AI周观察：英特尔18A正式量产

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly state an investment rating for the industry Core Insights - The AI application market is experiencing varied activity levels, with OpenAI launching its most powerful model, GPT-5Pro API, aimed at high-end markets such as research and law, priced at $15 per million tokens [12] - Intel has officially entered the 2nm era with its 18A node, marking a significant milestone in its manufacturing capabilities, although the yield and performance remain to be validated [18][22] - The Taiwanese storage industry is showing signs of recovery driven by AI demand, with companies like Phison and Winbond reporting significant revenue increases [24][27] - The Chinese smartphone market saw a decline in sales, with a 6.24% year-on-year drop in August 2025, while the PC market remained relatively stable [28][34] Summary by Sections AI Applications - The activity of AI chat applications has been affected by the holiday season, with notable changes in user engagement [10][12] - Google's new Gemini model aims to enhance AI's ability to interact with web pages, reflecting the competitive landscape in AI agent functionalities [13] AMD vs. NVIDIA - The InferenceMAX framework reveals that the competition between AMD and NVIDIA is nuanced, with performance depending on model types and interaction levels [14][15] - NVIDIA maintains an edge in low to mid-interactivity scenarios, while AMD shows competitive potential in specific high-interactivity tasks [16][17] Intel's 18A Node - Intel's 18A node represents a critical step in its strategy to regain advanced manufacturing credibility, with the first products expected to ship by late 2025 [22][23] Taiwanese Storage Industry - Phison's revenue reached NT$6.515 billion in September 2025, driven by a nearly 300% increase in PCIe SSD controller shipments, indicating strong AI-related demand [24] - Winbond reported a revenue high of NT$21.77 billion in Q3 2025, benefiting from rising DRAM contract prices and a recovering demand cycle [27] Smartphone and PC Market - In August 2025, China's smartphone sales reached approximately 20.8 million units, reflecting a decline, with Apple and OPPO leading in market share [28] - The domestic PC market remained stable, with desktop sales declining slightly and laptop sales showing a modest increase [34]