Taiwan-based Universal Scientific Industrial (USI), a unit of ASE Technology, is likely to obtain system-in-package (SiP) orders for AirPods Pro Lite, which may also benefit Taiwanese makers of SiP substrates, according to industry sources.

Digitimes reports that USI will join US-based Amkor, China's JCET and Japan's Murata to scramble for backend orders for AirPods Pro Lite, a new entry-level TWS (true wireless stereo) earphone set to be released in mid-2020, and has a chance of winning a higher portion of the orders, the sources said. Shipments of the new model are likely to be more or less deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak, the sources said.

At the moment, Amkor is the major backend service provider for AirPods Pro launched in late October 2019, adopting SiP substrates instead of rigid-flex boards for AirPods 2, and the company has also built its own SiP substrate production capacity, said the sources.

But after joining the backend supply chain of AirPods Pro Lite, USI is expected to rely more on Taiwanese PCB makers for the supply of SiP substrates needed for production of the new devices, the sources said.

The report further noted that Taiwan's Nan Ya PCB and Kinsus Interconnect are among suppliers of SiP substrates for AirPods Pro, which also include peers from the US, Japan and South Korea, the sources said. Both Taiwanese suppliers are expected to land more orders after USI becomes a backend partner for AirPods Pro Lite, and even Unimicron may also join the supply chain, the sources continued. Source