9-23: Sorry for absent yesterday. MediaTek entering Samsung supply chain; Rumored Blackberry to close its smartphone hardware business; Rumored Smartisan to be acquired by Xiaomi; etc.
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Chipset |
| Chung Seung-eun, senior vice president and chief of Samsung’s semiconductor research and development center, visited ASLM’s headquarters to finalize the deal purchasing new chip-making systems, called extreme ultraviolet lithography, which is worth about KRW200 billion (USD178.41 million). (TechNews, XDA Developers, Sam Mobile, Korea Herald) |
| MediaTek Chairman Tsai Ming-kai confirms that the company has won orders for the first time from Samsung. (CN Beta, Android Headlines, 163, My Drivers, Asia Nikkei)
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| Silicon IP provider M31 has announced the development of its new MIPI M-PHY Gear3 IP on TSMC’s 40LP and 28nm HPC+ process nodes. The 40LP M-PHY has been widely adopted by customers while the 28HPC+ IP will be formally released in 4Q16. (Digitimes, press, China AET, V2GG) |
| The government-sponsored Shanghai Industrial Technology Research Institute (SITRI) has its 8” wafer fab targeted specifically at the manufacture of MEMS parts with volume production slated for 2Q17. The first product that will be produced commercially at SITRI’s MEMS fab will be pressure sensors. (Digitimes, press) |
| Analogix Semiconductor and Beijing Shanhai Capital Management, jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which a consortium led by Shanhai Capital will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Analogix for over USD500 million. (EE Trend, iFeng, Venture Beat, Business Wire)
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Touch Display |
| Taiwan-based General Interface Solution (GIS) announced plans to setup a new display factory in Chengdu, China. The factory will produce force-touch based touch panels specifically for OLED displays. Total investment in the new factory is expected to reach USD750 million. (OLED-Info, Digitimes, press, 163, CNR, 51Touch)
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Biometrics |
| ABI Research forecasts a rise in global shipments of smartphones equipped with iris scanners, reaching almost 300 million in 2021. (TechNews, Yahoo, ABI Research, press) |
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Battery |
| The increasing adoption of polymer batteries has also led to a significant reduction in the use of prismatic lithium batteries among smartphones. EnergyTrend’s data shows that the share of smartphones using lithium polymer batteries has soared from around 35% in 2011 to 70% in 2016. (TechNews, TrendForce[cn], press, TrendForce, press)
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| Apple’s granted patent discusses the possible uses for the ‘hidden port’ that’s built into the Apple Watch that is note being utilized as of yet. Apple notes that the Apple Watch may be able to physically plug into a future MacBook to recharge it and more. (CN Beta, Patently Apple)
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Connectivity |
| Ericsson and China Telecom Guangdong have successfully completed testing of new network solutions. Test results show that the solutions can enhance the wireless coverage area. (CN Beta, iFeng)
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| T-Mobile and Singapore’s Singtel have begun 5G trials, showing mind-boggling speeds. But Japanese telco SoftBank has been in quiet talks with China’s Huawei and ZTE to develop the company’s 5G infrastructure. And much of that infrastructure is already in place. (CN Beta, CNET, SCMP) |
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Smartphones |
| The number of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 users who have exchanged their Note 7 handset for a new Note 7 has reportedly crossed 100,000 in Korea since the beginning of the firm’s recall program on Sept. 19. The number of people who canceled their mobile subscription for the Note 7 stands at 18,000, accounting for 4.5% of the entire Note 7 subscribers. (CN Beta, Korea Herald) |
| BlackBerry may announce an exit from the smartphone hardware market as soon as 28 Sept. 2016, the day before it releases earnings for 2Q16. BlackBerry’s smartphones command less than 1% of the global market; its hardware division accounts for more than 65% of its R&D expenses. (Digital Trends, Motley Fool, PC Online, CS) |
| In a group of over 6,000 people, 46% of prospective Apple iPhone buyers said they plan to get the Plus series — whether the 6s Plus or the 7 Plus, said RBC analyst Amit Daryanani. That is up from 38% of people interested in Plus models in 2015. The increase is likely because of the 7 Plus, Daryanani suggested, owing to its “comparatively richer feature set”. (Apple Insider, Benzinga, Talk Markets, article)
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| Sony, Nokia proxy company MobileMedia Ideas is awarded USD3 million in latest round of patent battles with Apple. A jury ruling that Apple has violated ring-silencing patents. (Apple Insider, CN Beta) |
| Rumor has it Xiaomi is planning to acquire Smartisan. (CN Beta, Xinmin)
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| From the financial report of Tap4Fun in Chengdu China, its invested company Smartisan Technology has loss CNY192 million in 1H16, and 2015 full year the lost was CNY462 million. (CN Beta, 163, CN Beta)
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| BLU Life One X2 is announced – 5.2” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, 16MP + 8MP cameras, 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM, Android 6.0, LTE, 3000mAh battery, from USD149. (Android Headlines)
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| Oukitel K7000 is announced, comes with a 5000mAh battery case – 5” HD display, MediaTek MT6737 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM, 5MP + 2MP cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, Android 6.0, LTE, dual-SIM, 2000mAh battery, USD109.99. (Android Headlines, GizChina)
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Wearables |
| According to Kantar Worldpanel, Apple continues to dominate this segment with a 33.5% share, although that lead shrank slightly in the last three months as the market awaited the Apple Watch Series 2 announcement. The EU4 countries show a similar trend, with 38.6% of all sales coming in the smartwatch category, with Apple leading at 31.8%. (CN Beta, Kantar Worldpanel, press, Fortune)
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| After a surveying a representative sample of American consumers in Jul 2016, First Insight concluded that most people believe that smartwatches are simply too expensive. 69% of men and 74% of women interviewed by First Insight revealed that they do not want to spend more than USd200 on a watch but ideally would not even spend more than a USD100. (Market Wired, Android Headlines, First Insight, report)
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| The Daydream VR SDK 1.0 simplifies common VR development tasks so developers can focus on building their apps, Google says. The SDK is now available to all via the Daydream developer website, and supports “integrated asynchronous reprojection, high fidelity spatialized audio, and interactions using the Daydream controller”. (TechCrunch, Google, CN Beta) |
| Oculus reportedly is also interested in VR backpack PC products developed by Micro-Star International (MSI), and the two companies are currently in talks for cooperation. (Digitimes, Fudzilla) |
| CoWatch from iMCO with Amazon Alexa built-in is launched – 400×400 Super AMOLED display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, Cronologics OS (Android 5.0), compatible with iOS and Android, priced at USD279. (Phone Arena, Android Authority, 163)
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| Rollei Actioncam 430 can record video in up to 3840×2160 resolution at 30fps, as well as 2560×1440 at 60fps, 1920×1080 resolution at 30 to 120fps, and 720p at up to 200fps. As well, and thanks to the integrated Sony sensor, the camera can also take 12MP still images. It is priced at EUR249. (CN Beta, Slash Gear, DP Review)
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Internet of Things |
| Apple is reportedly considering a takeover of Lit Motors, a startup with a self-balancing, all-electric motorcycle. (Apple Insider, NY Times, 163, Leiphone)
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| Apple is reportedly in the midst of conversations to buy some aspects of the McLaren Technology Group, specifically, the division that is known for hand-crafted luxury high-performance sports cars to supplement the Apple Car project. (Apple Insider, Financial Times, Tencent, iFeng)
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| After buying Perceptio at the end of 2015 and Turi just a few months ago, Apple has now acquired an India/US-based machine learning team, Tuplejump. (TechNews, TechCrunch) |
| Danish startup Spiri has just unveiled its first prototype vehicle, which is described as “basically a lab on wheels”. The Spiri v0.1 has been designed specifically for the carpooling service, with a view to maximizing range, connectivity and passenger comfort, while minimizing cost. (CN Beta, Elektra, New Atlas, TechCrunch)
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| Xiaomi has collaborated with Philips to launch a smart desk LED lamp, EyeCare Smart Lamp 2, priced at CNY199. It has 2 LED lights for even more flexibility and luminance area and that translates to a total power output of 10W. (CN Beta, Gizmo China)
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| Airware acquires Redbird to deliver complete drone solutions in construction, quarrying, and mining. (TechNews, TechCrunch, Commercial UAV News)
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