IF / News

Chipsets

According to Kevin Wang, research director at IHS China, Xiaomi has managed to secure a large number of Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 units so that the announcement of Mi6 is not going to be disrupted or delayed in any way. (Android Headlines, WCCFTech, Gizmo China, ChinaZ, TechWeb, IT Home)

According to IC Insights, Taiwan led all regions/countries in wafer capacity with 21.3% share, a slight decrease from 21.7% in 2015 when the country first became the global wafer capacity leader.  Taiwan was only slightly ahead of South Korea, which was in second place.  South Korea accounted for 20.9% of global wafer capacity in 2016, slightly more than the 20.5% share it held in 2015.   (Elecfans, IC Insights, press)

Touch Display

CINNO Research estimates that 2016 overall global mobile phone panel shipment reached 2.93B units, a 4.9% increased on year.  In 2017, the growth of global AMOLED panel equipped smartphone will reach 46.3%, thanks to new iPhone and all major vendors. The market share will reach 21.9%, and in China the penetration will increase to 24.6%. (CINNO, press)

According CINNO Research, in 2016, there are 99M units of smartphones shipped that adopt AMOLED display, a 144% increase on year. Overall, OPPO sold 36.7M units of AMOLED smartphones, with 37.1% market share, leading the market. vivo follows with 27.9M AMOLED smartphones sold, with 28.2% market share. (Diankeji, Laoyaoba, OfWeek, CINNO, press)

Samsung Display is closing some panels production lines, and moving its orders to other vendors. Taiwanese vendors production is full, thus cannot fulfill Samsung’s demand. Thus, Samsung is shifting most orders to BOE. According to IDC, global large-sized LCD panel shipment in 4Q16 has reached 204M units, a 3.7% decrease on quarter, a 6.1% decrease on year. Thanks to BOE’s 8.5G fab production meeting mid-range LCD panels orders, pushing BOE becoming the number 1 among panel makers. (Laoyaoba, Laoyaoba, China Times, HQEW)

Samsung Display has reportedly gotten approval to invest an additional USD2.5B in Vietnam to increase the amount of capacity for its flat panel displays. It will enable Samsung to increase the production of its display panels to 220M units a year up from the current 180M a year. (CN Beta,  Tuoitre News, Investopedia)

Battery

Samsung has adopted thermal-pipe heat dissipation solutions for its Galaxy S8, with thermal pipes to be produced by Taiwan-based Auras Technology and Chaun Choung Technology (CCI). Meanwhile, LG will use heat-pipes supplied by Japan-based Furukawa Electric and Taiwan-based Delta Electronics in its upcoming G6, according to Digitimes. Other vendors are reportedly following suit. (Tech2, IB Times, Android Headlines, Digitimes, press, Laoyaoba, ZOL, 163)

Smartphones

According to IDC, total smartphone shipments in the emerging Southeast Asia (SEA) region in 2016 recorded approximately 101M units, or a 4.3% YoY growth versus in 2016. Samsung maintained its pole position in the emerging SEA smartphone market, with 23% market share in 2016. However, its market share was cannibalized by China’s top 3 players, OPPO, Huawei, and vivo, which combined for a 21% market share.  (IDC, press, Android Authority, ZOL)

Samsung Group vice chairman Choi Gee-sung and president Chang Choong-ki, who are both suspects in the bribery investigation, have decided to leave the company. (Android Authority, Yonhap News, Reuters, Android Headlines, 163, Sina)

The board of Samsung Electronics has approved a new clause that aims to make donations more transparent, after Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was arrested over his alleged role in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. (Android Authority, Yonhap News, Reuters, Sina)

According to Statista, Samsung released 31 smartphones in 2016, while Lenovo and its Motorola sub-brand announced 26, ZTE 24, Huawei 22, LG 19, Xiaomi 18, HTC 15, vivo 13, OPPO 9, and Apple just 3.  (Business Insider, Softpedia, CN Beta)

Hon Hai Precision will soon take a majority stake in a SoftBank Group asset management company in Singapore. A Chinese subsidiary of the contract manufacturer known as Foxconn will pay USD600M for a 54.5% stake in SoftBank Group Capital Apac, turning the company into a joint venture. (CN Beta, Reuters, Asia Nikkei)

OPPO and vivo do not have a sales department, and they delegate sales to 1^st-level and 2^nd-level distributor. These distributors have a dedicated team for OPPO and vivo with their uniforms. The retailers around the world get the shipment from these distributors. If 1^st-level distributors get the products from OPPO, vivo for CNY800, they will sell the products to retailers with CNY1000, and retailers will price the products with CNY1200. Thus, 1^st-level distributors will get CNY200 profit. (Sina, Laoyaoba, article)

Archos unveils 2 budget smartphones with MediaTek MT6737 processor, rear dual 13MP-2MP + front 5MP cameras, 16GB storage, Android 7.0, fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C: 50 Graphite – 5” HD IPS LCD 2.5D curved display, 1GB RAM, 2400mAh battery. 55 Graphite – 5.5” HD IPS LCD 2.5D curved display, 2GB RAM, 3000mAh battery. (GizChina, Android Police, Ubergizmo)

Rugged flip hone Kyocera Torque X01 is announced for KDDI –  3.4” LCD display, good for viewing in direct sunlight, 1.1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 13MP camera with HD video recording, comply with 18 separate categories of the US military’s MIL-STD-810G procurement standards, 100dB speaker. (CN Beta, The Verge, SlashGear, Kyocera)