Zhengzhou, the capital China’s Henan Province, was hit with a wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in the middle of October. The spread of the disease eventually reached Foxconn’s manufacturing base, where the number of infections rose significantly in late October. This event has thus directly affected the performances of the iPhone production lines that are deployed within the base. In its latest investigation of this event, TrendForce finds that the capacity utilization rates of the iPhone production lines have climbed back to around 70% as the local outbreaks are being gradually brought under control.
According to TrendForce, global notebook shipments in 4Q22 are likely to decline to 42.9 million units, down 7.2% QoQ and 32.3% YoY, lower than the same period before the pandemic. In addition, market demand is affected by negative factors such as inventory, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and rising inflation, leading to a downward revision of notebook market shipments in 2022 to 189 million units, a 23% decline YoY, with the proportion of shipments in the first and second half of the year at 53:47, the first top-heavy scenario in the past ten years.
Looking at Apple's 2022 sales, the company began adjusting the proportion of new products after the initial wave of pre-orders. The market response after the release of the iPhone 14 Plus was lukewarm, escalating Apple's product adjustment process. The iPhone 14 Pro series boasts improved specifications yet unit prices are the same as last year's models, making pre-orders for the Pro series highly popular. In the past, the Pro series was the first choice for the earliest wave of users. In addition, the delayed launch of the 14 Plus this year has led to more concentrated buying than in previous years. TrendForce indicates that the production ratio of the two models of the iPhone 14 Pro series has been increased from the initially planned 50% to 60% and it cannot be ruled out that this ratio will continue rising to 65% in the future. At present, the overall proportion of new iPhone models in Apple's shipments will remain at 36% and the company’s 2022 iPhone shipment target is 240 million units, an annual increase of 2.8%.
According to TrendForce investigations, global TV shipments in 3Q22 reached 51.39 million units, growing 12.4% QoQ and falling 2.1% YoY. As the shadow of rising inflation envelops the world, consumer product budgets have become seriously constrained, indirectly inhibiting the willingness to purchase TV products. Entering the fourth quarter, TV brands have launched large-scale promotions in order to surge this year's shipments. TV shipments in 4Q22 are expected to increase by 10.8% QoQ to 56.96 million units, but still down 3.5% compared with the same period last year and a new low for the period. Under the influence of factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, rising inflation, and interest rate hikes, global TV shipments in 2022 are estimated at only 202 million units, falling 3.8% YoY, and the lowest level in the past decade.
In this press release, TrendForce details 10 major trends that are expected to take place across various segments in the tech industry, as follows: