Taiwan's cooling solution suppliers have regained confidence over potential orders from the smartphone sector in 2021 as recent robust sales of Apple's iPhone 12 lineup may spur replacement demand for 5G phones in the coming year, according to industry sources.

As sales of the iPhone 12 series products have long been served as a barometer for the smartphone industry, cooling solution makers including Chaun-Choung Technology, Auras Technology, Taisol Electronics and Asia Vital Components all believe that demand for either vapor chambers or heat pipes for smartphones will rebound in 2021.

Because of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, Auras saw sales of its cooling solutions for smartphone applications drop to 5% of total revenues in third-quarter 2020 compared to 24% in the first quarter.

Chaun-Choung Technology also saw the comparable figures fall to 4% in third quarter, down from 6% in the second and over 10% previously.

Most cooling module makers expect sales of 5G phones to reach 450-500 million units in 2021, up from 220 million units forecast for 2020, resulting in a significant increase for cooling solutions, said the sources.