09-07: ZTE and AT&T are rumored to try and deliver foldable phone with the Axon Multy; Qualcomm confirms under-display fingerprint technology to be launched in 2018; etc.
Chipsets
Combined revenues of Taiwan’s top-3 foundries—Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics (UMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS)–are estimated at USD9.61B in 3Q17, up 13.3% sequentially but down 0.1% on year, according to Digitimes Research. (Digitimes, press, LTN)
Europe’s top court told a lower court to re-examine U.S. chipmaker Intel’s appeal against a EUR1.06B (USD1.3B) EU antitrust fine. The Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court, which had upheld the fine of EUR1.06B imposed on Intel by the Commission for abuse of a dominant position, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice (ECJ) said. (CN Beta, Business Insider, TechCrunch)
Touch Display
The negotiation between Samsung Electronics and LG Display (LGD) to supply liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels for televisions has been at a standstill for 9 months. Samsung has been in trouble in part supply as after Sharp decided to stop supplying LCD panels for TVs, which was 4.5M on annual basis at the end of 2016. Samsung was going to be supplied 700K~1M units of LCD panels from Innolux, BOE and LGD. (Business Korea, Android Headlines, Digitimes)
Global demand for large-size public display and digital signage products is set to grow steadily in years to come. Global shipments of 32” and above public display products are expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% during the period from 2017~2021, with shipments reaching 7M units at the 2016 projected period, according to forecasts by Digitimes Research. AU Optronics (AUO), Samsung Display and LG Display will serve as the top-3 suppliers of large-size panels. (Digitimes, press, Digitimes)
ZTE and AT&T are rumored to try and deliver foldable phone with the Axon Multy, which reportedly features individual 1,920×1,080 resolution displays that can come together to form a 6.8”, 1,920×2,160 resolution display, and less than 10mm thick. It is slated to launch in mid-Oct 2017 priced at USD650. (VentureBeat, Android Authority, My Drivers, 163)
Samsung has submitted a patent application describing an all-display smartphone with a cut-out on top for its sensors and front-facing camera. The patent application was approved by Korea Intellectual Property Rights information Service (KIPRIS). Samsung’s patent was first filed on May 2016. (GSM Arena, Galaxy Club, Trusted Reviews,Sohu, Pingwest)
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities reveals that Samsung has strong bargaining power against Apple. He suspects that the OLED displays for the “iPhone 8” cost Apple between USD120~130 per unit — well beyond the USD45~55 per unit Apple is said to pay for the iPhone 7 Plus 5.5” LCD screen. (Apple Insider, The Verge, Mac Rumors, Sohu, CN Beta)
According to YANO Research, with Sony starts selling CLEDIS display system that adopt Micro-LED technology, in 2017 global Micro LED market size is expected to grow to USD70B. Even though it is not huge, but it has already started to “become a market”. (Laoyaoba, TechNews, HQEW, Yahoo)
Camera
According to Digitimes, Apple reportedly has booked up the production capacity for above 12MP lens modules at a new factory being built by Largan Precision in central Taiwan. Among makers of above 12MP smartphone lens modules, only Largan meets Apple’s minimum yield rate requirement. The new factory in Taichung is designed to accommodate monthly production capacity of 600M lens modules, 6 times Largan’s present capacity, and will start production in Oct 2017. (Digitimes, press, Apple Insider, Sina, LTN)
Memory
Micron Technology global VP Wayne Allan has announced to expand its investment in Taiwan, in the future to invest USD2B annually, to make Taiwan become global DRAM manufacture centre. He also indicates that in the next 2 quarter, DRAM is still in shortage; NAND Flash annual demand will grow 45%. (Laoyaoba, Laoyaoba, UDN, China Times)
Battery
To make sure consumers receive a safe product, Huawei has partnered with TÜV Rheinland to certify Huawei’s SuperCharge technology, which relies on 2 extra pins in the USB-C port on its phones to deliver 5A at 4.5V. (GSM Arena, Gizmo China, Android Headlines, CC Time)
Biometrics
Raj Talluri, SVP and GM of Qualcomm’s IoT business has confirmed that the fingerprint scanner under display technology will be ready to launch in 2018. (CN Beta, TechRadar)
Material
Semblant, the global leader in innovating and deploying protective nanomaterials for the electronics industry, has opened a dedicated Customer Innovation Center in Shenzhen, China. The opening of the new facility follows the adoption of MobileShield waterproofing technology by multiple leading smartphone manufacturers in China, and the growth of additional vertical markets in Asia. (EEPW, Laoyaoba, Market Wired)
Smartphones
According to Counterpoint, Huawei has surpassed Apple to become the 2nd largest smartphone company in the world. Huawei has achieved the feat consistently for the month of Jun, Jul 2017. (GSM Arena, Counterpoint, press, Laoyaoba)
Samsung launched refurbished Galaxy Note7 as Galaxy Note FE in iSouth Korea in early Jul 2017. And now, Samsung has reportedly managed to sell nearly 400K units of the handset, which carried a price tag of KRW699,600 (USD620). (GSM Arena, Korea Herald, Sam Mobile, C114, Sina)
BlackBerry will have BBM Consumer for iOS, Android and Microsoft devices, BBM Consumer for its own devices running BlackBerry OS and BB10, and BBM Enterprise, a business orientated version of BBM that works across all devices.(Android Headlines, Trusted Reviews)
Piper Jaffray analyst Michael J. Olson has surveyed >400 U.S. Apple iPhone users and found that 16% expect to upgrade to a new iPhone Fall 2017, compared to 15% in 2016, while 24% will ‘maybe’ upgrade vs. 29% in 2016. The analyst also found that the percentage of iPhone users on a version 2 years or older (at time of upgrade) is almost identical (66% vs 67%) compared to the 2016 survey. (CNBC, Phone Arena, 163)
Xiaomi launches its first Android One smartphone, the Mi A1 – 5.5” FHD 2.5D curved display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, dual rear 12MP wide-angle – 12MP telephoto + front 5MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3080mAh battery, INR14,999. (Android Authority, The Verge, NDTV, India Today)
OPPO A71 starts to sell in Malaysia – 5.2” HD display, MediaTek MT6750 processor, 13MP + 5MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage, 3000mAh battery, MYR858 (CNY1318). (CN Beta, The Mobile Indian, GSM Arena)
Lenovo K8 and K8 Plus are announced in India: K8 – 5.2” HD display, MediaTek Helio P20 processor, 13MP + 8MP cameras, 3 / 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, 4000mAh battery. K8 Plus – 5.2” FHD display, MediaTek Helio P25 processor, rear dual 13MP primary sensor – 5MP depth sensor + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 4000mAh battery, INR10,999. (Android Authority, Android Central, CN Beta)
Huawei Honor Play 6 is announced – 5” HD display, MediaTek MT6737T processor, 8MP + 2MP cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 3020mAh battery, CNY599. (CN Beta, Sohu, C114)
Huawei Honor V9 play is announced – 5.2” HD 2.5D curved display, MediaTek MT6750 processor, 13MP + 8MP cameras, 3 / 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, 3000mAh battery, from CNY999. (Sohu, CN Beta, Engadget)
PCs / Tablets
Lenovo has agreed to pay USD3.5M and make changes in how it sells laptops in order to settle allegations it sold devices with pre-loaded software that compromised users’ security protections. (Engadget, Reuters, China.com, Epoch Times)
HP Pro 8 is launched in India – 8” 1280×800 IPS LCD display, MediaTek MT8735 processor, 5MP + VGA cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, Android 6.0, 1.2W speaker, 2 microphones, 6000mAh battery, from INR19,374. (Liliputing, NDTV)
Internet of Things
Following its partnership with Uber earlier 2017, Daimler is making more inroads in the ride-sharing space through a newly announced partnership with US-based startup Via. The collaboration will see Mercedes-Benz vans take to the streets of London later 2017 as part of an on-demand service shuttling folks around the city. (CN Beta, New Atlas, Daimler)
Barclays analsyts Mark Moskowitz, Daniel Gaide, and Chang Liu at Barclays focuses on 3 main aspects of Apple’s iOS / HomeKit / Siri connected home efforts. The analysts do not expect the upcoming HomePod to be a “vital component”. They believe if Apple can continue to increase its presence in the connected home market, it will increase the loyalty of its customers who will want to stick with the iOS ecosystem. (CN Beta, Seeking Alpha, 9to5Mac)