IF / News

Qualcomm has introduced the Snapdragon 750G – a global 5G chipset with AI-powered noise suppression and support for 120fps gaming. This is a 5G-enabled successor to the S730G and a faster alternative to the S690 chip (while still keeping the budget below S765 levels). (Android Authority, GSM Arena, Qualcomm, AnandTech)

ARM has split its Neoverse datacenter processors into separate lines for high performance vector processing and for scaling in existing racks and for edge AI. The company launched its first Neoverse core, the N1, in 2019, which in a 7nm process saw a 60 percent performance boost over the previous Cortex-A72. The N1 has been used for multiple datacentre server chip designs, including Amazon’s Graviton 2. Altran and NXP have also used for core for the next generation Layerscape 5G network processors. (CN Beta, AnandTech, ARM)

TSMC has made a breakthrough in the research and development of 2nm process. According to the supply chain, unlike the 3nm and 5nm fin-type field-effect transistor (FinFET) architecture, TSMC’s 2nm is to adopt a new multi-bridge channel field-effect transistor (MBCFET) architecture. The company is optimistic that the yield rate of risk trial production in 2H23 will reach 90%. (CN Beta, UDN, Digitimes, Patently Apple)

Taiwan-based 8” foundries will raise their quotes for short lead-time orders by about 10% in 4Q20 to reflect their extremely tight supply, according to Digitimes. The gap of demand and supply is about 20%. As the price increase of 8” wafer foundry is certain, the increase in cost will impact downstream customers. (Money Link, Digitimes, Digitimes)

Intel has been granted a license by the United States to continue doing business with Huawei. This means that Huawei will be able to keep making its laptop devices. (Gizmo China, CLS)

Guo Ping, Rotating Chairman of Huawei has revealed that Huawei’s current chip inventory is relatively sufficient for 2B services (base stations, etc.). In terms of mobile phone chips, Huawei consumes hundreds of millions each year and is still looking for a way. American manufacturers are also actively seeking licenses from the US government. (My Drivers, Sina, ESM China, Equal Ocean)

The coronavirus pandemic has spurred global demand for UV-C LED disinfection applications, and such demand is expected to persist until 2022, according to Digitimes. Many China-based LED makers saw 1H20 revenues from UV-C LED chips/devices hike over 300% on year, and the growth was as high as 700-800% for some makers. (Digitimes, press, OfWeek, Digitimes)

realme VP Xu Qi has teased a realme phone with camera under-display technology, which he has obtained from the company’s R&D department. (GSM Arena, Weibo, Sohu, Sina)

Samsung has unveiled the company’s first consumer PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid state drive (SSD) – the Samsung SSD 980 PRO. It has sequential read speeds up to 7,000MB/s. Likewise, sequential write speeds go up to 5,000MB/s. There are 3 capacity – 250GB USD90, 500GB USD150 and 1TB USD230.  (Neowin, Samsung, CN Beta)

Tesla has unveiled plans to develop a “tabless” battery that could improve an electric car’s range and power. These new tabless cells, dubbed 4860 cells, measuring 46×80mm, will give the company’s EV batteries 5 times more energy capacity, make them 6 times more powerful, and enable a 16% range increase for Tesla’s vehicles.  (The Verge, TechCrunch, CN Beta)

Samsung and LG came first and third, respectively, on the list of global patent applications for battery technology. Samsung applied for a total of 4,787 patents on battery technology from 2000 to 2018, ranking first in the world, according to the results of a joint study by the European Patent Office (ECO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). (Laoyaoba, Business Korea)

Huawei Thailand is investing BHT475M (USD15M) to establish a 5G ecosystem innovation center at the Digital Economy Promotion Agency’s (Depa) headquarters to research 5G use cases and incubate 100 local small and medium-sized enterprises and startups for 3 years. The center is a partnership with the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry and Depa to find new ways to use 5G across industries. (CN Beta, Laoyaoba, Bangkok Post)

Xiaomi has introduced a new concept called “Mi Store on Wheels” to provide a retail experience to villages and other remote parts of India. In addition to smartphones, the moving Mi Stores will sell other Xiaomi products like Smart TVs, earphones, powerbanks, and chargers. (Android Central, India TV, Business Today, India Times, iResearch)

Apple has launched its online store in India, which offers nearly the entire line-up of its products, and brings a range of services for the first time to consumers in the country. India is the 38th market for Apple where it has launched its online store. (TechCrunch, Apple)

Reliance Industries has reportedly asked local suppliers to ramp up production capacity in India so they can make as many as 200M smartphones over the next 2 years. The company is in talks with domestic assemblers to make a version of its Jio phone that would run on Google’s Android and cost about INR4,000 (USD54). The phone would be marketed with low-cost wireless plans from Reliance Jio. (Gizmo China, Times of India)

TrendForce indicates that Huawei has been amassing a strategic reserve of components from U.S. suppliers since 2019 in hopes of lessening the impact of the tightening trade restrictions on its device production later on. According to TrendForce’s latest analysis, Huawei’s annual smartphone production for 2020 will still reach around 170M units. This figure is a downward correction of about 10% compared with the earlier projection of 190M units (based on the series of export control rules levied against the company on 15 May 2020). Later revisions to the brand’s annual production volume will depend on the sufficiency status of materials. (Gizmo China, TrendForce)

vivo V20 Pro 5G is announced in Thailand – 6.44” FHD+ AMOLED notch, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, rear tri 64MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP monochrome + front dual 44MP-8MP ultrawide, 8+128GB, Android 10.0, fingerprint on display, 4000mAh 33W, THB14,999 (USD480). (GizChina, NDTV, Gizmo China, GSM Arena)

Royole Flexpai 2 is announced in China – 7.8” 1920×1440 QHD+ (unfolded), 5.5” 1440×900 + 5.4” 1440×810 (folded), Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, quad 64MP-16MP ultrawide-8MP telephoto 3x optical zoom-32MP for selfie, 8+256 / 12+512GB, Android 10.0, side fingerprint scanner, 4450mAh 18W, CNY9,988 (USD1,470) / CNY11,588 (USD1,700). (GSM Arena, Royole, Android Headlines, GizChina)

HMD has announced new Nokia smartphones: Nokia 8.3 5G – 6.81” 1080×2400 FHD+ HiD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, rear quad 64MP-12MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 24MP, 8+128GB, Android 10.0, side fingerprint, 4500mAh 18W, EUR580. Nokia 3.4 – 6.39” 720×1560 HD+ HiD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 460, rear tri 13MP-5MP ultrawide-2MP depth + front 8MP, 3+32 / 4+64GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint, 4000mAh 10W, from EUR159. Nokia 2.4 – 6.517” 720×1600 HD+ v-notch, MediaTek Helio P22, rear dual 13MP-2MP depth + front 5MP, 2+32 / 3+64GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint, 4500mAh 5W, from EUR119.  (GSM Arena, Android Authority, Neowin)

Huami Technology CEO Huang Wang has revealed that in 1H20 the shipments of the Xiaomi Mi Band manufactured by Huami Technology in China and the world are 5.49M units and 13.4M units, respectively. The global shipments of Amazfit watches under Huami Technology also reached 1.74M units, a year-on-year increase of 48%. It ranks fifth in the world in the smartwatch niche. (GizChina, My Drivers)

Jabra Elite 85t is announced featuring Jabra Advanced Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). It has 6 microphones and wind protection, semi-open design limiting isolating “earplug effect”. It supports up to 5.5 hours battery (ANC on) with up to 25 hours in the compact charging case.  It is priced at USD229.  (Android Authority, Neowin, Jabra)

Nokia Power Earbuds Lite are announced, priced at EUR59. It provides up to 150 hours of earbud battery life with the charging case. It is rated IPX7 water resistance.  (TechCrunch, CN Beta, Nokiamob, Nokia, Nokia Poweruser)

Amazfit GTR 2 and GTS 2 are announced: GTR 2 – 1.39” 454×454 AMOLED, 41mAh (up to 14 days of normal usage), featuring SomnusCare sleep monitoring, BioTracker PPG heart rate sensor, supports a total of 12 indoor and outdoor sports modes, built-in GPS, NFC, up to 50m water resistance, priced from CNY999 (USD150). GTS 2 – 1.65” 348×442 AMOLED, 246mAh (up to 7 days of normal usage), featuring sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen level measuring, sports modes, GPS, up to 50m water resistance, from CNY999 (USD150). (My Drivers, Sina, GSM Arena, Amazfit, Amazfit)

Garmin has announced Venu Sq (USD199) and Venu Sq Music Edition (USD249), featuring 1.3” 240×240 LCD. The Music Edition has built-in storage that, with a paid subscription to Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer, can connect to Wi-Fi. Both models feature built-in GPS, a pulse oximeter function to detect blood oxygen, 5ATM water resistance. (The Verge, Garmin, Garmin, CN Beta)

The Miami-based startup Papa has raised an additional USD18M as it looks to expand its business connecting elderly Americans and families with physical and virtual companions, which the company calls “pals”. Papa is a nationwide provider that pairs older adults and families with Papa Pals for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks. (CN Beta, TechCrunch, Business Wire)

Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare will soon be generally available. The managed service offering spans Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft 365 and is designed to help health organizations manage operations. The platform facilitates data collection from medical devices (through Azure IoT) to allow care teams to monitor patients inside and outside clinical facilities, and it provide insights to help teams escalate care as needed and reduce readmissions. (VentureBeat, Microsoft)

1Password has announced a new feature that integrations with Privacy.com’s virtual credit cards, offering users more privacy and security as they shop online. The partnership between the two companies will allow users to be more private online through the use of virtual credit card numbers. Both Privacy.com and 1Password offer free tiers that allow users to take advantage of basic features. (CN Beta, 1Password, Apple Insider)