Inventec Corp (英業達), one of the two assemblers for Apple Inc’s HomePod, has started shipping the US company’s long-awaited “smart” speaker with an initial shipment of about 1 million units, industry sources said.
“The Taiwanese company has begun HomePod shipments. However, revenue contribution from the product to Inventec is expected to be limited this quarter, as the initial shipment is not large,” a source in HomePod’s supply chain told the Taipei Times by telephone on condition of anonymity.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is the other assembler of HomePods.
HomePod shipments this year are expected to reach between 10 million and 12 million units, with Inventec and Hon Hai each fulfilling half of the orders, the source said.
Apple unveiled its first voice-controlled smart speaker during the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June last year.
HomePod was previously scheduled to hit the markets before the end of last year, but Apple in November issued a statement saying that it needed more time before the product is ready for customers.
Apple at the time said the product would be available early this year in the US, UK and Australia. It did not specify a time frame.
The delay in HomePod’s launch was caused by the fine-tuning of software and hardware integration, said another industry source who also declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
As the companies in HomePod’s supply chain received a shipment notice from Apple at the beginning of this month, it is believed that the product is to hit the markets soon, the second source said.
Apple had not updated HomePod release information on its Web site as of yesterday.
Inventec and Hon Hai declined to comment on the matter.
In related news, Inventec said it expects revenue to contract by 15 percent this quarter from last quarter’s NT$132.66 billion (US$4.49 billion), as the industry enters a traditional slow season.
Inventec manufactures a wide range of electronics from notebook computers, servers and smartphones, to wearables and wireless earpieces.
In addition to HomePod, Inventec assembles Apple’s AirPod.
Shares of Inventec gained 0.43 percent to close at NT$23.3 in Taipei trading yesterday, while Hon Hai rose 1.63 percent to NT$93.3. The TAIEX rose 0.66 percent.
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
WAIT-AND-SEE: Last month’s consumer price index came in at 2.8%, which boosts expectations that the Fed would proceed cautiously to lower inflation sustainably The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting this week, treading carefully amid uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s economic policies, which include spending cuts and sweeping tariffs. Since January, Trump has imposed levies on major trading partners Canada, Mexico and China, and on steel and aluminum imports, roiling financial markets and fanning fears that his plans could tip the world’s biggest economy into a recession. The Trump administration has also embarked on unprecedented cost-cutting efforts that target staff and spending, while the US president has promised tax reductions and deregulation down the road. However,
RSS