COVID-19 goes on a global rampage as 2020 unfolds. As part of the efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, health screening stations are set up at entrances to government buildings, medical institutions, and office complexes to check people's temperatures with forehead thermometers or thermal imaging cameras. However, most thermal imaging systems on the market are not intelligent enough and are susceptible to false alarms.Their accuracy may degrade when they have been in use for an extended period of time. Furthermore, a professional team may be required to set up a thermal imaging system. These all prevent enterprises and institutions from painlessly incorporating temperature screening systems. To help relieve these headaches, ARBOR recently introduced E-Guardian S408, a thermal imaging solution for epidemic prevention. Featuring a smart design to effectively reduce false alarm rate and boost screening rate, plus a small footprint and diverse mounting options, E-Guardian S408 grabbed market attention as soon as it made a debut.According to ARBOR general manager Clark Lien, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, temperature screening systems have virtually become standard equipment of large buildings but most systems currently in use leave a lot to be desired. The problem of false alarms is the most common complaint. Temperature screening systems detect the temperature of the subject using thermal imaging technology and present the distribution of the temperatures on the display. Most systems on the market are unable to target a specific detection area so a false alarm most often occurs when a person holding a hot drink passes the screening station. When such cases keep occurring and there is no temperature calibration reference, the systems will raise false alarms again and again. The cry wolf effect will cause the operators to let their guard down, thus failing to keep the virus out.Aside from the problem of false alarms, current temperature screening systems lack user-friendly interface. They are generally categorized into two types of systems. One comes with powerful functions but requires the supplier to install the system due to a high level of complexity. The other comes with simple functions but can be installed by the user. Both types of systems have their shortcomings. The former needs professional engineers to configure system parameters, while the latter offers no flexibility in their functions.In view of this, ARBOR introduces E-Guardian S408, featuring robust advantages to solve these pain points. According to Lien, ARBOR started out as an industrial PC supplier and has developed strong capability in thermal imaging technology, which is often used in industrial applications. On top of its experience in developing thermal imaging sensors for inspection instruments used at power or petrochemical plants, ARBOR combines factory automation, ICT and thermal imaging sensor technologies to design pioneering epidemic prevention products with an emphasis on enhancing user experience and value-added features. As a result of such efforts, E-Guardian S408 delivers higher-than-expected reliability and quality. As a premium quality product with a competitive price, E-Guardian S408 has been enthusiastically embraced by the market since its launch.ARBOR not only offers E-Guardian S408 at a compelling price, but also designs it to address the problems of existing systems on the market, noted Lien. Featuring quick and easy installation, E-Guardian S408 can be set up using a rack mount or magnetic mount onto a door frame, wall, or other metal surfaces. It also comes with a built-in Human-Machine Interface (HMI) so there is no need for an external display. Following the installation guide, users can get the system up and running within five minutes.Enhanced with AI-based image recognition, E-Guardian S408 can intelligently detect the human body and locate the forehead and temple for temperature measurement. This way, it can avoid checking temperatures of a non-human object and thus reduce the chance of raising a false alarm. It also comes with a built-in calibration unit that can automatically correct temperature parameters to eliminate the problem of degraded accuracy when existing systems are in extended use.Although COVID-19 is gradually getting contained through joint efforts from the public and private sectors, Lien thinks some organizations will continue to have temperature screening systems operating at the entrance. They will become part of people's daily lives. Temperature screening systems that are smarter and easier to configure and operate will help safeguard the world against the virus.Featuring painless usability, smart design, flexible mounting options and compelling pricing, ARBOR's E-Guardian S408 helps safeguard the world against virus.

Digitimes Research has lowered its global smartphone shipment forecast for 2020 to 1.15 billion units, down 15.4% from 2019's 1.36 billion because of the impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.Weak end-market demand will undermine smartphone brands' orders to ODMs in the year with overall smartphone ODM shipments in 2020 to slip 13.6% on year to arrive at only 260 million units, according to Digitimes Research's new smartphone report.The worldwide top-3 smartphone ODMs are China-based Wingtech, Huaqin and Longcheer, and the three manufacturers are expected to continue expanding production capacities in China, Southeast Asia and India in 2020.The three ODMs' combined share of global smartphone shipments in 2020 is expected to rise to a new record, but each of them will see shipments in the year slip over 10% on year because of the pandemic's impact on end-market demand for smartphones, Digitimes Research's figures show.At the moment, Apple and Vivo are still developing their smartphones completely in house, and therefore, ODMs have been striving keenly for 4G and 5G smartphones orders from brands such as Samsung Electronics, Huawei, Oppos, Xiaomi and Lenovo.

High inventory levels at clients in late 2019 and the coronavirus outbreak early this year combined to send first-quarter 2020 revenues of the world's top-2 silicon wafer suppliers Shin-Etsu Chemical and Sumco, both based in Japan, suffering on-year falls. But unexpected short-term robust demand stoked by the pandemic and long-term agreements with clients are expected to bolster their overall results for first-half of the year, according to Digitimes Research.The market still sees certain demand momentum for silicon wafers in both second-quarter and second-half 2020, but suppliers share the view that actual demand visibility will depend on the development of the pandemic in the second half of the year.Many semiconductor firms initially pinned much hope on increasing 5G, electric vehicle and AI applications in 2020, but the unexpected pandemic has crippled global economic activities, yet creating short-term demand for PCs and datacenter servers needed to support remote work and learning amid pandemic-induced lockdowns, Digitimes Research noted.Holding high ratios of long-term agreements with clients, both Shin-Etsu and Sumco still maintained high capital expenditures in first-quarter 2020 and are not expected to significantly cut second-quarter spending, depending on the development of the pandemic. But Germany-based Siltronic has clearly noted that its 2020 capex will shrink 44.4% on year to EUR200 million.In 2019, global semiconductor sales plunged 12.1% with memory shipments posting the highest annual fall of 32.6% among diverse segments, driving up silicon wafer inventory levels at clients and dragging down total shipments in area and value by 7.2% and 2%, respectively. But 12-inch silicon wafer shipments saw a lower annual fall than the industry average in the year bolstered by demand for high-end logic components, while shipments of 8-inch and under wafers slackened.

Digitimes Research has revised downward its Taiwan foundry output value forecast this year, as end-market demand is likely to disappoint due to the prolonged pandemic.The markets for handsets, consumer PCs and automotive electronics are set to experience a weak third-quarter 2020, which will be dragging down the overall chip demand for the second half of the year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and other Taiwan-based logic foundries are set to see weak revenue momentum starting the third quarter, Digitimes Research indicated.TSMC, United Microelectronics (UMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) are expected to see their combined revenues for 2020 total US$46.21 billion, which is about 3.6% lower than the US$47.95 billion estimated in February, according to Digitimes Research.Digitimes Research now forecasts the combined revenues of Taiwan's top-3 foundries this year will represent a 14.4% increase compared to 2019.

Shipments of LCD TVs by Taiwan-based makers fell 45.2% sequentially to 4.65 million units in the first quarter of 2020, affected mainly by seasonality and the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in China, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan's TV shipments to the North American market were less affected by the pandemic and the off-peak season effects in the first quarter. The ratio of shipments to North America rose to 39.4% of overall Taiwan volumes in the quarter from 38.1% a quarter earlier, Digitimes Research figures show.The shipment proportion of TV models sized above 50 inches fell to 44.3% in the first quarter compared to over 50% in the previous quarter, while the ratio of models ranging from 32-39 inches increased significantly during the January-March period.Meanwhile, the proportion of 4K models also declined to 50.6% in the first quarter.TPV Technology was the top vendor among Taiwan-based TV makers in the first quarter, taking up a 43.7% market share, and it was followed by Foxconn Electronics, Amtran Technology and Innolux.Looking ahead, Taiwan's TV shipments are expected to experience an annual decline of 42.4% to 4.13 million units in the second quarter 2020 as the pandemic has spread into Europe and the US hurting global economic growth and undermining demand for TVs, Digitimes Research estimates.

Shipments of smartphone-use application processors (AP) in the China market are expected to experience a steep drop of 37.8% on year in the second quarter of 2020, as China's handset makers are adjusting their inventory for APs due to weak consumer confidence in the local market and the impact on their shipments to India and other emerging markets in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, according to Digitimes Research.Smartphone AP shipments came to 135 million units in China in the first quarter 2020, decreasing over 30% from a quarter earlier and 12.2% from a year earlier, as Chinese handset brands, particularly Huawei, were adjusting downward their shipments due to the outbreak and weak consumer demand for 5G models lacking killer applications, Digitimes Research has found.Qualcomm was the top vendor with a 41.8% share in China's smartphone AP market in the first quarter, followed by MediaTek with 39.6% and HiSilicon Technologies with 15.2%.Looking ahead, HiSilicon will see its share edge up to 23.4% in the second quarter, bolstered by strong pull-ins from parent company Huawei. Meanwhile, Qualcomm and MediaTek are likely to see their shares drop to 37.4% and 36.2%, respectively, in the quarter, Digitimes Research estimates.Qualcomm and MediaTek are expected to experience double-digit sequential and annual declines in their AP shipments to China in the second quarter, as their major clients including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo all brace for slow sales in the domestic market due to aggressive campaigns from Huawei, while their shipments to India, Africa and other emerging markets will remain constrained due to the virus.Smartphone APs built with 7/8 nm process nodes accounted for 34.9% of China's total mobile AP shipments in the first quarter, surpassing those made with 12nm process to become mainstream technology.

Worldwide all-in-one (AIO) PC shipments are expected to rise over 30% sequentially in the second quarter, following a 29% sequential decline in the first quarter, according to Digitimes Research.With the coronavirus pandemic disrupting the production of AIO PCs, blocking logistics support and weakening demand from enterprises, global AIO PC shipments reached only 2.14 million units in the first quarter. The top-4 AIO PC brand vendors all had similar sequential shipment declines in the quarter, Digitimes Research figures show.The shipment growth in the second quarter is being driven by the facts that the supply chain has already restored its capacity and orders deferred from the first quarter are ready to be fulfilled.Lenovo saw its AIO PC shipments plunge 35% sequentially in the first quarter as its home market of China was the epicenter of the pandemic in the first quarter. Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Apple also suffered shipment drops of around 27-29% sequentially.Among the top-4 brands, Apple is expected to have the highest sequential growth in AIO PC shipments in the second quarter and the strong performance will help Apple leapfrog HP to become the second largest AIO PC brand worldwide.Benefiting from increases in orders from Apple and HP, Quanta Computer's share of worldwide AIO PC shipments is expected to climb 1.8pp sequentially to over 40%.

Taiwan's shipments of large-size panels in 9-inch and above sizes (excluding Sharp's) are expected to grow 12.9% sequentially in the second quarter 2020 thanks to capacity resumption at backend LCD module lines run by Taiwanese panel makers in China, orders deferred from the previous quarter and a surge in demand for remote work and learning applications, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan's large-size panel shipments came to 47.69 million units in the first quarter of 2019, decreasing 19.3% sequentially and 12.3% on year, as related makers' LCM production in China were disrupted by coronavirus-induced shortages in labor, raw materials and packaging materials, as well as weakened demand, Digitimes Research figures show.Panel demand for notebook and over 9-inch tablet applications will be the main growth driver for large-size panel shipments in the second quarter, followed by those for monitor applications (including AIO PCs).As many production lines of TV brands or ODMs in Mexico, Brazil and other places have been fully or partly suspended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Digitimes Research believes that panel demand from the LCD TV segment will lag behind those from the notebook, tablet and monitor sectors in the second quarter.From the supply side, China's BOE Technology, China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) and CED-Panda LCD Technology are expected to ramp up their shipments of IT panels to mitigate the impact resulted from reduced TV panel shipments.In Korea, LG Display will also enhance its presence in the IT panel sector as it is reducing its output of TV panels. Samsung Display is also expected to slow down the pace of its exit from the LCD panel market in order to cope with a surge in demand for IT applications.

Global server shipments in the first quarter of 2020 recorded a sequential decline of 16.9%, steeper than the 9.8% fall that Digitimes Research had estimated in February, as a result of disruptions to the supply chain amid coronavirus-induced lockdowns in many parts of the world.The shipments of the first quarter reached 3.65 million units, according to Digitimes Research's latest server quarterly report.Server shipments are expected to see a 15.8% rebound in the second quarter as orders for servers continue picking up thanks to deferred orders from the first quarter and rising demand for cloud computing services partly driven by remote work and learning needs, Digitimes Research's figures show.The spread of the coronavirus into North America and Europe has destablized local supply of servers, but demand for cloud computing services has been rising. As server supply is expected to gradually return to normal throughout the second quarter, global server shipments are expected to growth both quarterly and yearly in the quarter.

Global tablet shipments are forecast to climb 45.5% sequentially and 9.9% on year in the second quarter of 2020 thanks to a recovery in the related supply chain's capacity in China and educational tablet orders deferred from the first quarter, according to Digitimes Research's latest tablet shipment figures.Shipments in the fist quarter slipped 33.6% on year to reach around 24.7 million units due to the coronavirus outbreak, which crippled the supply chain's upstream production in China. First-tier brands' tablet shipments had a below-average decline of 29.1% on year in the first quarter, while those of white-box models had a bigger drop at 38.2%, Digitimes Research's figures show.Apple remained the largest tablet brand worldwide in the first quarter, followed by Samsung Electronics in second and Huawei in third. Lenovo became the fourth largest brand with increased procurement orders from the education sector and Microsoft was in fifth place. Amazon fell out of the top-5 in the first quarter, but will return to the fourth position in the second quarter with increased orders and will relegate Lenovo and Microsoft to fifth and sixth respectively.Over 75% of global tablet shipments in the first quarter were models with over 10-inch displays, but the shipment share of 7.x-inch tablets is expected to pick up slightly from a quarter ago in the second quarter due to growing shipments of the iPad mini and Amazon's Fire 7.Apple's tablets had a sequential shipment decline slower than those of othe first-tier brands in the first quarter of 2020, which relatively increased the shipment share of tablets using the GF2 touchscreen technology. Among non-Apple tablets, in-cell technology has grown popular with a share of over 20% in the first half of 2020. The share of tablets using the GFF technology has continued to slip.With Apple to significantly increase its tablet orders for the second quarter, the shipment share of GF2-featured tablets is expected to rise further, while Taiwan-based ODMs, which are key manufacturers of iPads, will see their combined shipments grow 60% sequentially in the quarter and command over 50% of worldwide volumes.