2-26: Qualcomm has unveiled a new extended reality (XR) reference design headset based on Snapdragon XR2 Platform; UNISOC has officially launched its new-generation 5G SoC mobile platform – T7520; etc.
Chipsets
ARM has announced that its partners shipped a record 6.4B chips based on its designs in 4Q19. This was the 3rd record quarter for unit shipments in the past 2 years. The Softbank subsidiary has said it saw growing demand for embedded intelligence in endpoint devices, underlined by the record 4.2B Cortex-M processors shipped. To date, ARM partners have shipped more than 160B Arm-based chips, with an average of more than 22B over the past 3 years. (CN Beta, ARM, Telecom Paper)
Qualcomm has unveiled a new extended reality (XR) reference design headset based on Snapdragon XR2 Platform, making it the world’s first 5G-enabled XR reference design. The reference design supports up to seven cameras. It features two internal cameras, one for each eye to support eye tracking. It also includes four external cameras, two RGB cameras for MR experiences and two for head tracking which can also be used to generate accurate depth maps. (CN Beta, Qualcomm, Qualcomm, The Verge)
Qualcomm has highlighted its new 3rd-gen 5G X60 modem with the capacity for super-fast download and upload speeds. It is built on a 5nm process, which further reduces power consumption and improves overall performance. It is reported that the download speed of X60 can reach 7.5Gbps and the upstream speed can reach 3Gbps; it supports Voice-Over-NR 5G voice technology. (CN Beta, TechNews, WCCFTech, 9to5Mac)
Digitimes Research has revised downward its 5G smartphone shipment forecast for the second quarter and also all of 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus impact. With the outbreak disrupting production and dampening consumer confidence, 5G handset shipments in China in the second quarter of 2020 are expected to slip 26.6% from the pre-epidemice forecast of 30M units to 22M units. The proportion of 5G smartphone APs shipped to China-based smartphone brands has also been reduced to only 9.5% for 1H20 with 4G chips to account for 85% of the shipments. (Digitimes, press, Digitimes)
The supply of 8” wafer fabrication services remains tight, due to robust demand for fingerprint-on-display (FoD) solutions, CMOS image sensors and power management ICs, according to Digitimes. Orders for FoD chips, CIS and PWM ICs, as well as other smartphone chips continue to pull in despite the coronavirus outbreak. (Digitimes, press, Digitimes, Digitimes)
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that have disrupted business as well as consumer activities, Xiaomi has been cutting back orders to its IC suppliers in Taiwan, with fellow vendors OPPO and vivo likely to follow suit, according to Digitimes. (Digitimes, Digitimes, press)
UNISOC has officially launched its new-generation 5G SoC mobile platform – T7520. It is built on a 6nm EUV process technology and empowered by some of the latest design techniques. The T7520 has four Arm Cortex-A76 cores and four Arm Cortex-A55 cores with an Arm Mali-G57 based GPU, providing an incredible streaming and gaming experience at 5G speeds. (CN Beta, Tech Post, Gizmo China, UNISOC)
UNISOC has released the whole series of new products including the world’s first LTE Cat. 1 bit dedicated chip for the Internet of Things, Ivy V8910DM. In addition, Ivy V5663 ranks among the world’s highest clocked MCUs with an ARM CM33 processor and improves AI computing power. (CN Beta, 163)
Specialty foundry Globalfoundries and GlobalWafers, among the world’s top-3 silicon wafer producer, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a long-term supply agreement for 300mm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. GlobalWafers has a long and ongoing relationship with Globalfoundries for supplying 200mm SOI wafers. (Digitimes, press)
Memory
Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has publicly listed its own DDR4 memory chips, DDR4 memory modules, and LPDDR4X memory chips, all of which conform to internationally accepted standards. Specifications: single capacity 8Gb (1GB), frequency 2666MHz, voltage 1.2V, operating temperature 0ºC to 95ºC, 78ball, 96ball FBGA two package styles. (CN Beta, IT Home)
KIOXIA (originally Toshiba Memory) has announced that it has started sampling Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Ver. 3.1 embedded flash memory devices. The new lineup utilizes KIOXIA’s cutting-edge BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and is supported in four capacities: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. (My Drivers, Business Wire, Tech Power Up)
Phone
Huawei AppGallery is is seeing monthly users over 400M, with more than 55,000 groups of apps being found in the platform. As of right now, the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) are currently available in 170 different countries and regions. (Gizmo China, TechRadar, The Register, Sohu, NBD)
According to Omdia, Apple has shipped 46.3M iPhone XR units during 2019. That is more than double the 23.1M units shipped during 2018. Meanwhile, iPhone 11 shipments hit 37.3M units during 2019. Samsung rounded out the top 5 with the Galaxy A10, Galaxy A50, and Galaxy A20. (Apple Insider, 9to5Mac)
vivo iQOO 3 is official in China with 5G – 6.44” 1080×2400 FHD+ Super AMOLED HiD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, rear quad 48MP-13MP telephoto-13MP ultrawide-2MP depth + front 16MP, 6+128 / 8+128 / 12+128 / 12+256GB, Android 10.0, under display fingerprint, 4400mAh 55W, CNY3,598 (USD515) / CNY3,798 (USD539) / CNY3,998 (USD568) / CNY4,398 (USD625). (GSM Arena, CN Beta, Gizmo China)
Samsung Galaxy M31 is announced in India – 6.4” 1080×2340 FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-U, Samsung Exynos 9611, rear quad 64MP-8MP ultrawide-5MP macro-5MP depth + front 32MP, 4+64 / 6+128GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 6000mAh 15W (8.9m thick), INR14,999 (USD208) / INR15,999 (USD222). (CN Beta, GSM Arena, Android Authority)
LG Q51 is launched in South Korea – 6.5” 720×1520 HD+ IPS, MediaTek Helio P22 MT6762, rear tri 13MP-5MP ultrawide-2MP depth +front 13MP, 3+32GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4000mAh, KRW317,000 (USD260). (GSM Arena, GizChina, 91Mobiles, LG)
Wearables
Johnson & Johnson, in collaboration with Apple, is offering eligible U.S. adults 65 years and older the opportunity to join the clinical study by downloading the Heartline Study app on iPhone. It aims to assess whether the Heartline Study app on iPhone, and the ECG app and irregular rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch, can reduce the likelihood of stroke and improve health outcomes with earlier detection of atrial fibrillation. (Mac Rumors, PR Newswire)
Augmented / Virtual Reality
Facebook is aiming to build on its VR hardware launches of 2019 with an investment in virtual reality software. Facebook has acquired Bay Area VR studio Sanzaru Games, the developer of “Asgard’s Wrath”, considered by many enthusiasts to be one of the Oculus Rift’s best games. (TechCrunch, CN Beta)
Automotive
Toyota and Pony.ai have announced a pilot program to test self-driving cars on public roads in two Chinese cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Toyota plans to invest USD400M in Pony.ai, valuing the startup at USD3B. (CN Beta, The Verge, Reuters)
