Risk of Product Obsolescence Due to Technological Innovation
First written in FY2016. 13 of 18 entries say "Restated". Latest entry: FY2026.
Alps Alpine moved to the "Worse" side of this theme in 2026, 1 year after the typical company in this theme (2025).
The whole theme swung hardest in 2026: 28 of 57 companies on the "Worse" side.
20 other companies' latest entry also says "Worsened".
- FY2026WorsenedAnnual report
「In recent years, new technologies such as AI and 5G/6G have advanced rapidly, and these technologies are expected to spread beyond the information and communications fields, including smartphones and servers, into industries such as automotive.」
The discussion identified the rapid advancement of AI, 5G/6G and other technologies, and their expected spread to industries such as automotive, as new factors driving change in the risk of product obsolescence due to technological innovation. - FY2025RestatedAnnual report
「The Group's businesses operate in markets, including automotive and smartphones, where technological innovation is extremely rapid, customer requirements change frequently, and new products and services are introduced often. The development of new technologies, products and services may cause existing products and services to become obsolete within a short period, lose their competitiveness, and experience substantial declines in selling prices.」
The risk of product obsolescence due to technological innovation continued to be disclosed as a key risk, including the increasing sophistication of automotive systems and software and changes in smartphone-related products. - FY2024-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「As competition has intensified partly because smartphones have become commoditized, conditions continue to require a flexible response to change beyond conventional measures such as price optimization and cost controls.」
The commoditization of smartphones and intensifying competition continued, reaffirming existing risks associated with product and market maturity. - FY2024-Q2RestatedAnnual report
「The business environment surrounding the Group remains difficult, despite the boost to sales and various profits from the weaker yen and the recovery trend in global automobile production, due to rising wages, persistently high component and energy prices, and intensifying competition as smartphones become commoditized.」
The commoditization of smartphones and intensifying competition continued, reaffirming existing risks associated with product and market maturity. - FY2024-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「The difficult situation continues, including intensifying competition as smartphones become commoditized and declining demand due to inventory adjustments for consumer and automotive electronic components.」
The discussion stated that the risks associated with technological innovation and product obsolescence continued to materialize through the commoditization of smartphones, the resulting intensification of competition, and declining demand. - FY2023RestatedAnnual report
「In the Components Business, smartphone camera actuators are being developed to support higher-definition and higher-quality images. In the automotive businesses of the Sensor and Communications Business and the Module and Systems Business, technological innovation is progressing rapidly alongside the advancement of CASE, including the sophistication of systems and software and enhanced security measures.」
The discussion continued to address technological innovation and product obsolescence risks, including higher definition and image quality for camera actuators, more sophisticated automotive systems and software, and enhanced security measures. - FY2022RestatedAnnual report
「To respond to these changes, in the fiscal year ended March 2022, the Group made capital investments of ¥53.0 billion and incurred research and development expenses of ¥30.6 billion.」
The discussion stated that the Group made capital investments of ¥53.0 billion and incurred research and development expenses of ¥30.6 billion in response to technological innovation and product obsolescence risks. - FY2021-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「In the smartphone market, there was no major decline comparable to that in the automotive market, partly because of replacement demand generated by the launch of new 5G-compatible products, but global unit sales decreased year on year.」
The discussion noted the decline in smartphone unit sales while also indicating replacement demand for new 5G-compatible products. The risk of market changes driven by technological innovation remains. - FY2020RestatedAnnual report
「The Group's businesses operate in markets, including automotive and smartphones, where technological innovation is extremely rapid, customer requirements change frequently, and new products and services are introduced often. The development of new technologies, products and services may cause existing products and services to become obsolete within a short period, lose their competitiveness, and experience substantial declines in selling prices.」
The discussion continued to identify rapid technological innovation and product obsolescence risks in the automotive and smartphone markets. - FY2020-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「The smartphone market also posted negative growth overall, despite strong performance by some new products.」
The discussion noted overall negative growth in the smartphone market and continued to indicate market maturity and a slowdown. - FY2020-Q2RestatedAnnual report
「The smartphone market also continued to slow, particularly in China.」
The discussion of the smartphone market continued to state that the market slowdown, centered on China, persisted. - FY2020-Q1RestatedAnnual report
「Even in the smartphone market, there were no signs of recovery, partly due to longer replacement cycles.」
The discussion of the smartphone market continued to state that there were no signs of recovery due to longer replacement cycles. - FY2019-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「The smartphone segment of the mobile market has reached maturity, and market growth has slowed markedly, including as a result of longer replacement cycles.」
The report stated that growth in the smartphone market had slowed markedly against a backdrop of market maturity and longer replacement cycles. - FY2019-Q2RestatedAnnual report
「In the smartphone segment of the mobile market, new products with advanced features have been launched, and demand for supporting components is expected to remain high.」
While the smartphone market showed a declining trend, the report described the launch of new products with advanced features and expectations for demand for supporting components. - FY2019-Q1RestatedAnnual report
「In the smartphone segment of the mobile market, growth has slowed markedly, but the adoption of advanced features is gradually broadening, and demand for components supporting them remains high.」
While describing slower growth in the smartphone market, the report stated that demand for components supporting advanced features remained high. - FY2018-Q2RestatedAnnual report
「The smartphone market, which had continued to grow rapidly, is facing increasing uncertainty due to slowing growth as the market matures and the risk of commoditization. In addition, amid the IoT (Internet of Things) trend, it is becoming more difficult to secure added value with hardware-only products.」
The report continued to describe the maturation and commoditization of the smartphone market and the risk that it would become difficult to secure added value for hardware-only products in the IoT environment. - FY2018-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「The smartphone market, which had continued to grow rapidly, is facing increasing uncertainty due to slowing growth as the market matures and the risk of commoditization. In addition, amid the IoT (Internet of Things) trend, it is becoming more difficult to secure added value with hardware-only products.」
The report specified the risks posed by the maturation and commoditization of the smartphone market and the increasing difficulty of securing added value for hardware-only products in the IoT environment. - FY2016First statedAnnual report
「The Group operates in markets characterized by rapid technological innovation, changing customer requirements and frequent introduction of new products and services. The development of new technologies, products and services may cause existing products and services to become obsolete, lose their competitiveness in the market or suffer substantial declines in selling prices within a short period.」
The Group disclosed the possibility that, despite advancing the development of new technologies and products, it may be unable to secure a competitive advantage in the market.