Taiwanese component suppliers are ramping up efforts to enter the growing foldable smartphone market, but penetrating South Korea's highly integrated supply chain remains a major challenge. Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest Galaxy Z foldable series on July 10, 2025, emphasizing slimmer, lighter designs—a trend seen as critical in the next phase of smartphone innovation.

On July 9, Vivo officially launched its first foldable smartphone, the X Fold 5, in Taiwan, marking a strategic move to tap into the premium device market, strengthen brand value, and challenge Samsung's dominance in the foldable segment.

Samsung Electronics and Vivo's recent foldable smartphone launches have rekindled interest in a segment that had lost momentum. Yet supply chain executives view these 2025 releases as mere warm-ups before Apple's anticipated 2026 debut in the foldable sector, which they expect will trigger genuine market competition.

Taiwanese lens maker Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) announced its latest financial report on July 8 and expects revenue in the third quarter will grow compared with the second quarter, as it moves into the peak season in July.

Apple and Xiaomi are doubling down on efforts to develop in-house 5G baseband chips, joining a race long dominated by tech heavyweights like Qualcomm and MediaTek. Both companies signaled their ambitions in 2025 to break away from reliance on third-party modem suppliers and take fuller control of their mobile silicon strategies.

Huawei Technologies Co. must face a criminal trial next year in New York after a federal judge refused a request by the Chinese wireless equipment maker to dismiss more than a dozen charges, including racketeering, trade secret theft, and violating US sanctions on Iran.

Sharp announced on June 30 that it will sell its smartphone camera module business, including SAIGON STEC CO., LTD. (SSTEC), to Fullertain Information Technologies Ltd. – B.V.I., a subsidiary of its parent company, Foxconn. The deal is valued at approximately JPY2.4 billion (approx. US$16.6 million) and encompasses the transfer of SSTEC's shares and fixed assets.

Facing external challenges such as US tariffs, exchange rates, and interest rates, IC distributor GMI stated that despite numerous market uncertainties, it expects its operational performance in the second half of 2025 to be on par with the first half. The company is striving for full-year revenue growth, particularly targeting double-digit increases in new projects within the AI servers and automotive markets.

As the calendar turns to the third quarter of 2025, the global smartphone industry finds itself at a critical juncture, shaped by a complex mix of geopolitical tensions, tariff uncertainty, and currency volatility. These macroeconomic headwinds continue to weigh on consumer sentiment, making a strong recovery in end-market demand increasingly difficult. Industry analysts are warning of rising operating costs and mounting challenges for smartphone vendors in the second half of the year.

Recent market reports indicate that leading companies such as Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek are highly likely to fully adopt 2nm chips by 2026. Google, having recently shifted its chip production from Samsung Electronics to TSMC, may also join this trend to ensure its hardware manufacturing processes keep pace with other industry leaders and maintain competitive strength.

Industries worldwide have been dealing with a surge in litigation risk from non-practicing entities (NPEs), commonly known as "patent trolls." To help Taiwanese players defend against NPE threats, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), together with the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI), Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA), and IPIC have established the License on Transfer (LOT) Industry Alliance, with support from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), ASE Technology Holding, Powertech Technology (PTI), Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL), Vanguard International Semiconductor, Giga-Byte Technology, Arcadyan Technology, Micro-Star International (MSI), Advanced Echem Materials (AEMC), and Unimicron.

Apple is reportedly preparing to initiate development of its first foldable smartphone in the second half of 2025, with contract manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (Foxconn) accelerating design efforts, according to supply chain sources familiar with the matter.

While Chinese smartphone manufacturers are using large battery capacities and fast charging speeds to launch a fierce marketing war, Samsung Electronics has chosen to "take a step back," cautiously introducing next-generation battery technologies.

Taiwan's export orders for January-May 2024 rose 15% year on year to reach US$263.8 billion, with electronics products recording an over 25% annual growth to break the US$100 billion mark, according to the latest figures disclosed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Export orders in May 2025 arrived at US$57.93 billion, increasing 18.5% year on year.

Samsung Electronics has launched an extensive internal review to regain ground in the advanced foundry market, triggered by the loss of Google's custom application processor (AP) contract to rival TSMC. The Pixel 10, set to debut with a 3nm Tensor G5 chip produced by TSMC, has forced a reckoning within Samsung's semiconductor division.

Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO), a leading Taiwanese optical component manufacturer and a key supplier of camera lenses for Apple's iPhones, has long been looking beyond smartphones. Years ahead of many peers, the company began positioning itself in augmented reality, virtual reality, and broader artificial intelligence device markets.

GSEO, a key supplier of camera lenses for Apple's iPhone, addressed shareholders on June 17, 2025, with President Jones Chen and General Manager Lee Kuo offering a guarded yet forward-looking outlook on smartphone component demand, supply chain resilience, and geopolitical risks.

LG Display (LGD) has announced a KRW1.26 trillion (approx. US$918 million) investment aimed at strengthening its OLED technology portfolio. A large portion of the capital is expected to go toward 6th-generation small-to-mid-sized OLED production, a surprising move given the saturated competition in the smartphone display market.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced on June 15, 2025, that it had added 601 entities—including Chinese tech giants Huawei and SMIC—to its export control list, citing concerns over weapons proliferation and national security. The regulation requires Taiwanese firms to secure export licenses before supplying to any listed company. Optical component suppliers such as Largan Precision and Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) downplayed the impact, saying their operations remain unaffected.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has added Huawei and SMIC to its newly updated export control list, requiring domestic firms to secure a license from the Bureau of Foreign Trade before shipping goods to either company. However, Taiwanese suppliers of Huawei smartphone components say the rule has little immediate impact, as most shipments are currently fulfilled from manufacturing sites located in mainland China.

Taiwan's Largan Precision Chairman En-Ping Lin told shareholders that there's no optimistic reason to expect improvement in the economic outlook and key product markets for the second half of 2025.

Oppo announced on June 5 that it has signed a global licensing deal with Volkswagen Group, giving the German automaker access to its standard essential patents (SEPs) for cellular technologies, including 5G. The agreement covers Volkswagen's global lineup of connected vehicles and marks Oppo's first bilateral patent licensing agreement with a carmaker, highlighting the company's strategic move from smartphones into the smart vehicle space.

Largan Precision held its annual shareholders' meeting on June 6, with chairman Enping Lin offering a candid view of the global economic outlook and updates on the company's progress in smartphone lenses, smart glasses, and emerging sectors such as humanoid robots.