Due to the pandemic, laptops shipments reached a record high of 240 million units in 2021, according to TrendForce‘s investigations. However, the market has been abuzz recently and, as the global population of the fully vaccinated has exceeded 50%, relevant demand driven by the pandemic is expected to gradually weaken. Shipment volume will decrease by 3.3% year-on-year, revised down slightly to 238 million units. Chromebooks will account for approximately 12.3% of shipment volume, though it accounted for approximately 15.2% in 2021. The momentum of shipments has slowed down significantly which indicates that demand derived from the economic effect of remote working and teaching has subsided.

TrendForce further states that Chromebook shipments declined sharply by nearly 50% in 2H21 due to the end of the Japanese government’s education tender and an increase in U.S. market share. However, thanks to the sequential return to the office of European and American companies driving a wave of commercial equipment replacement, shipments of commercial laptops have grown rapidly to make up for the shortfall. In turn, the shipment of laptops in 4Q21 hit the highest levels of the year, reaching 64.6 million units. In addition, due to the severe shortage of IC materials in mature processes, the backlog of orders extends to 1Q22 and the off-season is expected to be short. Compared with the average quarterly reduction of 15% in previous years, this year’s pullback is expected to be less than 10%.

It is worth noting that due to the shortage of container ships and issues with port congestion, shipping time has been prolonged, increasing by two to three times from manufacturers in mainland China to the United States compared to before the epidemic. Notebook brands have all been shipping in advance and the proportion of air freight shipments has increased. However, shipping time still exceeds expectations, which may flood the supply chain with duplicate orders from downstream customers, resulting in overstocked inventories and the risk of subsequent orders being canceled. In addition, the wave of commercial equipment replacement driven by a return to the office will be a major variable that will affect the demand for notebooks in 2022, resulting in near-term buzz in the market.

TrendForce indicated that in the past, due to factors such as fewer working days during the Lunar New Year Holiday and labor shortages in mainland China, brands would often require large OEMs to produce and ship before the Lunar New Year. This first quarter end-of-season surge will start from this month. Even though changes in end-user demand is unclear, March will see the beginning of a production surge to end the first quarter. If there is a major change in demand at that time, it may lead to an accumulation of distribution channel inventory, leading to a downward revision in demand, and a return to the normal equipment replacement cycle.

The new normal ushered in by the pandemic will not only become the driving force of digital transformation but will also continue to drive the server market in 2022, according to TrendForce’s investigations. It is worth noting that potential unmet demand in 2021 and the risk of future server component shortages will become medium and long-term variables that influence the market. Analyzing the shipment volume of completed servers, a growth rate of approximately 4-5% in completed server shipments is expected next year with primary shipment dynamics remaining concentrated in North American data centers with an annual growth rate of approximately 13-14%. From the supply chain perspective, the ODM Direct business model has gradually replaced the business model of the traditional server market, giving cloud service providers the ability to respond quickly to market changes. However, based on the unpredictability of the market, TrendForce assumes two forecasts for server growth trends. One, the supply situation of key components is effectively improved. Two, the supply situation of key components is exacerbated.

TrendForce states, based on the current situation as materials issues ease quarter by quarter, the annual growth rate of server shipments in 2022 will reach 4~5%. There are three primary factors driving market momentum. First, the introduction of the Intel Sapphire Rapids and AMD Genoa platforms into the market may once again stimulate the replacement of enterprise client servers and infrastructure construction in data centers. Second, the market generally believes that transformational needs generated by the pandemic in 2022, such as shifts in working paradigms and the new normal, will continue to drive the cloud market. Furthermore, international tensions have led to geopolitical uncertainty, which in turn has encouraged countries to tighten their control over data sovereignty and prompting the emergence of small-scale data centers in specific geographic locations.

Actual shipment volume of completed servers in 2022 depends on improvement of supply chain issues

Based on the two aforementioned assumptions, if the pandemic is effectively controlled next year, and international logistics, satisfaction of materials demand, and other factors either return to normal or fare better than expected, server companies will be able to increase their shipping capabilities and the annual growth rate of shipments in the overall server market will be able to reach 5-6% while the annual growth rate of ODM-Direct will approach 15%, up from the original forecast 13%. However, if the pandemic intensifies next year, the overall global economy will continue under that dark cloud which will greatly affect the willingness of companies to invest. In that case, the estimated annual growth rate of server shipments will fall to only 3-4%. In addition, the growth momentum of North American data centers will also be affected leading to an annual growth rate of ODM-Direct of only 10%, approximately.

As a whole and continuing under the influence of the two-year pandemic, the business trend of flexible deployment is irreversible. Regardless of overall economic changes, TrendForce expects double-digit growth in the demand for ODM-direct servers next year while overall server demand will also maintain a positive growth trajectory. However, continued attention should be focused on issues related to server order fulfillment in the broader market, including the fulfillment rate of key PMIC and LAN chip materials. At the same time, another major market variable will be whether Intel and AMD can introduce their two new platforms as scheduled next year and inject additional momentum into equipment replacement.

For more information on reports and market data from TrendForce’s Department of Semiconductor Research, please click here, or email Ms. Latte Chung from the Sales Department at lattechung@trendforce.com

In light of rapid advancements in 5G, AI, cloud computing, and cloud services, TrendForce has observed that, since 2012, the widespread adoption of smartphones has brought about the emergence of certain new applications such as smartphone apps that leverage backend server support. Furthermore, enterprise cloud migration has noticeably accelerated after digital transformation activities began taking place in 2016. As a result, widespread data center deployments took center stage as the industry mainstream prior to 2020.

Moving into 2021, however, one of the many impacts of 5G commercialization on the market has to do with the regional deployment of infrastructures (i.e., small-scale data centers). This trend towards local deployment can be primarily attributed to the increasing stringency of personal data protection laws by governments worldwide that emphasize both the residency and the sovereignty of consumer data. Major public cloud companies are now beginning to establish cloud deployments closer to regions that represent sources of data generation, in order to deliver faster data analysis that is still in accordance with the law.

TrendForce’s observations on the build-out of data centers can be divided into the individual and enterprise aspects. With regards to the former, as connected devices become increasingly widespread and emerging content services more popular in the post-pandemic stay-at-home economy, consumer spending on streaming videos and online shopping began to experience a rapid spike, thereby contributing to a gradual increase in server build-outs for cloud services. Enterprises, on the other hand, have been seeking and deploying more flexible infrastructures in response to pandemic-induced uncertainties. Hence, certainly subscription services and hybrid cloud services have also been gaining momentum in the ongoing trend of cloud migration.

It should be noted that, due to recent geopolitical tensions, which intimately dictate the development of various countries’ industries and supply chains, global enterprises also face rapidly changing market needs as well as a high degree of uncertainties stemming from the pandemic. In turn, enterprise demand for cloud services has also seen a continued rise in the past two years. With respect to the adoption of AI and other emerging technologies, most enterprises prefer cloud services due to such services’ flexible cost structures. TrendForce’s latest investigations indicate that flexible pricing strategies and diverse services offered by data centers have directly propelled the demand from enterprises for cloud applications in the past two years. From the perspective of the server supply chain, these shifts have facilitated a gradual shift of the predominant business model in the server market from traditional server brands to ODM Direct.

In addition, data center-related technologies have also progressed significantly. As the way people work and live transforms, accompanied by the emergence of e-commerce and streaming media, enterprises have also become increasingly well-versed in cloud services and increasingly able to leverage related technologies. As such, the primary sources of competition in the cloud market will include not only infrastructures responsible for computing, storage, and networking, but also emerging technologies such as edge computing and software/hardware integration of related services by major operators. In particular, as 5G services successively kick into gear worldwide, the concept of “cloud-edge-local network” will begin to replace the current “cloud only” framework on a massive scale, thereby extending the relevant commercial opportunities from cloud services to hardware vendors. That is to say, in the future, cloud services will no longer be limited to the software front, as in-house hardware brands from CSPs are set to become the next battlefield while these companies compete to offer comprehensive services.

All of this raises the question of whether the build-out of data centers will involve more challenges and opportunities going forward. TrendForce believes that, in addition to factors such as telecommuting and e-commerce, data center demand from biomedical applications (for instance, the ramp-up of vaccinations) will also experience substantial growth, with the caveat that regulations governing the protection and collection of medical data will be even more stringent than those driving various countries’ data sovereignty endeavors. Hence, privacy and security pertaining to medical data will likely become not only a global pursuit, but also a significant challenge facing the application of data centers.

（Image credit: Unsplash）

Owing to persistently strong demand for notebook panels and increased supply of such upstream components as ICs and TCONs, quarterly notebook panel shipment reached yet another historical high in 3Q21, with 72.27 million pcs shipped, representing an increase of 7.1% QoQ, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations.

TrendForce indicates that the proliferation of the stay-at-home economy resulted in record-setting performances from the notebook panel market, in which quarterly shipment reached historical highs for three quarters consecutively across the 1Q21-3Q21 period. Nevertheless, market demand for panels has shown partial signs of weakening. Demand remains strong for commercial notebooks but has begun plummeting for consumer notebooks and Chromebooks. Alongside this drop in Chromebook demand, 11.6-inch panels, which are the mainstream size of Chromebook displays, have also dropped in terms of shipment volumes, reaching only 10.88 million pcs shipped in 3Q21, a 28.3% QoQ decline. Quarterly shipment of Chromebook panels is expected to undergo a further decrease in 4Q21. In addition, given the aforementioned strong demand for commercial notebooks, panel suppliers have quickly transitioned their focus towards 14-inch and 15.6-inch panels in response, and the combined quarterly shipment of both of these sizes reached 46.45 million pcs in 3Q21, a 20.2% QoQ increase. The bullish performance of these sizes of notebook panels thereby became the key reason behind the historical high in notebook panel shipment in 3Q21.

Due to panel suppliers’ swift response to changes in the market, notebook panel shipment for 2H21 is not expected to be overly impacted by the weakening demand for Chromebooks and consumer notebooks. For now, TrendForce projects notebook panel shipment for 4Q21 to reach 71.15 million pcs, while shipment for the entire 2021 is expected to reach 278.1 million pcs, a 23.2% YoY increase. Looking ahead to 2022 and regarding the supply side of the panel market, most panel suppliers will be aggressive in their shipment plans for notebook panels due to the massive growth in notebook panel shipment across the 2020-2021 period. As such, panel suppliers are planning to ship about 330 million pcs of notebook panels in 2022. However, if a corresponding demand for notebooks fails to emerge next year, the notebook panel market may enter into an oversupply situation, thereby placing downward pressure on panel prices. Regarding the demand side of the panel market, demand for Chromebooks and consumer notebooks will likely continue to slow down next year, but this slowdown will be accompanied by a corresponding growth in commercial notebook demand due to the persistent growth of the overall economy, along with the global digital transformation also taking place. Taking these factors into account, TrendForce expects annual notebook panel shipment for 2022 to reach 279 million pcs, representing a slight growth of 0.3% YoY.

For more information on reports and market data from TrendForce’s Department of Display Research, please click here, or email Ms. Vivie Liu from the Sales Department at vivieliu@trendforce.com

Smartphone shipments in the Chinese market have seen continued declines in recent years primarily because the penetration rate of smartphones in China has already surpassed 60%. Furthermore, smartphone hardware refreshes have gradually slowed down, with no killer app has emerged yet. Taken together, these factors have led to a decline in consumers’ replacement demand. While the COVID-19 pandemic began its spread last year, annual shipment of smartphones in the Chinese market for 2020 reached only about 330 million units, a 13.61% YoY decline.

Regarding the Chinese smartphone market in 2021, quarterly shipment underwent more than a 100% YoY increase for only the first quarter of the year due to the relatively low base for comparison in 1Q20. Starting from 2Q21, smartphone shipments saw YoY declines for each quarter of 2021. TrendForce, therefore, forecasts 345 million units in annual shipment for 2021 in the Chinese smartphone market, which represents a 4.55% YoY growth and a figure that falls below prior expectations. This disappointing performance can primarily be attributed to the shortage of components from the supply side, along with continued sluggishness from the demand side domestically.

As Honor confirmed its handsets will feature GMS (Google Mobile Services), Chinese smartphone brands look to dominate the overseas markets

Honor recently announced on its official Twitter account that it once again restored its partnership with Google and other suppliers. The Honor 50 series of handsets are equipped with GMS, which includes Google Play Store, Gmail, and YouTube, among other apps.

As a subsidiary of Huawei, Honor was previously unable to install GMS on its phones due to Huawei’s inclusion on the US Entity List, leading to a continued drop in Honor’s overseas market share. Now that it has been spun off from Huawei, Honor needs to restart negotiations with its suppliers. Initially, the company had a hard time expanding its presence overseas due to the lack of GMS functionality as well as the fact that it had to re-establish its global sales networks. After having received GMS authorization from Google, Honor is now able to compete with other Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo on an equal footing.

Shipping more than 10% of the domestic monthly total in smartphones, Honor has recently established a steady presence in the Chinese market. However, given the domestic market’s bearish trend in recent years, Honor, whose handsets now feature GMS functionality, will likely turn its focus to the European or Southeast Asian markets that Huawei once aggressively pursued.

（Image credit: Pixabay）