IF / News

After Sharp acquired the Hakusan factory of Japan Display Inc (JDI) at the end of Aug 2020, Apple has asked Sharp to increase the production of iPhone panels. The Hakusan factory will restart within 2020. Chen Jun, chief analyst of Sigmaintell, has indicated that Sharp will become the largest supplier of LCD (liquid crystal) screens for iPhones in the future and continue to increase its B2B business. (GizChina, Sohu, IT Home, Sina)

More China-based panel makers are stepping into the development and production of OLEDoS (OLED on-silicon) display products, aiming to compete for market share with LCD and AMOLED panel providers in the AR/VR device sector, according to Digitimes Research. These Chinese firms include Kunming BOE Display Technology (a joint venture between BOE Technology and Olightek Opto-Electronic Technology), Hefei Shiya Display Technology, Kunshan Visionox Display Technology and Semiconductor Integrated Display Technology, Digitimes Research has found. (Digitimes, press, Digitimes)

There are currently 6 production lines of Gen-10 and above in the world, namely BOE Hefei Gen-10.5 line (B9), BOE Wuhan Gen-10.5 line (B17), CSOT Shenzhen Gen-11 (T6), CSOT Shenzhen Gen-11 line (T7), Foxconn Guangzhou Gen-10.5 line, Sharp Sakai Gen-10 line, and Gen10.5/11 lines are all located in mainland China. For Gen-7 and above production lines, BOE has 4 Gen-8.5 lines and 2 Gen-10.5 lines, among which the Wuhan Gen-10.5 line (B17) is put into production in Dec 2019 and is currently in the process of capacity ramping. CSOT has 2 Gen-8.5 lines and 2 Gen-10.5/11 lines, of which Shenzhen’s Gen-11 line (T7) is expected to be put into production in 3Q20. (Huatai Securities report)

According to IHS data, the new production capacity of TFT-LCD in 2020 will mainly come from the 7 new production lines of Gen-7 or above. In 2021, there will be 4 new TFT-LCD production lines with Gen-7 or above. (Huatai Securities report)

Huawei has filed a patent that contains 24 design sketches that illustrate a smartphone with a full-screen design with ultra-narrow bezels and a rounded design at the corners. This design has no room for a front camera which could mean it should use an under-display camera. (GizChina, Gizmo China, LetsGoDigital, LetsGoDigital)

Nokia has been ranked again as the top telecom software and services provider by market share, according to Analysys Mason. Analysys Mason has said the global telecom software and services market in 2019 grew about 1% to USD66.9B, with Nokia’s share coming in at approximately USD4.5B. (CN Beta, 199IT, Telcom TV)

CITIC Securities predicts that global 5G mobile phone shipments will be 200-300M units in 2020, and the domestic 5G mobile phone shipment to be about 100M units, with penetration rate reaching 30% by 2021. In terms of antennas, CITIC Securities is optimistic about the number of 5G phone antennas, doubling the ASP and upgrading the base material to MPI/LCP; in terms of RF front-end, the volume and price of RF devices in 5G terminals will increase, and the market scale is huge. To summarize the antennas that are the focus of 5G on mobile phones: MIMO trend, ASP doubled, and materials upgraded to LCP/MPI. (CITIC Securities report)

The Trump administration will ban WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok from U.S. app stores starting 20 Sept 2020, a move that will block Americans from downloading the Chinese-owned platforms over concerns they pose a national security threat. China’s Commerce Ministry expressed its “resolute opposition” and urged the United States to stop its bullying and wrongdoing.  (Neowin, Pocket-Lint, Reuters, Commerce, LTN, RFA)

GF Securities has revised down Huawei’s smartphone shipments in 2020 and 2021 to 180M and 40M units. In other words, Huawei will release a shortfall of 140M units to other brands in 2021. Therefore, GF Securities estimates that: 1) Xiaomi is the biggest beneficiary due to its high overlap with Huawei in overseas markets (Europe, Latin America). In addition, the domestic market has also benefited simultaneously, including price bands above CNY4,000; 2) OPPO and vivo mainly benefit from the domestic market; 3) Samsung benefits from the potential increase in overseas market share; 4) Apple is expected to limited benefits due to Huawei’s high-end sales are concentrated in China. (GF Securities report)

Barclays expects Huawei’s position to weaken both in China and in overseas markets due to the ban on chip supplies, led by cutoff of 7/5nm AP and baseband chipset shipments, as well as on RF and others. Barclays models the following factors: (1) Huawei market share losses of approximately 6 pts. globally over 3 years, from 18% to 12.5%, beginning in 2021 through 2024, mostly in Western Europe (loss of 9.5 pts of share), China (loss of 9.3 pts of share) and RoW (loss of 5.4 pts of share); (2) No exposure in the USA and less than 1% share of Japan; and (3) Lost Huawei share captured by Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo varying between regions. (Barclays report)

ZTE Axon 20 5G is available – 6.92” 1080×2460 FHD+ 90Hz OLED, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, rear quad 64MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front camera under display 32MP, 6+128 / 8+256GB, Android 10.0, fingerprint on display, 4220mAh 30W, CNY2,198 (USD325) / CNY2,798 (USD413).  (GizChina, Economic Times, ZTE)

Garmin Forerunner 745 is announced, featuring 1.2” 240×240 display, featuring SpO2 monitoring and stress monitoring, enables user to switch sports tracking within a single session and offers advanced analytics able to store 500 songs and features offline Spotify syncing, 5ATM water resistance, USD499. (Phone Arena, Garmin, Wearable, TechRadar)

Amazfit Band 5 is announced – 1.1” 126×294 AMOLED, features monitoring of heart rate, sleep, menstrual health, and stress, blood-oxygen saturation levels monitoring with the SpO2 sensor, comes with breathing exercises and 11 sports modes and has Amazon Alexa support, 5ATM water resistance, USD45. (Gizmo China, GizChina, GSM Arena)

LG Uplus, a major South Korean mobile carrier, has revealed that it plans to roll out its 5G-powered autonomous robot in 2021. The robot ― which is being developed in partnership with autonomous mobility firm Unmanned Solution ― has recently demonstrated its abilities at local refiner Hyundai Oilbank’s facility in Seosan, 150km south of Seoul. (Laoyaoba, Sohu, Korea Times, Korea Herald)