IF / News

Chipsets

Qualcomm is fined a record NTD23.4B (USD773M) by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission in the latest blow from regulators over the way Qualcomm prices mobile phone chips and patents. The company has been violating antitrust rules for at least 7 years and Qualcomm collected NTD400B in licensing fees from local companies during that time. (Android Authority, Bloomberg, Caixin, Sohu, Sina)

Deutsche Post DHL Group is partnering with Nvidia and auto supplier ZF to deploy a test fleet of autonomous delivery trucks in 2018. Deutsche Post will outfit its StreetScooter electric delivery vehicles with ZF’s self-driving system called ProAI—basically the brain of the car, which is powered with Nvidia’s Drive PX technology. ZF’s package of sensors that include cameras, radar, and light ranging and detection radar known as LiDAR will connect to the self-driving system. (CN Beta, Fortune, TechCrunch)

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang announces that the DRIVE PX Pegasus AI computer will enable level 5 autonomy—the cars powered by this will be fully autonomous, requiring no pedals and steering wheels. (Ubergizmo, Nvidia, Caixin, Sina)

Intel announcing the delivery of a new 17-qubit to QuTech, a move “demonstrates the fast progress Intel and QuTech are making in researching and developing a working quantum computing system.” Intel managed to package 17 qubits on a chip about the size of a quarter. Packaging is another huge aspect of quantum computing, as qubits have an operating temperature of around 20 millikelvin. (SlashGear, CN Beta)

Touch Display

Apple has reportedly started working on a foldable iPhone with LG Display, not Samsung Display — the sole OLED supplier — possibly due to concerns over tech leaks to its archrival Samsung Electronics. LG Innotek has also setup a team dedicated to developing the rigid flexible printed circuit board, more widely called RFPCB. Apple’s foldable iPhone might be launched in 2020. (CN Beta, GSM Arena, The Investor)

Apple’s patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, entitled “Electronic Devices with Displays” reveals its interest in future hardware that could be folded in half, making it more portable and easier to pocket. Specifically, Apple’s application calls for a device that has a “flexible portion” that could be folded.  (Apple Insider, Free Patent, Sohu)

Camera

Samsung introduces two new ISOCELL image sensors: 1.28μm 12MP ISOCELL Fast 2L9 with Dual Pixel technology, and ultra-small 0.9μm 24Mp ISOCELL Slim 2X7 with Tetracell technology. Both offer high resolution image sensors in small chip packages, delivering detailed pictures in low-light environments without a camera bump. (Android Authority, Samsung, CN Beta)

Sensory

Samsung is developing an “environmental sensor”, according to the Patent Office of South Korea. The sensor most likely will detect the amount of particles along with the change of resistance and will provide data about the air quality. It will be built into smartphones, tablets and smart watches. (GSM Arena, Patent, CN Beta)

Samsung Galaxy S9’s front camera allegedly to feature 3D sensor. (Android Headlines, Sam Mobile)

Apple iPhone X suppliers allegedly have still not been able to solve yield problems for the 3D sensors. Yuanta Investment Consulting analyst Jeff Pu predicts that Apple iPhone X will soon enter mass production and units will start shipping out of China in the third week of Oct 2017. However, since this issue has still not been sorted out, he has revised his own 2017 iPhone X shipments prediction down from 40M units to 36M. (Asia Nikkei, Ubergizmo, CN Beta)

A new patent application suggests that Apple may be looking into “intelligent blood pressure monitoring” with an alert triggered by parameters set by the user —or by data collected by wearable sensors such as those found on the Apple Watch. (CN Beta, Apple Insider, USPTO)

Biometrics

Apple iPad Pro models set to be released in 2018 will come equipped with a TrueDepth Camera and will support Face ID, says KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo believes Apple will add TrueDepth cameras to the iPad Pro to introduce a user experience that is consistent with the iPhone X and boost competitiveness.(Laoyaoba, The Verge, NY Post, Mac Rumors)

Connectivity

Deutsche Telekom has announced that the first four 5G antennas in Europe are now operational in Berlin, offering a live 5G connection in accordance with the preliminary 5G New Radio standards in a real-world setting. Huawei supplied the antennas, and the test follows on from a pre-standard 5G trial conducted by the companies in early Sept 2017.  (Android Headlines, Reuters, Mobile World Live, CWW)

Smartphones

Money that Google pays to have Google-served ads on websites, the default search engine on iOS, and Google apps preinstalled on Android phones is referred to as “traffic acquisition costs”, and the company pays USD19B each year for it. Of the USD19B Google spent in total traffic acquisition costs in 2016, USD7.2B went towards mobile products. (Android Central, Bloomberg, Sina, Sohu, JRJ)

According to IDC, HMD Global has sold 1.5M Nokia Android smartphones in 1H17 ending Jun 2017. Notably, the Nokia 6 was initially released in China earlier this year, so the sales of Nokia 6 in China has contributed to a great fraction. (CN Beta, Gizbot, Nokia Poweruser)

The latest stats by ad network AppBrain reveal that Samsung Galaxy Note 8 market share has crossed 1% in several important markets since launched in Sept 2017. The Galaxy Note 8 now accounts for 1% of all Android smartphones in the United States, it’s the 21st most popular phone in the country. (Android Headlines, GSM Arena, Neowin, Sam Mobile, App Brain, CN Beta)

A trade group representing a number of high-profile U.S. technology firms, including Apple, Google, and IBM, spoke out against Chinese regulations at an International Trade Commission hearing, saying the Asian country’s rules help facilitate intellectual property theft.  (Apple Insider, SCMP, Insurance Journal, Xinhuanet, Caijing)

ZTE Blade Force is announced at Boost Mobile – 5.5” HD IPS LCD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 427 processor, 8MP + 5MP cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, Android 7.1, 3000mAh battery, USD130.   (Android Authority, Boost Mobile)

ZTE nubia Z17S and Z17 miniS are launched:  Z17S – 6.73” 17:9 2040×1080 display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, rear dual 23MP-12MP + front dual 5MP-5MP cameras, 6 / 8GB RAM, 64 / 128GB storage, 3100mAH battery, CNY2999/3999. Z17 miniS  – 5.2” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 processor, rear dual 13MP-13MP + front dual 16MP-5MP cameras, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3200mAh battery, from CNY1999.   (CN Beta, Gizmo China, Gizmo China)

Huawei Honor 7x is announced in China – 5.93” 2160×1080 FHD+ display, Huawei Kirin 659 processor, rear dual 16MP-2MP + front 8MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 32 / 64 / 128GB storage, Android 7.1, IP67 certified, 3340mAh battery, from CNY1299. (Android Central, Android Authority, Honor, Android Headlines)

XOLO launches Era 3X, Era 2V and Era 3 in India, powered by MediaTek MT6737 processor with 5” HD display, 3000mAh battery: Era 3X – rear 13MP + front 13MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage, 3000mAh battery, INR7,499. Era 2V – rear 8MP + front 13MP cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 3000mAh battery, INR6,499. Era 3 –rear 5MP + front 8MP cameras, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, 2500mAh battery, INR4,999.  (GSM Arena, Android Authority, Economic Times)

OPPO F3 Lite (OPPO A57) is launched in Vietnam – 5.2” HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, rear 13MP + front 16MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 6.0, 2900mAh battery, VND5.49M (USD240). (OPPO, GSM Arena)

PCs / Tablets

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 67M units in 3Q17, a 3.6% decline from 3Q16, according to preliminary results by Gartner. This is the 12th consecutive quarter of declining PC shipments. In 3Q17, HP and Lenovo were in a virtual tie for the top spot in the PC market based on shipments. (CN Beta, Mac Rumors, Gartner, press)

Wearables

Oculus is introducing Oculus Go, an all-in-one VR headset, which is super lightweight, and the new fabric used for facial interface is soft and breathable. It is priced from USD199. Oculus Go also ships with integrated spatial audio. (CN Beta, Engadget, Oculus, Mac Rumors, iFeng, 163)

Nokia has announced cancelling Ozo VR 360º camera due to slower-than-expected development of the market. The company announced it is shifting focus from VR to digital health and growing brand and technology licensing. (GSM Arena, Nokia, TechCrunch, Sohu, Sina)

HTC has registered a trademark in New Zealand for a product called Vive Eclipse, which describes, amongst other things, a “head-mounted display for computer simulated reality”. (GSM Arena, MS Poweruser, Android Headlines, Tencent, Sohu)

Microwear X2 smartwatch is launched for USD27. It has a long battery life (standby time of 180 days or 90 days for everyday use), and IP68 certified.  It has a lot of sensors and fitness related features: heart rate monitor, pedometer, sleep monitor, barometer, and altimeter. (Gizmo China, Microwear)