars (roughly 500 US Dollars), which can be higher depending on the memory configuration the customer chooses.

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On the other hand, with the Realme 7, the company is pushing for the mid range segment, which is its strong suit. The device is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 800U processor and is priced at 9,990 New Taiwan Dollars (roughly 355 US Dollars). Realme is aiming at growing its foothold in Taiwan by launching budget friendly 5G enabled smartphones. The devices would help accelerate the development and growth of the 5G handset market in the region and also boost’s the company’s market share, as per hung Hsiang-wei, chief commercial officer of Realme Taiwan.

According to the DigiTimes report, the company is currently the fifth largest OEM in the Taiwanese market in November with just a 5 percent share. Although, its 5G offerings are expected to account for 40 percent of its total smartphone shipment in 2021, based on local retail channels. The other major players in Taiwan include Apple, Samsung Electronics, Oppo, and Vivo, with the market having shipped a combined 620,000 units last month.

UP NEXT: Samsung to exclude chargers from Galaxy S21 retail box as the company removes posts mocking Apple

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Realme aims on becoming one of the top 5 smartphone brands in Taiwan. The company seeks to achieve this by launching 5 to 6 handset models with support for either 4G and 5G in 2021, as per a senior official.

For those unaware, the Chinese tech giant was once a sub brand of Oppo. It is planning to expand its presence in the region with new launches and grow to be one of the top 5 brands in the region, according to Chung Hsiang-wei, chief commercial officer of Realme Taiwan. To achieve this, the company plans on launched 5G enabled devices priced below 10,000 Taiwanese Dollars (roughly 355 US Dollars) in the second quarter of 2021, as per a DigiTimes report.

Editor’s Pick: OPPO Reno5 5G and Reno5 Pro 5G launched in China with Snapdragon and MediaTek processors respectively

Despite multi lens and high pixel camera smartphones becoming common throughout the market, the senior executive believes that any device with 3 to 4 cameras would be sufficient for most photo apps. Furthermore, Realme is also planning on growing its connected devices or IoT portfolio as well, for personal, household, and traveling applications. This includes products like wearables, small size displays, health care gadgets, and other smart household devices.

Although the company is relatively young by the standards of other established players in the industry, it has quickly grown its presence in the market. While it aims to be within the top 5 brands in the Taiwanese region, it has already achieved this in other markets like India, which is the second largest smartphone market in the world. As of the third quarter of 2020, it held a 15 percent market share in the region, even beating its previous parent company Oppo and is even one of top brands for wearables in the same region.

UP NEXT: Redmi GM speaks on the future of in display fingerprint, faster charging tech, and more

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Before new sanctions on Chinese giant Huawei were set to kick-off from 15th September, the company had started stockpiling the necessary components to ensure that the business doesn’t go under.

Thanks to that stockpiling from Huawei, Taiwan has witnessed a rise in exports for the month of September. As per the report, the exports jumped 9.4 percent from a year earlier to $30.71 billion last month.

EDITOR’S PICK: Redmi General Manager hints the launch of new phones in October; Could it be Redmi K30T?

This is the second-highest monthly tally on record as far as exports from Taiwanese firms are concerned. The month of August had also witnessed a rise in export — an 8.3 percent increase, helped by Huawei.

For those who are unaware, the Trump administration expanded restriction on Huawei in the month of August and banned suppliers from selling chips made in the U.S. or using U.S. technology to Huawei without a special license. The new sanctions took effect in mid-September and thus, the Chinese giant had started stockpiling components.

It’s noteworthy that Taiwan’s September imports unexpectedly fell by 5.4 percent, against economists’ expectations for a 3 percent increase. As per the report, Taiwan, which has China as its largest trading partner, could see around 2 percent exports this month, i.e. October 2020, said Taiwan’s finance ministry.

UP NEXT: Android 10 update may arrive for the Nokia 5.1 today; Android 11 roadmap may follow shortly after

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HTC launches two new smartphones in its home country Taiwan – Desire 20 Pro and U20 5G. The former handset has leaked multiple times over the past few weeks. Whereas, the latter is the first 5G mobile phone from the company.

HTC Desire 20 Pro Specifications

The Desire 20 Pro is just like any other budget smartphone in the market powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM. The storage can be further expanded via microSD card.

The phone sports a 6.5-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2340 pixels) LCD panel with 19:5:9 aspect ratio and a punch-hole for the 25MP selfie camera. The back of the handset houses a quad-camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary sensor, 8MP ultra-wide unit, 2MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor.

Other features of the device include WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, dual-frequency GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C, multifunctional NFC, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and Android 10.

Lastly, the handset gets is power from a 5,000 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0 fast-charging standard.

HTC U20 5G Specifications

The HTC U20 5G is the company’s first 5G smartphone. It features similar design and identical specs like the Desire 20 Pro except for some minor changes like the processor and display size to name a few.

Under the hood, it comes powered by the well-known mid-range 5G SoC, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G. Unlike the other phone, it features 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM and still can be expanded via microSD card.

The FHD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels) 20:9 LCD panel on it is slightly larger at 6.8-inch and has a punch-hole for the 32MP selfie snapper. Whereas, the rear camera setup is exactly the same as the other phone. That means it has got a 48MP (primary) + 8MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (macro) + 2MP (depth) quad-camera setup.

Further, the handset runs Android 10 and features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, dual-frequency GPS, and multifunctional NFC.

Last but not least, it has the same 5,000 mAh battery but supports slightly faster Quick Charge 4.0 fast-charging protocol.

HTC Desire 20 Pro/U20 5G Pricing and Availability

The Desire 20 Pro and U20 5G smartphones are limited to Taiwan for now. Though they have been listed on the official website, HTC is yet to reveal their price. The company might bring them to other markets in the near future.

UP NEXT: Motorola Edge Plus units are suffering from a major display issue

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Sharp Aquos Zero 2 launched in September 2019 as the world’s first 240Hz refresh rate display smartphone. Since its release, the device has been exclusive to Japan. But not anymore as it makes its way to Taiwan for TWD 21,990 ($732) after five months from the announcement in December.

The Sharp Aquos Zero 2 is a 2019 flagship smartphone powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC. The handset comes in a single variant with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 3.0 storage.

It features a 6.4-inch OLED panel with FHD+ (2340 × 1080 pixels) resolution and 240Hz refresh rate. Further, it only comes with a dual-camera setup consisting of 12MP primary sensor and a 20MP ultra-wide shooter. Whereas, the front selfie camera is of 8 megapixels and located in a dew-drop notch.

The handset runs Android 10 and also has an in-display fingerprint sensor. Other features of the device include WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G, dual-band GPS, no 3.5mm headphone jack, and USB Type-C. As for the size and weight, the phone measures 158 x 74 x 8.8 mm and weighs only 143g.

The only major downside of Sharp Aquos Zero 2 is its tiny 3,130 mAh battery. This small battery is even not enough for regular 60Hz displays, let alone the 240Hz refresh rate panel the handset comes equipped with.

That being said, there’s no word from Sharp on the availability of Aquos Zero 2 in other markets.

UP NEXT: Sharp launches two new Aquos 8K Smart TVs in Japan with 8K Pure Color Panel

(Via)

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Sharp Corporation has recently filed a damage lawsuit for patent infringement against a major smartphone manufacturer. The company is suing Oppo, the Chinese tech giant, in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court.

For those unaware, Sharp Corporation is a Japanese multinational brand that designs and manufactures electronic products. The company recently filed a lawsuit against Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. Ltd on 1st April 2020. According to the lawsuit, Sharp has alleged that Oppo smartphones that are sold in Taiwan infringe on one of its LTE patents.

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In other words, this is related to the communications technologies that are implemented in smartphones. Sharp considers its intellectual property as a major resource for its business development, so this violation is being dealt with immediately.

As of right now, Sharp Corporation’s wireless communications standard patent portfolio includes more than 6,000 patents across 50 countries. And seeing its actions, it is clear that they will take necessary actions to protect their intellectual property. This is still in early stages so any developments regarding this case should arrive soon after. So stay tuned as updates will be provided when available.

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(Source,Via)

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Sharp, a Japan-based company that makes electronics products has launched a few smartphones under its own brand. Today, the company has launched a new phone in Taiwan, dubbed as Sharp AQUOS V. The phone had been making rounds in leaks and rumours since the past couple of months.

The company is touting the newly launched smartphone as a “national flagship”, even though the device is powered by years old Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor based on 10nm processor which was released in 2017.

The Sharp AQUOS V features a 5.93-inch Full HD+ display with 2160 x 1080 pixels screen resolution. Coupled with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SOC is 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There’s also a microSD card slot for expanding the storage capacity up to 256GB.

As for the camera setup, the back side of the phone comes with a dual-camera setup with two 13-megapixel sensors. On the front side, the device comes equipped with an 8-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

EDITOR’S PICK: Xiaomi patents foldable phone with penta-camera pop-up camera

The device, which comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack, has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and has support for Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity along with the usual set of connectivity options.

The smartphone is running Android 9 Pie operating system out-of-the-box and is powered by a 3,126mAh battery which can be charged through USB Type-C port. The company has not yet confirmed if the device comes with fast charging support.

The Sharp AQUOS V is priced at NT$6,990 in Taiwan, which roughly converts to $230. While the phone has now been launched in Taiwan, it is expected to be available in the Europe market pretty soon but no specific launch date is known yet.

UP NEXT: Purported OnePlus 8 Pro prototype with dual punch-hole display spotted

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This year has been an excellent one for Asus so far. Their laptop lines have been doing quite well, and the ROG Phone 2 has broke straight into the market with huge success, making a pretty big impact with lasting effects. So, it’s really not all that surprising that Asus is the number one Taiwanese brand of 2019 according to MOEA.

For those not aware, The Ministry of Economic Affairs (or MOEA for short) is the ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for formulating policy and laws for industry and trade, foreign direct investment, energy, minerals, measurement standards, intellectual property, state-owned enterprises.

EDITOR’S PICK: Zenfone 6 (rear cameras) scores 104 on DxOMark

Top-10 Taiwan-based global brands by value, 2019 (US$m)

Other notable companies on the list include Acer over at number 8 posting some pretty decent growth this year, as well as MediaTek managing to eke their way into the list. Although they’re both doing decently well, they’re not even close to Asus, who sits at the top with a pretty comfortable looking lead.

The most recent devices out of the Asus stable are the Zenfone 6 and Asus ROG Phone 2, which have both been receiving pretty great reviews. Whether they’ll be able to keep up this momentum next year remains to be seen, though we’re optimistic they’ll do just fine.

UP NEXT: The Rear vent on the Asus ROG Phone 2 is fake reveals JerryRig’s teardown

(Source)

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Last month, Vivo launched its flagship smartphone — Vivo NEX 3 5G and today, the smartphone has made its way to Taiwan. The launch of this new Vivo NEX 3 5G smartphone in Taiwan comes just as the 5G service rollout has begun in the region.

Interestingly, the company has not increased the pricing for the 5G variant and is selling the smartphone at the same price of the 4G model. Apparently, the company decided not to increase price for the 5G model to meet the customers’ expectations.

In China, the Vivo NEX 3 5G smartphone with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage is priced at ¥5698 (~$806) while the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage version costs ¥6198 (~$877). Both the variants are on sale in the country.

The Vivo NEX 3 5G comes with a Waterfall Display design which curves right into the area where you will usually find the power and volume control buttons. As a replacement for the removal of the buttons, Vivo has included a pressure-sensitive sensor and X-axis motor in the side of the phone.

The smartphone has a 6.89-inch Super AMOLED display with 2256 x 1080 pixels screen resolution that offers 93.6 percent screen-to-body ratio. There is no notch and neither is there a punch hole. Instead, there is a pop-up selfie camera with its own LED flash that slides out from the middle part of the top side of the frame.

EDITOR’S PICK: Vivo unveils the Vivo Z5 “Fantasy Westward Journey” Gift Box version

It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus octa-core processor and comes packed with 8GB and 12GB RAM models along with 256GB UFS 3.0 internal storage. The handset comes with a 16MP f/2.09 front-facing camera.

On the back side, there’s a 64MP f/1.8 main camera paired with a 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle camera and a 13MP f/2.48 telephoto camera. Connectivity options on the device include NFC, Dual-SIM, Dual-VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 5.8GHz WiFi.

It also has an audio jack at the top, an AK4377 HiFi audio chip, liquid cooling, and 4D game shock. The smartphone runs FunTouch OS 9.1 based on Android 9 Pie operating system and is powered by a 4500mAh battery with support for 44W Superfast Flash Charge.

UP NEXT: Huawei Enjoy 10s launched with 6.3-inch display, Kirin 710F, 48MP triple cameras for 1,599 Yuan (~$226)

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China’s state-run People’s Daily criticized Apple for approving a Hong Kong app that crowd-sources and maps updates about police and protester locations, as well as for returning a song “advocating Hong Kong independence” to Apple Music. While the newspaper did not name the song it was referring to, it’s likely to be “Glory to Hong Kong,” which many in the city are calling their “national” anthem.

“Nobody wants to drag Apple into the lingering unrest in Hong Kong. But people have reason to assume that Apple is mixing business with politics, and even illegal acts,” said the article, published under the byline Bo Lan Ping, or “calming the waves,” a pseudonym used frequently by the newspaper for commenting on Hong Kong issues in recent weeks. “Apple has to think about the consequences of its unwise and reckless decision.”

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei may lose second spot to Apple in Q4 2019

In what appears to be a threat to its access to the vast market in China, the commentary said Apple’s “mixing of political, commercial and illegal activities” is “unwise” and “imprudent” and would only “draw more turbulence” for the company. This is very worrisome, especially with the trade wars going on.

In another bit of news however, it seems Apple iPhone users in Macau and Taiwan discovered that they no longer had access to an emoji bearing the image of the Taiwanese flag, considered a controversial symbol on mainland China.

The removal is being treated by activists and pro-Hong Kong supporters as another attempt from mainland China to establish sovereignty over areas it considers under its control. Because of Taiwan’s political status, the People’s Republic of China considers any mention of or allusion to its independence as an offense against its sovereignty.

It is still possible to use the Taiwan flag emoji, however. Apparently it still displays in apps and on websites, and you can bring it up by typing the word “Taiwan” or by copying and pasting it.

UP NEXT: Apple reportedly bailout major parts supplier Japan Display with $200 million investment

(Source 1, Source 2)

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In yet another blow to its business model and patent licensing practice, Qualcomm — one of the leading chipmaker for smartphones, has been fined a record NT$23.4 billion ($774 million) by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission.

The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission is accusing Qualcomm of abusing its dominant position. The commission said that the company’s dominance in CDMA and LTE chips, as well as its key patent holdings for such technologies, let the company abuse its position and refuse to license necessary patents.

Regulators claimed that Qualcomm had been violating antitrust rules for at least seven years. They further said that during those seven years, it sold chips worth of around $30 billion to local companies and collected about $13 billion in licensing fees from them.

The penalty is the largest handed out to a single company since the Taiwanese antitrust authority was established. The ruling comes as another blow to the chipmaker which is currently facing an international wave of regulatory and legal challenges.

Besides the fine, the Fair Trade Commission also told Qualcomm to withdraw previously signed deals that forces competitors to provide price, customer names, shipment, model name and other such information.

However, Qualcomm disagrees with the decision and says that it will appeal the FTC’s decision in the Taiwanese court. It plans to call for a stay on “any required behavioural measures”. In a statement, the company said,

The fine bears no rational relationship to the amount of Qualcomm’s revenues or activities in Taiwan, and Qualcomm will appeal the amount of the fine and the method used to calculate it.

Read More: Snapdragon 855 Already In Works on 7nm Chipset, Codenamed as Hana V1.0

Qualcomm has been fined $854 million in South Korea and $975 million in China. It is also facing lawsuits from Apple and the FTC in the United States. European regulators have also expressed antitrust concerns over its $38 billion bid to buy NXP Semiconductors.

While the regulatory and legal attacks over Qualcomm differ in some details, the key matter is the allegation that Qualcomm uses its dominant position in the market to charge unfair royalty rates for its patents.

(source)

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OPPO continues its strides in the International scene with the latest report from Taiwan showing the company has again recorded some success in the Taiwanese market. Market data released by Taiwan Science and Technology Media showed the smartphone sales for the month of July 2017 was topped by the OPPO R11 in the Android segment but Apple had the largest market share. 

The statistical data contains the performance of the top 20 models in the Taiwan market and it shows that Apple made a strong showing with the iPhone 7 Plus 128GB re-emerging as the top selling model in the month under review. On the Android scene, the OPPO R11 emerged as the most popular Android phone in the entire country. Oppo also had two models on the list; the OPPO A57 and OPPO A77 which were ranked 7th and 9th respectively. 

The most spectacular thing about the R11’s performance in Taiwan is that the device just went up for sale about a month before then and surprisingly the smartphone raked in enough sales to become the second highest selling brand.

Read More: Samsung Unveils Taiwan Exclusive Rose Pink Galaxy S8

Samsung fell from the top spot but still stayed in the top 5 spots with the Galaxy J7 Prime and J2 Prime clinching the third and fourth spots. They Korean giant, however, had the most models on the list with a total of five different models including the Galaxy S8+. This is closely followed by Sony with the Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XA1, Xperia XA1 Ultra, Xperia XZ.

(source)

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From the leaked image, the Taiwanese model resembles more closely the OPPO A57 with improved specs. The Chinese A77 looks more like the OPPO R11, most especially the U-style antenna and the distinctive single rear-firing camera sensor.

A rough translation of the text on the leaked image says ‘For Youth Together’, hinting at the phone targeting a young audience.

In terms of specification, the OPPO A77 will be powered by a MediaTek MT6750T eight-core 64-bit processor, clocked up to 1.5 GHz and paired with 4GB RAM. The device will come with a 5.5-inch FHD display and will have 64GB, of built-in storage.

For photography and video, the A77 will come with a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 16-megapixel front-facing selfie shooter. Other components include a 3200mAh battery and a standby dual-SIM setup.

According to the source, the OPPO A77 (Taiwan Model), will be released soon.

READ MORE: OnePlus 5 in India Is Made in the Country by OPPO

What are you thoughts about OPPO A77 (Taiwan Variant)? Should they have named the device differently to avoid confusion? Share you thoughts down below.

(Source)

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OPPO continues its strides in the International scene with the latest report from Taiwan showing the company recorded some success there, despite a decline in the entire smartphone market. According to data obtained from Taiwan’s retail channels, the market recorded a total of 599,000 smartphone sales in March 2017. When compared to the previous month of February, the gross sales declined by 5.82%. Also, when compared to the previous year, the figures decrease by 10.86% year on year. Even though Taiwan is not so populated, the figures are disappointing.

In terms of individual brand sales, Samsung maintained its lead with the Galaxy J series projecting its sales in Taiwan such that its sales grew by 21.6%. This is followed by Apple,  local brands ASUS, and HTC and then OPPO. Don’t be deceived by the total units sold, as the data further revealed that in terms of revenue, Apple recorded the most revenue from the sales of its devices, followed by Samsung. OPPO sprang a surprise by emerging as the third highest gross brand in terms of revenue in the Taiwanese market.

Local brands ASUS and HTC occupy the fourth and fifth slots respectively. This data thus indicates that SONY which had a top 5 performance all through last year has been edged out of the top 5, going from third in February to the sixth spot in March. The data also reveal that most users of the SONY brand who switched to other brands went for HTC as their preferred brand.

Read More: Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Makes First Debut Outside China, Taiwan Gets the Honour

In terms of the top selling models, three of Apple smartphones namely, the iPhone 7 Plus 128GB, iPhone 7 128GB, and iPhone 6 32GB made the list. Samsung had four top selling models namely the Galaxy J2 Prime, Galaxy J7 2016, Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy J5 2016. ASUS came third with the Zenfone 3 ZEF52KL, and Zenfone 2 Laser ZE550KL 16GB on the list. Finally, the OPPO R9S made it as one of the top selling models in Taiwan.

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AnTuTu just released a list of its top 10 most popular and indeed highest grossing smartphones in Taiwan for 2016. It’s a little surprising that the statistical data is coming out three months into the New year but then, it is better late than never. The list shows the top 10 most popular phones in Taiwan is spearheaded by local brand ASUS while the entire list is made up of only Xiaomi, Samsung, HTC and Sony brands.

A close look at the list shows that ASUS has a total of two models on the list with the Zenfone 2 topping the list as the most popular Android phone in Taiwan with 6.56%. This is closely followed by the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 which cornered 5.03% of the market share. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 was another popular one last year, recording 5% of the market share. Another local Taiwanese brand, the HTC 10 sits at the fourth position with 4.13% while the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge completes the top 5 with 4.11%.

Seems Samsung is a very popular brand in Taiwan, as another Samsung smartphone, this time the Galaxy Note 4 occupied the sixth position with 2.90%. ASUS again appeared at the seventh spot with the Zenfone 3 at 2.62%, while local rival HTC occupies the eight spot with the HTC One M8. The remaining two spots are occupied by Japanese mobile phone brand Sony with the Xperia Z5 Premium taking the ninth spot and the Xperia Z3 at the tenth spot.

Read Also: Top 10 Smartphones On AnTuTu In February 2017

The ranking is obviously based on sales figures for the period spanning January to December 2016. It could be observed that brands like Huawei, OPPO and Vivo were missing from the list but this year, we expect to see them on the list considering their growing popularity.

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The Taiwanese smartphone market experienced a slight decline in sales in 2016 when compared to the recorded in the previous year (2015). According to a market research agency report posted on Sogi.com.tw, the entire mobile phone sales for last year was 8 million, reduced by 530,000 from the figure of the previous year.

The statistical data shows that Samsung still continues to maintain its lead in the Taiwanese market, a feat it is achieving most of the major markets globally. Samsung singlehandedly sold 1.72 million units of its smartphones in Taiwan last year to rank top in the market, giving it a 21.60% share. Of the range of Samsung’s mobile devices that were up fro sale last year, the mid-range Galaxy J7 (2015) proved quite popular, selling over 300,000 units alone. Even the J7 (2016) is also doing marvelously well, as it squeezed itself into the top ten hottest selling phone in Taiwan last year.

Apple came second with a 19.82% share of the market, in a trend that mirrors the control which both companies command globally. Taiwanese brand ASUS came in at third position with 16.04% share and then another Taiwanese brand HTC occupied the number four position with 14.37%.

Read More:  Korean Government Confirms Note 7 Battery Problems

Japanese smartphone giant Sony continued its exploit in Taiwan by maintaining its top-five position, sitting at number 5 with an 8.53% share of the market. It is quite surprising that no Chinese brand made it up the top five ladder but talking about the top 10, OPPO and Xiaomi did appear there. While high-flying brand OPPO came in at number 6 with a 4.26% share in sales. Others are Taiwan Mobile with 2.33% at the seventh position, Benten with 1.46% at the eighth spot, LG at the ninth with 1.31%, and finally, Xiaomi completes the top ten with 1.18%.

(source)

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A study carried out by the United Nations University in Japan has revealed that the amount of e-waste in the Eastern and SouthEastern parts of Asia has increased by 63% between 2010 and 2015. The waste currently sitting at 12.3 million tonnes has Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the Chinese Mainland as major waste generators.

The huge surge in e-waste has been attributed to the rapid rate at which the middle class in countries like China is growing. People can now afford to buy more electronics and easily replace faulty ones or outdated ones. It has also become cheaper and easier to import products.

According to the research, some countries don’t have e-waste laws or don’t enforce them. It is also not unusual to see people uneducated about proper disposal of electronic wastes and those who are educated find it difficult to do so since recycling locations are far and few.

READ MORE: Ninety Percent of Phones old in China are from Domestic Manufacturers

It is not all that bad though as countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are doing well when it comes to e-waste management. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and China have created laws related to e-waste disposal recently and should get better as public awareness increases.

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