IF / News

Mobileye, Intel’s driverless vehicle R&D division, has expanded its partnership with Ford to offer camera-based detection capabilities for the automaker’s advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Mobileye will provide its suite of EyeQ sensing technologies to bolster features available through Ford’s Co-Pilot 360 suite. (VentureBeat, CNBC, ZDNet, Ford)

Japan is looking to invite Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and other global chipmakers to build an advanced manufacturing plant alongside domestic chip equipment suppliers in the hope of capitalizing on their technologies to bolster its chip industry. (CN Beta, Reuters, Caixing Global, Yomiuri)

MediaTek has quietly begun planning 6G research in the Finnish research center. For 6G R&D, the Finnish government and local universities have long been studying, and the plan is to commercialize in 2030, but all 6G R&D units are still in their infancy. (My Drivers, UDN, TechNews)

Intel market VP and general manager of the Intel Olympic Program Rick Echevarria has announced that the company has worked with 100 groups on their pandemic response and invested USD30M in the past 100 days. Intel has pledged an additional USD50M early Apr 2020 in a pandemic response technology initiative to combat the coronavirus through accelerating access to technology at the point of patient care, speeding scientific research and ensuring access to online learning for students. (VentureBeat, Intel, PRN Asia, Sina, Intel)

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has recently broke ground for an advanced semiconductor assembly and test plant in Qingdao, northeast China. Foxconn plans to invest a total of CNY60B (USD8.6B) in the new plant project. China’s state-backed Rongkong Group will be co-financing the project. The plant will be ready for production in 2021 and scale up its output to commercial levels by 2025. Foxconn’s new advanced backend plant in Qingdao is designed for monthly capacity of 30,000 12” wafers. (Digitimes, press, CN Beta, GizChina, Gizmo China)

Apple’s patent “Method and device for detecting a touch between a first object and a second object” proposes a way to use Apple AR to display information on what would appear to anyone but the owner, as a blank screen. Apple’s new proposal involves recognizing taps or touches on any surface at all. And to do so without either making the user wear fingertip sensors, or use occlusion. (Apple Insider, USPTO, Mac Rumors, 36Kr, Sina)

Immervision has announced real-time video distortion correction software to help create professional quality videos on smartphones. The Montreal company also revealed an off-the-shelf 125º wide-angle lens, enabling mobile phone makers to improve their next-generation smartphone cameras. The software algorithms are now available for mobile phone makers to license from Immervision’s exclusive distribution partner Ceva and promise to enhance images through artificial intelligence and machine learning. (VentureBeat, Immervision)

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) and Sunny Optical will enter the Apple lens supply chain from 2H20 and 2021, respectively. General Electronic Optical (GSEO) is the biggest loser due to limited revenue and EPS growth in 2021, while Kantatsu may withdraw from Apple’s supply chain in 2021 or 2022. SEMCO expects to ship iPhone 12 6P lenses from 2H20, iPhone 5P/6P/7P lenses from 2021, and periscope motors and telephoto lenses from 2022. (TF Securities, CN Beta, Apple Insider)

Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have designed a wrist-mounted device that continuously tracks the entire human hand in 3D. The bracelet, called FingerTrak, can sense and translate into 3D the many positions of the human hand, including 20 finger joint positions, using three or four miniature, low-resolution thermal cameras that read contours on the wrist. (VentureBeat, Cornell)

Apple’s patent titled “Vein matching for difficult biometric authentication cases” proposes methods to improve the security of Face ID and other visual-based biometric systems to eliminate the so-called “twin problem”, by taking advantage of the unique and hard to copy patterns of veins that reside under the skin. The system consists of creating a 3D map of a user’s veins using sub-epidermal imagery techniques, such as an infrared sensor in a camera capturing flood and speckle patterns from infrared illuminators lighting up the user’s face.  (Apple Insider, USPTO, Sina)

Tianma has presented the world’s first full-screen TED Finger Print (TFP) solution. It has the characteristics of high integration, full-screen multi-point fingerprint recognition, and high screen-to-body ratio. This solution embeds the fingerprint sensor in the TFT display substrate, and for the first time realizes the integration of touch, display, and fingerprint recognition. At the same time, the light path and sensor cover the entire display screen, and it is equipped with a glass substrate-based sensor. The size of the sensor is not limited, and it can realize “full screen multi-point” fingerprint recognition on the full screen. (GizChina, My Drivers, Sina, IC Smart)

Huawei has just announced that it has partnered with rain, a South African telecom operator, to launch the country’s first Standalone 5G network (SA 5G).  (Gizmo China, Huawei, GizChina, TechRadar, Sina)

Wistron has announced it is selling two of its subsidiaries, namely Wistron Investment Jiangsu and Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing Kunshan, in China to Chinese IT manufacturer Luxshare with the transactions to total CNY3.3B (USD472.37M). (CN Beta, Digitimes, Apple Insider, Asia Nikkei, Yicai Global)

A USD4.5B (INR33,737 crores) deal may imply that Alphabet’s Google will collaborate with India’s Reliance Industries on a new smartphone. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman, Mukesh Ambani  has announced that Google would build an Android operating system to power a low-cost “4G or even 5G” smartphone that Reliance would design. (CN Beta, NDTV)

According to a leaked copy of Google’s “Android 11 Go Edition Device Configuration Guide” (dated 24 Apr 2020), Google plans to make Android Go Edition a requirement for newly launched devices with 2GB of RAM or less. Beginning with Android 11, devices with 512MB RAM (including upgrades) are not qualified for preloading GMS. The changes are expected to start from 4Q20 when the OS will be already publicly rolling and updates will start pouring from OEMs. (GSM Arena, XDA-Developers, CN Beta)

Apple has unveiled its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. Specifically, Apple has detailed its plans to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030 while developing carbon removal solutions for the remaining 25% of its footprint. (Apple Insider, CN Beta, Xinhuanet, IT Home)

According to TrendForce, the Chinese government’s 5G commercialization efforts have been particularly aggressive, leading the country’s 5G base station deployment and network coverage to each score first place in the global 5G industry. As such, Chinese brands, which were ahead of their competitors in 5G strategies, occupied a 75% share in the global 5G smartphone market in 1H20. TrendForce indicates that, aside from the various Android-based smartphone brands, Apple’s new models will also join the ranks of 5G smartphones. Given the total smartphone production forecast of 1.24B units in 2020, 5G handset production is expected to reach 235M units, an 18.9% penetration rate. (TrendForce, TrendForce)

According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), Apple iPhone SE sales accounted for 19% of all iPhone sales in 2Q20 in the US market. The iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max accounted for 65% of sales. (CIRP, GizChina)

OnePlus Nord 5G is announced – 6.44” 1080×2400 FHD+ 2xHiD Fluid AMOLED 90Hz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-5MP depth-2MP macro + front dual 32MP-8MP ultrawide, 6+64 (only Amazon India) / 8+128 / 12+256GB, Android 10.0, fingerprint on display, 4115mAh 30W, INR24,999 (USD335) / EUR399 / EUR499. (Android Central, GSM Arena, Android Headlines)

Samsung Galaxy A01 Core is announced in Indonesia – 5.3” 720×1480 HD+ TFT, MediaTek MT6739WW, rear 8MP + front 5MP, 1+16 / 2+32GB, Android 10.0 (Go Edition), no fingerprint scanner, 3000mAh, IDR990K (USD67). (GizChina, GSM Arena, Samsung)

TCL 10 Plus and 10 SE are launched in Portugal:10 Plus – 6.47” 1080×2340 FHD+ curved AMOLED u-notch, Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 16MP, 6+64 / 6+128GB, Android 10.0, fingerprint on display, 4500mAh 18W, EUR350 / EUR400. 10 SE – 6.517” 720×1600 HD+ u-notch, MediaTek Helio P22, rear tri 48MP-5MP ultrawide-2MP depth + front 8MP (EU) / 13MP (LATAM), 4+128GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4000mAh 15W, EUR250. (Neowin, Mediamarkt, ZOL, CN Beta)

In early 2020, Microsoft announced that it will be carbon negative by 2030 in order to play its role in the protection of the environment. Microsoft has revealed how it plans to fulfill its pledge to become a carbon negative company by 2030.  (Engadget, Microsoft, Neowin)

LG is reportedly teaming up with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo to produce AR glasses that would be “very light” at just 79.38 grams (2.8 ounces). The glasses would be available sometime in 2021. (Android Authority, The Elec)

South Korean appliances makers including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have emerged as potential candidates to buy out Royal Philips’ domestic appliances arm, but their response remains questionable given their focus on white goods and high-end appliances. Philips earlier 2020 said it is seeking to spin off and divest its domestic appliances business by mid-2021 as part of companywide efforts to focus on the healthcare sector. (Gizmo China, Pulse News)

Xpeng, an electric vehicle startup run by former Alibaba executive He Xiaopeng, has raised around USD500M in a Series C+ round to further develop models tailored to China’s tech-savvy middle-class consumers. The announcement followed its Series C round of USD400M closed in Nov 2019. (TechCrunch, Caixin, Leiphone)

The “Panda Smart Bus” developed by DeepBlue AI Technology is undergoing open road autonomous driving trial. This is also the first driverless bus in Shanghai to conduct an open road test. Panda Smart Bus can pay by “swiping hands”. This payment method uses biometric hand pulse recognition technology. By using infrared light to capture the internal living body characteristics 3mm below the skin, and then through sophisticated algorithms, match and identify the biometric value of the unique DNA in the palm, thereby completing identity authentication and automatically binding with the payment software. (CN Beta, DeepBlue AI)