IF / News

Chipsets

MediaTek announced that consolidated net sales for Dec. 2016 totaled NTD21.354B, 9.2% decreased on month, 15.3% increased on year. 4Q16 consolidated revenues has reached NTD68.67B, 12.4% decreased on quarter. 2016 whole year consolidated revenue is NTD275.5B, 30% increased on year, which is a new record high. (Laoyoaba, TechNews, Reuters, 4-Traders, MediaTek)

Touch / Display

Solomon Systech and Nanjing CEC Panda are to announce that they have successfully developed the “World’s First” single-chip Touch and Display Driver IC (TDD() supporting Full high-definition (FHD)  (1080×1920) IGZO In-Cell panels. (51Touch, Laoyaoba, Solomon-Systech)

It has been rumored Samsung is working on a foldable smartphone Galaxy X. Now, there is a leak about X1 and X1 Plus with model number SM-X9000 and SM-X9050, respectively, and they are being tested. (The Android Soul, GSM Arena, 163)

Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) shipped 29.86M small- to medium-size TFT-LCD panels in Dec. 2016, increasing 1.9% on month and 20.4% on year, and 122K large-size panels, growing 35.2% on month and 47.5% on year. (Digitimes, press, CPT, CNFOL, East Money)

Innolux’ large-size shipments reached 30.2M units in 4Q16, a decrease of 0.6% over 30.3M units shipped in the previous quarter. Shipments to the small- to medium-size segment were 61.9M units, a 1.6% increase over the 60.9M units shipped in the previous quarter. (Digitimes, press, China Times)

LG Display announced a new smartphone display with QHD+ resolution (1440×2880). The 5.7” LCD panel carries 564ppi. To allow for a more “immersive viewing experience”, the screen has an 18:9 aspect ratio. LG’s in-TOUCH technology makes the display extremely responsive, and the display is very thin and light thanks to the absence of Touch Cover Glass. (Phone Arena, Korea Herald, IT 168)

Memory

Sales of memory ICs are expected to show the strongest growth rate among major integrated circuit market categories during the next 5 years, according to IC Insights. IC Insights forecasts that revenues for memory products—including DRAMs and NAND flash ICs—will increase by a CAGR of 7.3% to USD109.9B in 2021 from USD77.3B in 2016. (IC Insights, press, Laoyaoba, 52RD, ESM China)

SK Hynix has launched 8GB LPDDR4X mobile DRAM using dual-channel 16Gb chips designed for flagship smartphones and other mobile devices. SK Hynix indicated 8GB is the highest density in the LPDDR4X standard, which has 20% of superiority in power efficiency to the current LPDDR4. (Digitimes, TechNews, Korea Herald)

Sensory

Elliptic Labs sells software that generates ultrasound pulses from a smartphone’s speaker and measures them using its microphone, for proximity detection. By using their software, Elliptic Labs estimates that smartphone manufacturers could increase screen area to 90%~95% of the phone’s facing side (CN Beta, IEEE Spectrum)

Battery

Samsung SDI recently announced a new battery cell promising up to 600km range and the ability to recharge at up to 80% in just 20mins. In theory, this means that electric car drivers could achieve up to 500km range in a short 20mins charge. (Android Headlines, Business Wire, CN Beta)

Battery prices plunged 22%  in 2016 and are expected to decline by an additional 15%~20% in 2017, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The doubling of global battery production capacity could not only lead to an acceleration in the EV market, but it is also leading to a massive bull run for another sector: lithium. Lithium prices exploded by 60% in 2016, and have tripled over the past 3 years. (Laoyaoba, Commodity Online, Oil Price, Bloomberg, TechNews)

[CES 2017] Panasonic has developed a flexible lithium ion battery for use in wearable devices. 3 prototypes are demoed – 40×65mm, 35×55mm and 28.5×39mm. All 3 are just 0.45mm thick, and can be bent up to a radius of 25mm or twisted to an angle of 25°. (CN Beta, Computer World, Gulf News)

Connectivity

The Google Voice website is hinting at a big redesign / update. (Ubergizmo, Android Authority, The Verge)

Verizon agreed to acquire Yahoo in a deal worth around USD4.8B. While that deal seems to be moving forward, the remainder of Yahoo (the company’s 15% stake in Alibaba and 35.5% stake in Yahoo Japan) which was not sold is being renamed Altaba. This was revealed in a filing by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (GSM Arena, SEC Filing, TechCrunch, Sina, iFanr)

Smartphones

Gartner forecasts Windows device shipments will falter, then flatten; iOS and macOS will overtake, extend lead in 2018-20119, Apple will rack up 268M unit shipments in 2017, up from 248M in 2016, and 252M for Windows, which will apparently sink yet again, from an already modest 260M total. (Laoyaoba, 199IT, Pocket Now, Yahoo, Computer World)

A team of Apple will meet a group of senior officials from Indian ministries, including IT and finance, on Jan. 25 to discuss its demands for setting up a manufacturing unit in the country. (CN Beta, Apple Insider, BGR)

Samsung has reportedly set the shipment goal for its mid-range Galaxy A and low-end Galaxy J smartphone series at 20M and 100M, respectively in 2017. (GSM Arena, Phone Arena, The Investor)

Samsung has reportedly set a shipment goal of 60M in 2017 for its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, higher than that of its previous flagship models—S5 (45M), S6 (45M), and S7 (48M). (The Investor, 9to5Google, Phone Arena, 163)

HTC saw its revenues dip 16.4% on month and 1.7% on year to a 5-month low of NTD6.41B (USD199.96M) in Dec. 2016. For all of 2016, revenues totaled NTD78.16B, representing a decline of 35% from a year earlier and the lowest annual figure in 11 years. The company’s revenues hit a record high of NTD465.7B in 2011. (Digitimes, press, iFeng)

Zhejiang Haosheng Electronic Technology is  the Chinese vendor that supplies LeEco with the speakers it uses in its smartphones and it is suing the company over its unpaid bills which totals CNY51.74M. The dispute is being resolved outside the courtroom with the Shanghai International Economic &Trade Arbitration Commission. (Laoyoaba, Android Headlines,  Gizmo China, SCMP)

Nokia is allegedly working on its own virtual assistant, named ‘Viki’. Nokia has registered a trademark for a personal voice assistant called Viki in the EU. (Android Headlines, ZDNet, MSN, PC Mag, Gizmo China, Tencent, 163)

Google debuted Lumin, a Tango-powered mobile tour designed to ennoble museum visits. Lumin was developed by a French company GuidiGO and the Detroit Institute of Arts, with the latter being the only museum currently supported by this Tango app. (Android Headlines, Android and Me, Google)

[CES 2017] Huawei Consumer BG CEO Richard Yu says, “We are not worried about OPPO and vivo. Few years ago, there was Xiaomi, so where is it now? OPPO / vivo now does not represent future, the one who stand at last is the winner. From my point of view, the company that expands too fast, declines fast too.” (CN Beta, Laoyaoba)

Tencent, the USD240B Chinese internet giant, introduced its take on mobile apps — apps within WeChat, its chat app with 846M monthly users. Tencent launched a beta program for the apps in 2016, and they are essentially more-basic, stripped-down versions of iOS and Android apps that downloaded instantly, and run and can be stored within WeChat. (TechCrunch, Tech In Asia, 163, ZOL)

ASUS ZenFone Pegasus 3S is announced – 5.2” HD IPS 2.5D curved LCD display, MediaTek MT6750 processor, 13MP PDAF + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32 / 64GB storage, Android 7.0, LTE (VoLTE),  5000mAh battery, CNY1999. (Gizmo China, ZOL, Sina)

Wearables

LeEco launches their own LIVECAM C1 4K action camera. It comes with a 16MP sensor, 140° wide-angle lens, and G-sensor to support automatic video recording when movement is sensed.  The major feature is the ability to shoot 4K video at 30fps. (GSM Arena, GizChina, iMobile)

TrendForce forecasts that the annual global shipments of VR devices will reach 5.1M units in 2017 and grow to 8.5M in 2018. Note that the projected figures exclude mobile VR products. TrendForce’s latest VR device shipment projection indicates that around 2.5M units of PlayStation VR (PS VR) will be shipped worldwide in 2017. (TrendForce, press, TrendForce[cn], press)

Zeiss employee “confirmed” the rumors that Apple and the company are working together on creating a pair of AR-based smart glasses that he claims could be announced later 2017. (CN Beta, Ubergizmo, Facebook)

Epic games co-founder and Unreal Engine creator Tim Sweeney said that the HTC Vive VR headset is outselling the Oculus Rift by 2-to-1 worldwide. That is because Oculus VR is following Apple’s software distribution model that many describe as a walled garden, which means the company’s device supports software sold through a proprietary store by default. (Digital Trends, Glixel, 07073VR)

[CES 2017] Dr. Jerry Bautista, the VP of Intel’s wearables division indicates that instead of releasing smartwatches by itself, Intel would increase partnership with 3^rd parties. He explained it is to pair up with various companies to address different parts of the watch market. (Ubergizmo, Engadget)

[CES 2017] Dlodlo V1 is a pair of VR glasses – 2400×1200 resolution display (1200×1200 per eye), 90Hz refresh rate, 712% NTSC coverage, 105° DFOV, 16mm thickness, 88g weight, carbon fiber frame. (CN Beta, The Next Web, Dlodlo)

Internet of Things

Faraday Future has revealed the electric SUV, the FF91, and the electric vehicle has received over 64,000 bookings in just 36 hours. The company would have made over USD320M if all 64,124 slots chose the priority option but not all paid up, and it is refundable. (NBD, iFeng, CNFOL, Drive Spark, Electrek, Engadget)

A list published by US-based company IFI CLAIMS Patent Services has revealed the top 10 tech companies that filed the most patents in the US in 2016. Topping the list by a wide margin is IBM with over 8,088 patents filed or around 22 patents filed per day followed by Samsung and Canon with 5,518 (15/day) and 3,665 (10/day) patents filed, respectively. (IFI, Gizmo China, GSM Arena, Leiphone, Linux IDC)

French drone maker Parrot said it would be laying off 1/3 of employees, or about 290 people, in its drone division. In its 4Q16 earnings results, Parrot said it generated sales of about USD90M, coming in below its roughly USD106M target. (Engadget, CN Beta, The Verge, Parrot, Market Watch)

Apple is reportedly repurposing GT Advanced’s former sapphire plant in Mesa, Arizona, to produce cabinets for its other data centers. Apple sought approval from the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to manufacture “finished products” in a zone exempt from customs duties. (CN Beta, Apple Insider, Federal Register, Business Insider)

[CES 2017] Faucet brand Moen debuts of U by Moen, a cloud-based and Wi-Fi enabled shower system that brings mobile connectivity and personalized water preferences into the bathroom. (Ubergizmo, Mac Rumors, Moen, VentureBeat, Tencent)