The beginning of 2015 was excellent for Apple as the sales of iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S remained strong. The total shipment of iPhones in the first quarter was over 60 million units, exceeding the market expectations. As the second quarter is drawing to a close, the smartphone market shifts its attention to the next-generation iPhone (iPhone 6S or iPhone 7). Interests on the next iPhone's future sales results are growing as more information about its specs have been leaked to the public.
TrendForce’s latest research reveals the notebook shipments for the first quarter of 2015 posted a significant quarterly decline of 17.5%, with 38.43 million units shipped. One usual factor to the drop in shipments was seasonality. The other factor was the earlier-than-usual stock up efforts at the end of 2014, which led to a sharp rise in panel stocks and channel inventories.
Japan’s rapidly aging population has led to a projected shortage of caregivers, and the country’s industry giants are now scrambling to take part in this booming market of elderly care services. Panasonic and Toyota, for examples, are some of the major players that have entered the emerging sector of nursing care robots for the elderly.
Mobile payment has quickly taken off since the launch of Apple Pay, and many tech companies are vying to establish a dominant role in this emerging industry. Aside from having a sustainable business model, the widespread acceptance of mobile payment is critical for a service provider in generating a steady profit. A report from Topology, a division of TrendForce, states the global shipments of mobile phones with near field communication (NFC) feature reached 400 million units in 2014.
The global shipments of LCD TVs in the first quarter of 2015 totaled 51.4M units, according to the latest report from WitsView, a division of TrendForce. This figure translates to a quarterly decline of 24%. In addition to the first quarter being an off-peak season, there were other forces causing the shipment decline.