Innolux Corp (群創光電), the world’s No. 3 LCD flat-panel maker, is expected to become a new touch panel supplier to Apple Inc for its iPad Mini tablets, market researcher NPD DisplaySearch said yesterday.
That would be the latest progress made by Taiwanese panel makers in gaining a foothold in supplying touch panels used in tablets. Last year, the market was dominated by South Korean and Japanese firms, including Samsung Electronics Co, LG Display Co and Sharp Corp, NPD DisplaySearch said.
South Korea’s LG Display Co and Taiwan’s AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) are the major touch panel suppliers for the iPad Mini, NPD DisplaySearch Greater China region vice president David Hsieh (謝勤益) said.
“Innolux and China’s Century Display (深超光電) will receive certificates for product qualification [from Apple] to supply [touch panels] for the iPad Mini,” Hsieh said.
Innolux said on Tuesday that it plans to ship its first touch panels for smartphones and tablets using its touch-on-display technology by the end of this year.
Innolux declined to comment on whether the new touch panels would be made using the in-cell technology currently used on the iPad Mini and iPhone 5.
“Smartphones and tablets are our focus this year. Our target is to ship 7-inch screens this year,” Yang Chiu-lien (楊秋蓮), head of Innolux’s touch panel division, said on Tuesday.
Since 2008, Innolux has been supplying flat-panel screens to Apple for its iPhones, iPod nano music players and iPad tablets, Yang said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that