Spot prices have risen for certain types of memory chips recently, leading to significant market speculations on whether the entire memory industry could see a turnaround in the near future.
In early 2020, TrendForce forecasted the release of more than 10 high-end smartphone models equipped with 3D sensing solutions this year, which would drive up 3D sensing VCSEL revenue* to US$1.404 billion. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on global smartphone shipment, and the Indian consumer market exhibited strong demand for entry-level and mid-range smartphone models, smartphone brand vendors have subsequently slowed down their pace of integrating 3D sensing solutions into high-end models. TrendForce is revising its forecasted 3D sensing VCSEL (for mobile devices including smartphones and tablets) revenue down to $1.207 billion for 2020, a 12% increase YoY.
According to the revenue ranking of top ten IC design companies for 2Q20 compiled by TrendForce, Broadcom was able to capture number one position by surpassing Qualcomm in quarterly revenue. Despite strong demand for 5G products driven by WFH and distance education needs, Qualcomm’s upward momentum in 2Q20 was constrained due to the delayed release of Apple’s latest iPhones.
The NAND Flash industry benefitted from strong demand for PCs and servers in 2Q20 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a demand surge for cloud services and technologies that are related to working from home, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. This, in turn, kept demand high for SSDs. However, the smartphone and consumer electronics markets had not recovered from the impact of the pandemic. The demand for these products therefore declined compared to the previous quarter. In 2Q20, total NAND Flash bit shipment and ASP both experienced a minor increase of about 3% QoQ, while NAND Flash revenue reached US$14.5 billion, a 6.5% increase QoQ.
The massive drop-off in DRAM quotes in 2019 culminated in a total yearly decline of more than 50%, which led to revenue losses for most module makers in 2019, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. However, Kingston’s growth against the downtrend served as the saving grace for the module industry, which registered yearly revenue of US$16.1 billion in 2019, a mere 3% decrease YoY.
