IF / News

Chipsets

Intel has announced the Intel XMM 8160 5G modem, a multimode modem optimized to provide 5G connectivity to devices like phones, PCs and broadband access gateways. The XMM 8160 5G will support peak speeds up to 6Gbps, making it 3~6 times faster than the latest LTE modems available today. (Apple Insider, Intel, CN Beta)

Touch Display

Huawei has been granted patent permission for in-display earpiece technology that will allow provide another way to offer higher screen space to the user. The top edge of the Huawei phone is equipped with a 3.5mm and its bottom edge features a slot for what appears to be USB-C port.  (Gizmo China, CN Beta)

Samsung plans to launch its first foldable smartphone, set to be known as the Galaxy F, in Mar 2019, along with a 5G network-powered Galaxy S10. It may cost around KRW2M (USD1,770). (Apple Insider, Yonhap News, The Verge, Engadget, Tencent, Sohu)

Camera

Apple’s new patent titled “integrated camera window” shows an iPhone with a hole for the camera in the display. The display will be covered with a chemically strengthened glass, which is in a chemical bath containing potassium nitrate (KNO₃). (Gizmo China, LetsGoDigital, Twitter, CN Beta)

Memory

SK Hynix has announced the development of its 1Ynm 8Gb DDR4 DRAM memory. The chip delivers 20% improvement in productivity compared to its previous-generation 1Xnm counterpart and also more than 15% improvement in power consumption. The new SK Hynix 1Ynm 8Gb DDR4 DRAM supports a data transfer rate of up to 3,200Mbps, which the company claims is the fastest data processing speed in DDR4 interface.  (Digitimes, press, My Drivers)

Biometrics

According to data released by Alibaba, 2018 Tmall Double 11 total turnover (GMV) reached CNY213.5B (USD30.65B), far exceeding 2017 CNY168.2B (USD24.14B). According to Alipay, the proportion of payments made through biological information is as high as 60.3%, which simply means 6 out of 10 pay through one of these methods. (GizChina, East Money, Sina, JRJ)

Phone

Vincent Pang, President of Huawei in Western Europe, has announced its intention to launch its first 5G smartphone in 2019. The phone is expected to be formally presented in the next edition of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in Feb 2019, and will be made available to the public during the third quarter of 2019. Pang also hinted that this model may be the world’s first foldable smartphone. (CN Beta, Huanqiu,  Brussels Times)

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has cut expectations for sales of Apple iPhone XR for the next year by 30% to 70M. Kuo believes that “legacy” iPhone shipments will increase significantly thanks to “more affordable prices”.  Kuo is not cutting estimates of unit sales for the holiday quarter, though, and is expecting between 75M~80M units sold. (CN Beta, Apple Insider, Mac Rumors)

Xiaomi has hiked the price of a total of 5 of its products in India which include the Redmi 6, the Redmi 6A, Mi LED TV 4C Pro 32”, Mi LED TV 4A Pro 49”, and, the 10,000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i. Manu Kumar Jain, director of Xiaomi India, has explained that the price of the Indian rupee is falling, and the company has to adjust the pricing to the production costs. (GSM Arena, Mobigyaan, Twitter, Baijiahao)

During the Diwali celebration in India, Xiaomi has claimed the #1 spot in several categories including smartphone. Xiaomi has sold a total of 6M smartphones on Amazon India and Flipkart. Overall, it generated a revenue of over USD1B in 8~9 Nov 2018. (GSM Arena, Twitter, My Drivers)

Xiaomi has announced it has generated CNY5.251B (USD747M) sales during Double Eleven Singles’ Day. Xiaomi has come tops in several categories. Its IoT intelligent hardware and consumer goods won a total of 72 categories. (GizChina, My Drivers, My Drivers, GizChina)

During Double Eleven Singles Day, Meizu online sales grow 26% compared to 2017. In particular, smartphone has grown 104%, accessories have grown 91%. Its CNY3000 above smartphone sales have grown 1060%. Its CNY3000 above smartphones are Meizu 16^th and 16^th Plus. (My Drivers, Tom.com, Sohu)

Smartisan CEO Luo Yong Hao has announced acquiring Level 8, a US design brand. Level 8 is founded in 2008 designing famous luggage and bags. Its main business is to design bags for Apple MacBook. (My Drivers, CN Beta)

Lenovo has released its Double Eleven Singles’ Day. On 11 Nov 2018, Lenovo overall sales exceed CNY680M in 1 hour, in particular SIoT smart device sales have exceeded 100K units. Its mobile phone sales have entered the JD.com top 9 sales ranking. Overall sales have exceeded CNY3.8B. (My Drivers, IT Home, Sina)

vivo Y95 is official in Philippines – 6.22” 1520×720 HD+ ‘halo’ IPS, Qualcomm Snapdragon 439, rear dual 13MP-2MP + front 20MP, 4+64GB, Android 8.1, rear fingerprint scanner, 4030mAh, PHP13,999 (USD262). (Gizmo China, GizChina, GizGuide)

Automotive

According to CleanTechnica, the electric car that respondents most frequently said they were most likely to buy next (or for the first time in the case of non-EV drivers) was the Tesla Model 3. Over 100,000 reservations (USD1,000 each) were placed for the car in under 24 hours — even before the car was shown.  (CN Beta, CleanTechnica)

Volswagen chief executive Herbert Diess reveals that Volkswagen’s electric vehicle platform and battery procurement plans are being readied to handle production of 50M vehicles. (CN Beta, Channel News Asia)

E-Commerce

JD.com has announced that it sold CNY159.8B (USD23B) in goods for its Singles’ Day campaign. (My Drivers, CN Beta, TechCrunch, JD.com, NASDAQ)

Alibaba has announced that it generated gross merchandise volume or GMV of CNY213.5B (USD30.8B) on 11 Nov 2018, representing an increase of 27% compared to 2017. (My Drivers, NASDAQ, RTT News, Yahoo)