TAIPEI – Global smartphone sales will gradually recover in 2021 and will likely see a relatively strong wave of device replacement demand, as well as demand growth in the emerging markets, new market research says. Assuming these conditions materialize, says TrendForce, the report author, the annual global smartphone production for 2021 is forecasted to increase 9% to 1.36 billion units.

TAIPEI – Coming off a record year, global notebook shipments will grow another 8.6% year-over-year to 217 million units in 2021, TrendForce predicts. The increasing popularity of distance education has galvanized demand for Chromebooks, which contributed substantially to the growth of the overall market. Chromebooks accounted for 14.8% of global notebook shipments in 2020, a rate expected to rise to 18.5% in 2021.

MUNICH – Electronics manufacturer Katek acquired fellow EMS Leesys Group for an undisclosed sum.

TAIPEI – Foxconn reported consolidated revenue of NT$713.78 billion (US$25.5 billion) for December, up 32.3% year-over-year and 4.8% sequentially.