4-14 #RollerCoaster: Apple has reportedly asked TSMC to produce almost 10,000 more processors in 4Q20; Google’s custom chip, code-named Whitechapel, is allegedly designed in cooperation with Samsung; etc.
Chipsets
Apple has reportedly asked TSMC to produce almost 10,000 more processors in 4Q20. The use of a 5nm processor and being produced in 4Q20 suggests that the order is for the A14, which is to be used in the iPhone 12. The move reportedly follows Huawei HiSilicon’s cancellation of approximately that same amount. (Phone Arena, Apple Insider, IT Home, CN Beta, UDN)
Google’s custom chip, code-named Whitechapel, is allegedly designed in cooperation with Samsung, whose state-of-the-art 5nm technology would be used to manufacture the chips. In addition to an 8-core ARM processor, Whitechapel will also include hardware optimized for Google’s machine-learning technology. The Google-designed chips are not expected to be ready to power Pixel phones until 2021. (CN Beta, TechCrunch, Neowin, Axios)
Touch Display
LG Display (LGD) has indicated that the transparent OLED panel suggests an expanded use for the technology, such as for shop windows and office spaces, while at the same time offering a differentiated viewing experience. LGD’s transparent OLEDs are 55” in size with full high-definition resolution and transparency rate of 40%. (Laoyaoba, Display Specifications, OLED-Info, Korea Herald)
Samsung is reportedly shifting its focus from LCD to its next-generation QD-OLED technology. The company is spending nearly USD11B to build a manufacturing facility to produce QD-OLED panels. QD-OLED displays are claimed to have a longer life compared to current-gen OLED displays, along with a wider color gamut and higher brightness. (Android Central, My Drivers)
Camera
Samsung is reportedly bringing an improved front-facing camera with the Galaxy S21 using a bigger sensor and optical image stabilization. The company is testing two prototypes of the upcoming phone, one featuring a ½” sensor (probably with 48MP resolution) and the other featuring a 1/2.55” sensor (probably with 12MP resolution) with OIS. (GSM Arena, Clien, Sam Mobile, CN Beta)
Memory
Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) has announced that its 128-layer 1.33Tb QLC 3D NAND flash memory chip, X2-6070, has passed sample verification on the SSD platform through co-working with multiple controller partners. YMTC has introduced a 128-layer 512Gb TLC (3 bit/cell) chip, X2-9060, to meet diversified application requirements. (My Drivers, CN Beta, YMTC)
Battery
Gazelle Tech has integrated a roll-up solar panel into the electric car. An awning, consisting of fabric and solar cells, covers almost the entire car body – and can only be deployed when the vehicle is stationary. The minimized weight significantly improves the car’s energy consumption, an improvement of some 40% compared to an equivalent model. The Gazelle therefore has a range of 180km at only 4 hours charging using the domestic power supply. (CN Beta, Green Car, SlashGear)
Phone
LG has announced LG Velvet featuring the company’s new design language. The new phone will feature a “symmetrical, flowing form factor” that will be “pleasing to touch”. LG has said it is “moving away from alphanumerical designations in favor of familiar and expressive names”. (Android Authority, CN Beta, GSM Arena, LG)
The technology arm of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has been working on a mobile phone app with Alphabet’s Google and Apple that the government hopes will help in ending the coronavirus lockdown. The system will use Bluetooth technology to alert those who have the app if they have been in close proximity with someone who has been tested positive for COVID-19. (CN Beta, Engadget, BBC, Reuters)
nubia CEO Ni Fei has officially revealed nubia’s new brand image and logo. The CEO says the new brand image will target users from Gen Z (those born in the 1990s and early 2000s). (GSM Arena, Sparrow News, CN Beta)
Google has launched a website dedicated to coronavirus updates in India and tweaked its search engine and YouTube to prominently display authoritative information and locally relevant details about the pandemic from the nation’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (TechCrunch, Google)
According to YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan, news viewership on YouTube soared 75% in recent weeks from the same time in 2019, with millions of people turning to the video site for updates on the coronavirus. (CN Beta, The Star, Bloomberg Quint)
OPPO Ace2 is announced in China – 6.55” 1080×2400 FHD+ AMOLED 90Hz HiD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP depth-2MP macro + front 16MP, 8+128 / 8+256 / 12+256GB, Android 10.0, under display fingerprint, 4000mAh 65W, 40W wireless charging, CNY3,999 (USD565) / CNY4,399 (USD625) / CNY4,599 (USD650). (CN Beta, GSM Arena, GizChina)
Home
Huawei is announcing Huawei Enterprise Smart Screen, which will will support pairing with mobile phones and computers and also provide multi-device pairing, remote collaboration, video conference calls, cloud services, and more. It is priced at CNY24,999. (CN Beta, Gizmo China, IT Home, CN Beta)
Automotive
Nissan Motor management has become convinced the struggling automaker needs to be much smaller and a restructuring plan due out in May 2020 would likely assume a cut of 1M cars to its annual sales target. (CN Beta, Reuters)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says Tesla’s plan for 1M robotaxi vehicles on the road by the end of 2020 is still on – pending regulatory approval. It is an extension of Tesla’s ‘Full Self-driving Capability’ plan to improve its Autopilot system in all its vehicles produced since 2016 – leading to those vehicles being capable of self-driving. (Electrek)
Kargo, a Jakarta-based logistics startup co-founded by veteran Uber Asia executive Tiger Fang, has raised USD31M to scale its business and help firms in the Southeast Asian nation fight the coronavirus. (TechCrunch, Bloomberg, East Money)
Healthcare
Samsung Biologics has won USD360M worth of orders for contract production of biopharmaceutical products from a San Francisco-based startup, Vir Biotechnology. Under the agreement, the company will start producing COVID-19 treatment drugs once the U.S. firm completes the development of the drugs. (Gizmo China, Korea Times)
Fintech
HTC and Midas Labs are bringing crypto mining to HTC Exodus blockchain-enabled mobile device users; who will be able to mine Monero (XMR) straight from their HTC EXODUS smartphone using the DeMiner app, developed by Midas Labs. According to Midas Labs, Exodus 1 users running DeMiner can mine USD0.0038 of the cryptocurrency per day. (CN Beta, Silicon Angle, Crypto Ninjas)
Huawei has signed an agreement with the government of the Nanshan District of Shenzhen, Southeast China. The agreement is to have Huawei help speed up the adoption of Blockchain, Big Data, and 5G networking. This move will also strengthen China’s Digital Currency economy and also serve as a connection between China and Hong Kong. Huawei will collaborate with the People’s Bank of China to begin the testing of its own virtual currency in Shenzhen with leading commercial banks in 2020. (Gizmo China, Chain News, Goingogo, Global Times)
