09-04: Samsung might unveil foldable phone in Nov 2018; Handset vendors, led by Samsung Electronics, are expected to begin to release the first wave of foldable smartphones at the end of 2018 or in early 2019; etc.
Chipsets
AMD is announcing that it will move all of its 7nm production on both CPUs and GPUs to TSMC. AMD’s next major milestone is the introduction of our upcoming 7nm product portfolio, including the initial products with our second generation “Zen2” CPU core and our new “Navi” GPU architecture. (My Drivers, Expreview, Extreme Tech, Kit Guru, WCCFTech)
Fabless chipmakers strove to scale up inventory in 1H18, but have now begun to slow down their pace of orders, according to Digitimes. Their foundry partners particularly those running 8” fabs have seen orders for 3Q18 register an only 10%-20% sequential gain. United Microelectronics (UMC) has estimated capacity utilization would slide to 91%-93% in 3Q18 from 97% in 2Q18. Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) also expects to post a revenue decline of 4%-6% sequentially in 3Q18. (Digitimes, press, Money Link, Yahoo, China Times)
Aliababa wholly-owned Hangzhou C-SKY Microsystems has officially launched RISC-V 3rd generation commands system architecture processor CK902, which could be freely equipped with TEE engine, supporting IoT functions. (CN Beta, Sohu, C-Sky)
Xiaomi’s owned Pinecone and C-SKY have announced strategic collaboration. Pinecone will develop competitive SoC for smart hardware products based on C-SKY’s RISC-V CPU processor. (CN Beta, PRN Asia, IT Home, Elecfans, My Drivers)
Touch Display
In the market there are typically 2 types of calculations for screen ratio: 1) Display active area ÷ display panel excluding the bezel width; and, 2) Display active area ÷ the overall device size (excluding the buttons). (CN Beta, Sina)
Handset vendors, led by Samsung Electronics, are expected to begin to release the first wave of foldable smartphones at the end of 2018 or in early 2019, driving up demand for flexible OLED panels, according to Digitimes Research. Digitimes Research also believes that Samsung Display has completed the development of OLED panels with a curvature radius of less than 1.0R and is testing foldable smartphones built using its panels with Samsung Electronics. Meanwhile, LG Display is expected to complete the development process of its 1.0R OLED panels ahead of its original schedule set at the end of 2019. (Digitimes, press, Tencent)
Samsung Electronics CEO DJ Koh said that “it is time to deliver” on a foldable device after consumer surveys carried out by Samsung showed that there is a market for that kind of handset. He said the device could be unveiled in Nov 2018. (CN Beta, Android Authority, CNBC)
Camera
According to Counterpoint Research, almost 42% of smartphones sold globally in Jul 2018 sported two or more rear camera (dual+) sensors and this dual+ camera sensors adoption in smartphones is estimated to grow to 60% of total smartphone sales by the end of 2018. The new affordable premium “USD300-599” & high-tier “USD200-299” segments have grown the fastest adopting dual cameras. (Counterpoint Research, press)
Apple reportedly will launch new iPhone in 2019 that will push Largan Precision’s 2019 iPhone rear camera shipment to grow 47%. There will be 2 variants of OLED iPhone, which are equipped with tri-cam with ToF 3D sensing technology. The LCD version iPhone will be upgraded from single camera to dual camera, which will bring innovative AR functionalities. (CN Beta, China Times, Toments, Yahoo, CNA, ET News)
Phone
Samsung Electronics mobile CEO DJ Koh reveals that the company plans to overhaul its smartphone strategy at the mid-range price point in order to appeal more to millennials. The company is changing its smartphone strategy for its mid-priced Galaxy A series of smartphones amid a slowdown in the handset market. (Android Authority, CNBC, Sina)
India’s smartphone market is currently a key battleground for a number of phone makers from China, Taiwan, and South Korea. As the smartphone shipments slow in many parts of the globe, India’s handset market continues to grow. Jul 2018 saw 42 different smartphone models launched in the nation, up from 25 models during the same period last year, according to Counterpoint. (VentureBeat, My Drivers, CN Beta)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite is announced – 6.3” 2340×1080 FHD+ IPS, Huawei Kirin 710, rear dual 20MP-2MP + front dual 24MP-2MP, 4GB+64GB, Android 8.1, 2D face unlock, rear fingerprint scanner, 3750mAh, GBP379. (Android Headlines, The Inquirer, Digital Trends, TechRadar)
Huawei Honor 7S is launched in India – 5.45” 720×1440 HD+ FullView, MediaTek MT6739, rear 13MP + front 5MP, 2GB+16GB, Android 8.1, face unlock, no fingerprint scanner, 3020mAh, INR6,999. (Gizmo China, GizChina, NDTV)
LG Q Stylus+ is announced in India – 6.2” 1080×2160 FHD+, MediaTek MT6750S, rear 16MP + front 8MP, 4BG+64GB, Android 8.1, IP68 rated, 3300mAh, stylus pen, INR21,990. (GizChina, Economic Times, GSM Arena)
Automotive
Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, has begun production of its first all-electric SUV, 3 years after the automaker unveiled a concept version of the vehicle. Audi has been working towards mass production of the e-tron quattro for years now, offering periodic updates and teasers on the pricing, range, and interior design. (TechCrunch, Electrek, Inside EVs, PC Auto, Auto Home)
Artificial Intelligence
Google has released a free artificial intelligence (AI) tool to help companies and organizations identify images of child sexual abuse on the internet. Google’s Content Safety API is a developers’ toolkit that uses deep neural networks to process images in such a way that fewer people need to be exposed to them. The technique can help reviewers identify 700% more child abuse content, Google said. (Engadget, CNET, Google, CN Beta)
MIT researchers detail a neural-network model that can be unleashed on raw text and audio data from interviews to discover speech patterns indicative of depression. Given a new subject, it can accurately predict if the individual is depressed, without needing any other information about the questions and answers. The researchers hope this method can be used to develop tools to detect signs of depression in natural conversation. (Ubergizmo, MIT, TechWeb, Sina)
According to Samsung mobile division CEO DJ Koh, the company will allow developers to build apps for Bixby later in 2018. The company will release a software developer kit (SDK), as well as an application programming interface (API) in Nov 2018. (CN Beta, CNBC, VentureBeat, Bixby)
Fintech
Google has expanded its big data analytics with the inclusion of tools to explore the Ethereum blockchain. Just a few months after releasing Bitcoin support for its BigQuery database tool, Google has announced a new plugin for analyzing the Ethereum platform. (Coin Desk, CN Beta, Google, Ethereum World News, CCN)
