IF / News

Chipsets

Qualcomm is announcing that it has begun sampling its next generation Snapdragon SoC. Qualcomm is confirming that their unnammed next-generation high-end Snapdragon SoC will be manufactured on TSMC’s 7FF process node. The new SoC can be paired with Qualcomm’s X50 modem in order to enable the first generation 5G smartphones in 2019. (CN Beta, AnandTech, Techspot, The Inquirer)

According to Arete Research analyst Brett Simpson, Apple is expected to keep TSMC as its sole provider of application processors for the iPhone and iPad for the next 2 years. Apple has used TSMC as a chipmaker since 2014. (Apple Insider, EE Times, Sina, Sohu)

Mobileye, Intel’s Israel-based subsidiary developing vision-based ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) solutions, hopes to cooperate with Taiwan-based enterprises in developing autonomous driving technology, according to the firm’s China country manager Rosana Su. (Digitimes, press, Digitimes)

Touch Display

Motorola’s patent is considering a flip phone that features a large, foldable screen inside the clamshell design. The handset detailed in the patent appears to have a significant hinge in its middle, and when it is closed. (Android Authority, Mobielkopen, Android Headlines, TechRadar, SlashGear, Sina, HQEW)

JOLED has announced it raised a total of JPY47B (USD420M) in capital through third-party allocation of new shares, as it plans to mass produce OLED displays using its printing method. The new shares were underwritten by Denso, Toyota Tsusho, Sumitomo Chemical, and Screen Finetech Solutions. (OfWeek, Sina, 10JQKA, Digitimes, press)

The survey conducted by Flipkart in conjunction with India media site First Post results state the display cutout is a “most wanted feature” and that “most millennial” prefer a notch. (Android Authority, First Post, Flipkart, infographics)

Storage

Tsinghua Unigroup president Zhao Weiguo indicates that the company is busy planning its chipsets strategy. In 2017, the company supplied 3.4B units of chipsets including mobile phone. In terms of volume, Tsinghua is ranked at number 3 globally, behind Qualcomm and MediaTek. He also reveals that the company will produce 64-layer 128GB storage in 2019, at the same time developing 128-layer 256GB storage. (CN Beta, SCMP)

Sensory

MIT’s Computer Science AI Lab (CSAIL) is developing methods for using wireless radio signals to detect sensors inside the human body. The ReMix system could be used to find ingestible microchip implants, a technique its creators hope can someday assist in medical imaging, delivering drugs to specific parts of the body, or tracking the movement of tumors. (VentureBeat, MIT, New Atlas, CN Beta)

Battery

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Rochester have managed to create a lithium-ion battery that will harden upon impact, which  would then prevent the electrodes in the batteries from touching, thus reducing the chance of it exploding or catching on fire. (Ubergizmo, Science Daily, CN Beta)

Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada has now become the biggest battery factory in the world with an output of 20GWh per year and growing. Now a new audit of the factory shows that Tesla is still on pace to comply with its obligations with the state for the factory as it now employs over 3,000 workers. (My Drivers, Sina, Electrek, Clean Technica)

Material

According to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s 2019 iPhone internal stamping parts cost will increase due to 2 factors: 1. wireless standard requirements have increased (including Pre-5G upgrade and wireless charging standards increase), thus the new iPhone will continue using metal frame, glass back and inner support plate; 2. internal space is shrinking, but the number of components increase. (CN Beta, China Times, CNYES, China Times, Gadget Hacks)

Connectivity

China now has more than 800M internet users, 788M of whom access the web via mobile devices including smartphones, according to the latest government statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center.  (GizChina, CNNIC, report, Financial Times, Financial Times, Asia News IT)

Phone

Xiaomi has shared its financials for the 3-month period of 2Q18. Xiaomi has reported a profit of CNY14.6B (approximately USD2.1B) in 2Q18, a significant jump compared to the last year when the company reported CNY11.9B. Xiaomi also claims total shipments of 32M smartphone units in 2Q18. (CN Beta, GSM Arena, Hkexnews, GizChina)

GBH Insights has suggested that Apple could sell more than the 220M iPhone currently being expected in the company’s next financial year, which begins in Oct 2018. It believes that the ‘window of opportunity’ for upgrades over the next 12-18 months could be as high as 350M iPhone. (CN Beta, Seeking Alpha, Investor Place, 9to5Mac)

According to a survey conducted by PC Magazine with 2,500 US consumers, the majority of smartphone users who have switched mobile OS, 18% went from Android to iOS. Only 11% went in the other direction. Naturally, the other 71% have not switched. Over half of respondents (54%) have an Apple iPhone, by the way, and 27% have a Samsung phone. (Phone Arena, PC Mag, PC Online, IAPPS)

Amid roiling debates about the impact of screen time on teenagers, roughly half of those ages 13~17 are themselves worried they spend too much time on their cellphones. Some 52% of U.S. teens report taking steps to cut back on their mobile phone use, and similar shares have tried to limit their use of social media (57%) or video games (58%), according to Pew Research Center. (Android Headlines, Pew Internet, report, Forbes, Washington Post, TNW)

OPPO’s assistant VP, Shen Yiren indicates that Pro series can fulfill “Fashion + Technology” requirements, which fill in the price segment of above CNY4000. A series is aiming at younger generation, R series is positioned as “Fashion”, and Find series is “Art and Technology”. He also reveals that OPPO is likely going to be the first manufacturer to mass produce a 5G smartphone in 2019. (CN Beta, 163, Sina, Gizmo China)

Infinix Note 5 is announced in India – 5.99” 2160×1080 FHD+ FullView IPS, MediaTek Helio P23, rear 12MP + front 16MP, 3GB+32GB / 4GB+64GB, Android 8.1, rear fingerprint scanner 4500mAh, INR9,999 / INR11,999. (GizChina, Indian Express, NDTV)

iTel is launching A22 Android Go, A22 Pro and A45 in India: A22 / A22 Pro – 5” 480×960 FWVGA+, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210, rear 5MP + front 2MP, 1GB+8GB (A22) / 2GB+16GB (A22 Pro), Android 8.1, 2400mAh, INR5,499 / INR 6,499. A45 – 5.45” 1440×720 HD+ 2.5D, MediaTek MT6739WA, rear 5MP + front 5MP, 1GB+8GB, Android 8.1, rear fingerprint scanner, 2700mAh, INR5,999. (GizChina, Deccan Chronicle, Gadgets Now, Indian Express)

Amazon is launching 10.or (pronounced Tenor) D2 in India – 5.45” 1440×720 HD+, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, rear 13MP + front 5MP, 2GB+16GB / 3GB+32GB, Android 8.1, 3200mAh, IPX2 rated, INR6,999 / INR7,999. (GSM Arena, Gizmo China, NDTV, First Post)

OPPO R17 and R17 Pro are announced: R7 – 6.4” 1080×2280 FHD+ AMOLED, Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, rear dual 16MP-5MP + front 25MP, 6/8GB+128GB, Android 8.1, 3500mAh, from CNY3,199. R7 Pro – 6.4” 1080×2340 FHD+ AMOLED, Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, rear triple 12MP-20MP-ToF + front 25MP, 8GB+128GB, Android 8.1, 3700mAh, CNY4,299. (CN Beta, GizChina, GSM Arena)

OPPO A5 is launched in India – 6.23” 1520×720 HD+ FullView, Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, rear dual 13MP-2MP + front 8MP, 4GB+64GB, Android 8.1, 4230mAh, no fingerprint scanner, face unlock, INR14,990. (GizChina, NDTV, Indian Express)

Samsung Galaxy J2 Core is announced in India – 5” 540×960 qHD TFT, Samsung Exynos 7570, rear 8MP + front 5MP, 1GB+8GB, Android Oreo (Go Edition), no fingerprint scanner, face unlock, 2600mAh, below INR7,000. (The Verge, NDTV, 91Mobiles, Digit)

Doogee S70 gaming phone is announced – 5.99” FHD+ 18:9, MediaTek Helio P23, rear dual 12MP-5MP + front 16MP, 6GB+64GB, IP68 / IP69K rated, Cooling Boost button, 5500mAh. (My Drivers, GSM Arena, XDA Developers, Android Police, Indiegogo, IT Home)

PC / Tablet

Lenovo is releasing new family of tablets: Tab E7 – 7” 1200×600 TN LCD, MediaTek MT8167, rear 2MP + front 0.3MP, 1GB+16GB, Android 8.0, 2500mAh, USD70. Tab E8 – 8” 1280×800 HD IPS LCD, MediaTek MT8163B, rear 5MP + front 2MP, 1GB+16GB, Android 7.0, 4850mAh, USD100. Tab E10 – 10” 1280×800 HD IPS LCD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210, rear 5MP + front 2MP, 2GB+16GB, Android 8.0, 4850mAh, USD130. Tab M10 – 10.1” 1920×1200 IPS LCD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, rear 5MP + front 2MP, 3GB+32GB, Android 8.0, 4850mAh. Tab P10 – 10.1” 1920×1200 IPS LCD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, rear 8MP + front 5MP, 4GB+64GB, Android 8.0, 7000mAh. (Phone Arena, Android Guys, Android Headlines, GizChina, Ubergizmo)

Automotive

Korean automaker Hyundai is jumping into India’s on-demand mobility space after it led a USD14.3M investment in car-rental startup Revv. Other investors in the round include Japan’s Dream Incubator, Telama Investment and Sunjay Kapoor of auto component firm Sona BLW. (TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Tencent, Gasgoo)

Carmera, a New York-based mapping and data analytics startup, has now raised USD20M in a Series B funding round led by GV, formerly known as Google Ventures. Carmera previously raised USD6.5M. (TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Medium, Lieyun, Baijiahao)

Waymo established a wholly-owned company called Huimo Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co on 22 May 2018 in Shanghai’s free trade zone with registered capital of CNY3.5M (USD509,165), according to China’s National Enterprise Information Publicity System. Its scope includes business and logistics consultancy as well as services related to the design and testing of self-driving car parts, said the document. (VentureBeat, CN Beta, Bloomberg, Reuters)

Robotics

DJI has unveiled the Mavic 2 series of drones, expanding the Mavic line beyond the highly successful Mavic Pro and Mavic Air. The two new drones, the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom, have identical dimensions and flight specifications. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, Apple Insider)

Artificial Intelligence

Canvass Analytics has announced the closure of a USD5M funding round to explore applications of AI in industrial settings. The round was led by Gradient Ventures, an AI-focused investment fund created by Google in 2017. This brings Canvass’ total raised so far to USD7.5M. (VentureBeat, TechCrunch, PR Newswire, Hexun)

Uber director of product Jairam Ranganathan says the company is exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create an assistive onboarding guide for prospective drivers. He noted that Uber is already using image recognition to scan drivers’ licenses and the documents necessary to onboard a new driver. (VentureBeat, Atyun)

MIT CSAIL demonstrates a way to use machine learning to automate many parts of the editing process for photos – and say that the approach could also be used for moving images, too. Dubbed “semantic soft segmentation” (SSS), the system analyzes the original image’s texture and color and combines it with information gleaned by a neural network about what the objects within the image actually are. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, CSAIL)