Electronics News Today: Chip Sales Surge (Nov 8, 2026)

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Global semiconductor sales reached US$517.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 24.1% from the second quarter, according to figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported in early November. It is the first time quarterly chip sales topped US$500 billion. The figure shows just how large the chip industry has become, and strong chip sales ripple into almost every gadget category, from sensors to power chips to the components inside wearables and smart-home devices.

Gadgets and consumer electronics

Two consumer electronics companies are in the earnings cycle. Owlet announced on November 6 that it will report its third-quarter 2026 results before the market opens on Friday, November 13, 2026, with a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET. Arlo Technologies already reported its third quarter on November 5, 2026, with revenue of $149.2 million, up from $139.5 million a year earlier. These reports give a read on real-world demand for connected baby monitors and home security cameras heading into the holiday shopping season.

Separately, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said on November 4, 2026 that the company's first AI-native device ships in December, with no firm date. He called it a tool with no new screen that "couldn't have been an app". No name, price or form factor has been announced, so any speculation about what it is remains unconfirmed.

Components and chips

A market report published November 7, 2026 projects the noise (EMC/EMI) filter market to keep growing through 2035, at a baseline of about 5.9% a year, driven by electric-vehicle electronics and the build-out of 5G and future 6G networks. Companies named include STMicroelectronics, which offers integrated filters for automotive and industrial uses, and ON Semiconductor, which offers ESD protection and EMI filtering solutions. As more devices pack in wireless radios and power electronics, filtering components become a bigger part of the supply chain.

A November 6, 2026 article based on World Gold Council data reported that demand for gold in electronics rose 5% year on year in the third quarter to 72.5 tonnes, the highest quarterly level since late 2017, which the article links to AI-related growth. Gold mine production rose 3% to a Q3 record of about 1,071 tonnes, but recycling fell 8%, so total gold supply was down 1%. That mix of rising demand and tighter supply is worth watching for anyone tracking raw-material costs in electronics manufacturing.

Industry

India took a concrete step to grow its electronics-components manufacturing base. On November 6, 2026, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the Semicon 2.0 web portal, and the government approved 12 additional applications under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS). The approved projects represent projected investments of ₹7,503 crore and expected production worth ₹39,045 crore, with 7,127 direct jobs forecast, bringing the scheme to 118 approved applications across 16 states. This is part of a broader push to build local supply chains for chips and electronic components rather than relying solely on imports.

Why it matters

Taken together, these stories show an electronics industry riding a wave of component demand, partly linked to AI-related growth, while governments like India's try to capture more of that manufacturing onshore. For everyday consumers, it means new gadgets keep arriving, but the components and raw materials behind them are becoming a bigger story in their own right.