10-20: Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 will be manufactured by TSMC; Zetta is accused of repackaging Xiaomi smartphones as their own; Apple iPhone 8 reportedly will support fast charging; etc.
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Chipset |
| IC Insights has raised its IC market forecast for 2016 by 3 percentage points from a 2% decline to a 1% increase and its 2016 IC unit volume shipment growth rate forecast from 4% to 6%. A large portion of this revision is due to a strengthening DRAM market. (IC Insights, press, TechNews) |
| Qualcomm is likely to switch follow-up orders for its Snapdragon 830 chips to TSMC 2017 as production of the 10nm chips at current maker Samsung LSI has reportedly fallen behind schedule. (Android Headlines, Phone Arena, Digitimes, 52RD, EEPW) |
| MediaTek’s deal with China-based NavInfo including the sale of AutoChips, is proceeding, according to MediaTek. The deal is still being reviewed by relevant authorities in China. MediaTek may not be able to proceed with the deal to work closely with NavInfo by the end of 2016. (Digitimes, press, OfWeek) |
| TSMC reportedly has grabbed Fingerprint Cards (FPC) fingerprint sensor orders from SMIC. Based on the current production capacity at TSMC, if everything goes smoothly 1Q17 expects to start production, and this will cause full-capacity for TSMC 8” wafer production in 2017. FPC is the largest supplier of Chinese fingerprint sensor, with Huawei, Coolpad, Meizu and ZTE are its main customers. The market share is 70%. (Sohu, TechNews, Elecfans) |
| Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn Technology Group, is trying to expand its foothold in the semiconductor industry by partnering with SoftBank Group-owned ARM to create a chip design center in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. (TechNews, Sohu, Asia Nikkei) |
| AMD has launched several new projects for its VR business including GPU certification. AMD has also been pushing its LiquidVR project to help simplify and optimize VR content creation. (Digitimes, press, 3DVR Content) |
| Faraday Technology, a leading ASIC design service and IP provider, today introduced the Uranus 55nm ultra-low-power SoC development platform for IoT applications. It features Faraday’s PowerSlash IP, USB 2.0 interface, 12-bit 8-channel ADC, 10-bit DAC, embedded flash memory, and comprehensive SDK support, demonstrating the next level of IoT chip power-saving. (EE Trend, PR Newswire, Design-Reuse)
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Camera |
| Samsung’s plan to pack an iris scanner and a dual-lens rear-facing camera in the Galaxy S8 is expected to make up for the financial losses of lens suppliers caused by the short-lived Galaxy Note 7. Samsung never uses the same camera for its flagship models, upgrading the camera of its flagship device every year, so there surely will be an improvement. (Android Headlines, Phone Arena, Korea Herald, ChinaZ, 163, TechWeb) |
| Canon files a patent for a curved image sensor, is which using a magnetic system to deform the sensor. (CN Beta, Canon Watch, Canon Rumors, Egami)
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| Memory |
| Taiwan-based eMemory Technology, a provider of embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) IP, has announced its partnership with China-based foundry chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) covers silicon from 0.35-micron to 28nm processes. (Digitimes, press) |
| Samsung introducing the first 8GB LPDDR4 mobile DRAM package. It uses four of the latest 16Gb LPDDR4 memory chips built using the latest 10nm process. The 8GB LPDDR4 runs at 4266Mbps. (Phone Arena, Samsung, SamMobile, CN Beta)
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Biometrics |
| A coalition that includes the ACLU, EFF, and 50 other organizations has asked the Department of Justice to investigate how the FBI and police are using large-scale facial recognition databases in criminal investigations. According to study by Georgetown Law Center on Privacy and Technology, around half of American adults are effectively part of these databases. (CN Beta, EFF, The Verge, Perpetual Lineup)
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| NEC has developed a prototype of claimed the world’s first fingerprint scanner that can scan the biometrics of infants. The device is compact in form, weighing under 50g and measuring 72×35× 7.5mm. The device is outfitted with hi-res 1270ppi CMOS image sensor. (CN Beta, Sina, Find Biometrics)
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Battery |
| Apple reportedly will implement mixed-reality (MR) and artificial intelligence (AI) functionality in its 2017 iPhone 8, of which both functions are highly power-consuming. Thus, news from supply chain of Apple “confirms” that iPhone 8 would feature fast charging functionality. (CN Beta, CS, 91.com) |
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Connectivity |
| Nokia has achieved a connection speed of 5Gbps—about 625MB/sec—over 70m of conventional twisted-pair copper telephone wire, and 8Gbps over 30m. The trial used a relatively new digital subscriber line (DSL) protocol called XG.fast (or G.fast2). (CN Beta, Ars Technica, ZDNet)
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Smartphones |
| UBS analysts Steven Milunovich and Benjamin Wilson believe Apple is preparing for the next era of personal technology — the Ambient Paradigm — providing “collective functionality” and “integrated user experience”. (Barron’s, blog, CNBC, Business Insider)
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| Apple and IBM announced the latest fruit of their MobileFirst enterprise collaboration, IBM Watson Element for Educators, in fact representing their first joint app in the education arena. (CN Beta, Patently Apple, Apple Insider)
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| Spanish phone manufacturer Zetta is suspected of repackaging Xiaomi handsets, passing them off as original products and selling them on at inflated prices. Zetta has denied the accusations, saying its phones have technologies that are shared with Asian companies. (Digital Trends, Zetta, IB Times, CN Beta, 163)
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| OPPO R9S and R9S Plus are announced in China, both featuring 16MP (IMX398 jointly developed by Sony and OPPO) + 16MP cameras, fingerprint sensor: R9S – 5.5” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM, Android 6.0, 3010mAh battery, CNY2799. R9S Plus – 6” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 processor, rear camera with OIS, 6GB RAM, 64GB ROM, CNY3499. (Gizmo China, Gizmo China, GizChina, CN Beta, GSM Arena, OPPO, Pocket Now)
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| LeEco Le Pro3 and S3 are announced in US, with 16MP + 8MP cameras, fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C (no 3.5mm audio jack): Le Pro3 – 5.5” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 4070mAh battery, USD399. Le S3 – 5.5” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 3000mAh battery, USD249. (Phone Arena, Android Authority, Engadget, Liliputing, Liliputing, LeEco)
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Tablets and PCs |
| After completing USD60B Dell-EMC merger, Dell Technologies chairman and CEO indicates that the company will continue to explore investing in more markets and technologies to keep the momentum of the “digital revolution” going. (CN Beta, Bloomberg, Yahoo, NASDAQ, Silicon Angle)
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Wearables |
| LeEco shows off new Explore VR headset in US, with USB C connector that plugs one of the company’s smartphones into the front of the headset. There are a number of sensors built-in, including a gyrometer, accelerometer and magnetometer and a proximity sensor. (Android Headlines, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, Moduo)
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Internet of Things |
| Looking to speed up adoption, Apple is partnering with various U.S. home builders to get HomeKit-ready technology installed in some homes from the start. (CN Beta, Apple Insider, Bloomberg) |
| LeEco introducing a self-driving electric car concept LeSee Pro in US, which will be properly unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in Jan. 2017. (Android Headlines, Engadget, CN Beta, Ubergizmo)
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| LeEco unveils Super Bike in US – 4” Android-powered touchscreen display the handlebars, fingerprint scanner, onboard lighting, 30 speed shift, a built-in alarm, and location tracker among other features, sub-USD1000. (Ubergizmo, The Verge, Android Headlines, TechPP, OfWeek, ZOL)
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| The trial – the first in Singapore with driverless buses – will be conducted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Energy Research Institute, under an agreement signed. (CN Beta, Xinhuanet, Daily Mail, Channel News Asia)
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| Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says self-driving cars will not replace human drivers in the near term, but they might eventually. (CN Beta, The Verge)
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| Tesla has announced today that its entire fleet — including the USD35,000 Model 3 — will be fitted with a full suite of self-driving hardware. (Digital Trends, CN Beta) |
