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[CES2021] Mobileye, a subsidiary of Intel, is scaling up its autonomous vehicle program and plans to launch test fleets in at least four more cities over the next several months, including Detroit, Paris, Shanghai and Tokyo. The expansion announcement, along with details about a new lidar System on Chip product that is under development and will come to market in 2025. (VentureBeat, TechCrunch, NY Times)

[CES2021] Intel has announced its Tiger Lake vPro platform. It is Intel’s platform that provides hardware-based security features for businesses. Hardware Shield uses AI for threat detection, stopping ransomware and crypto-mining attacks. Control Flow Enforcement Technology could shut down attacks that cannot be stopped by software solutions. (Neowin, Engadget, Intel, XDA-Developers)

[CES2021] Intel is unveiling new budget mobile chips that are aimed at the educational market. The Pentium Silver and Celeron brands are built from the company’s 10nm technology. Intel says that with this new generation, it get 35% better application performance and 78% better graphics performance. (Neowin, Engadget, Liliputing)

[CES2021] Intel has launched the new 11th-Gen Intel Core H-series or the H35 mobile processors with high TDP (thermal design power) for gaming notebooks. There are a total of three models under the series, including the i7-11375H, i7-11370 H, and i7-11300H. All three come with a base TDP of 28W but can go up to 35W. (XDA-Developers, Liliputing, Engadget)

[CES2021] AMD introduces Ryzen 5000 mobile processors. There are two kinds of mobile processors, the U series for ultra-thin notebooks and the H series for gaming laptops. The U series is headlined by the Ryzen 7 5800U, an 8-core, 16-thread CPU with a max boost clock of 4.4GHz. For H series there are Ryzen 9 5900HX and 5980HX. These are both 8-core, 16-thread CPUs, and the main difference is that the latter can boost up to 4.8GHz, versus 4.6GHz on the Ryzen 9 5900HX. (CN Beta, Neowin, Engadget, AMD)

Qualcomm will acquire Nuvia, a chip startup founded by Apple veterans, for USD1.4B, with plans to put the firm’s technology into its smartphone, laptop and automotive processors. (Apple Insider, Reuters, Neowin, Qualcomm, CN Beta)

Samsung Electronics looks set to invest more than USD30B in its semiconductor operations for the first time in 2021, spending aggressively amid the coronavirus to tap steady demand for memory and ramp up its foundry business. (Laoyaoba, Nikkei Asia, SMM)

Samsung Display is teasing its new OLED panels with under-display selfie cameras. The company is going to apply this technology on its notebook first. The Samsung Blade Bezel will reportedly have a nearly-bezel-less display with a claimed 93% screen-to-body ratio. (Android Central, Weibo, My Drivers, XDA-Developers)

According to Omdia, due to a serious shortage of image sensors in the market, Samsung LSI has reportedly increased pricing by around 40%. Samsung is not the only one to do so as other image sensor providers have also increased the pricing by around 20%. Samsung has significantly increased UMC’s 28nm ISP foundry orders to meet the demand. However, the company’s production capacity is in short supply at the foundry. The company is allegedly planning to invest in machine equipment and hand it over to United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) for production to ensure higher capacity. The two companies is currently in the discussion phase. (IT Home, Gizmo China)

Valencell has announced its calibration-free, cuffless blood pressure (BP) technology for wearables is now able to be used in devices worn on the finger and wrist. Valencell’s BP technology that can be built into a range of passive form-factors worn in the ear, on the finger and on the wrist makes it significantly easier for people to monitor their BP on a regular basis. (CN Beta, CNET, PR Newswire)

On a 4km road in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province, a self-driving bus travels back and forth, making stops, swerving past obstacles, accelerating and decelerating, based on information it constantly receives from its surroundings. Embedded in the road, traffic lights, street signs and other infrastructure are sensors, cameras and radars that talk with the vehicle. The site, used by Huawei Technologies and partners, is part of China’s first national project for intelligent and connected vehicles.  (Gizmo China, Bloomberg)

DJI is building a new team that will be working on developing self driving or autonomous technologies. The company has put up various job listings and has already begun hiring as well. DJI has reportedly been developing lidar technology and cameras for years. In 2020, Livox, a startup with links to DJI, displayed two lidar sensors for autonomous vehicles. (Gizmo China, Business Times)

Amazon has partnered with Bharti Airtel to launch mobile-only plans of Amazon Prime Video in India. Amazon currently offers its Prime membership in India for INR999 (USD13.65), which includes subscriptions to both Prime Music and Prime Video. The new Prime Video Mobile Edition (PVME) plans will start at INR89 per month (USD1.22) and will give users access to Prime Video. (TechCrunch, Neowin, Twitter)

[CES2021] Samsung has unveiled a new brand sound, ‘The Voyage’. Samsung claims that The Voyage represents its “overall brand identity” and is the first time that the firm will be communicating directly with its consumers via a brand sound. (CN Beta, Neowin, Samsung)

Samsung and Twitch have announced a partnership that secures Samsung Galaxy as the exclusive mobile device partner of Twitch Rivals North America. Twitch Rivals is a series of competitive, online events designed from the ground up for Twitch streamers and viewers. (Samsung, Android Headlines)

Digitimes Research has found that global smartphone shipments suffered an annual 8.8% decline to 1.24B units in 2020, as the rampage of the coronavirus pandemic crippled handset demand and shipments. But countering the adverse market trend, worldwide shipments of 5G-enabled phones reached as high as 280-300M units in 2020, up from the 20M units shipped a year earlier. (GSM Arena, Digitimes, Digitimes, press)

BlackBerry has sold 90 pieces of intellectual property to Huawei. Since BlackBerry launched its BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS) business unit in 2014, the company has been doing its best to authorize or sell its 38,000 patents, including patents from QNX, Certicom, Paratek, etc. (My Drivers, Mobile World Live, Crack Berry, The Globe and Mail)

Wang Chenglu, Software Chief at Huawei Consumer Business Software Department, has revealed the company is hoping to install its own operating system in 200M devices by the end of 2021. Huawei will also allow other companies to use HarmonyOS on their devices, which should account for around 100M devices, aiming to reach a total of 300-400M devices in 2021. (Gizmo China, Sina)

[CES2021] TCL has unveiled a series of Alcatel phones: Alcatel 3L (2021) – 6.517” 720×1600 HD+ v-notch, MediaTek Helio P22, rear tri 48MP-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 8MP, 4+64GB, Android 11.0, rear fingerprint, 4000mAh 10W, EUR149. Alcatel 1S (2021) – 6.517” 720×1600 HD+ v-notch, MediaTek Helio A25, rear tri 13MP-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 5MP, 3+32GB, Android 11.0, rear fingerprint, 4000mAh 10W, EUR109. Alcatel 1L (2021) – 6.088” 720×1560 HD+ v-notch, MediaTek Helio A22, rear 13MP-2MP macro + front 5MP, 2+32GB, Android 11.0 Go, rear fingerprint, 3000mAh 5W, USD135. (GSM Arena, Gizmo China, Alcatel, NDTV, Android Authority)

HTC Desire 21 Pro 5G is launched in Taiwan – 6.67” 1800×2400 FHD+ HiD IPS 90Hz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 5G, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 16MP, 8+128GB, Android 11.0, rear fingerprint, 5000mAh 18W, NTD11,990 (USD428). (GSM Arena, Gizmo China, GizChina)

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is announced in Europe – 6.517” 720×1600 HD+ v-notch IPS, MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G (5G-B), rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-5MP macro-2MP depth + front 13MP, 4+64 / 4+128 / 8+128GB, Android 11.0, side fingerprint, 5000mAh 15W, from EUR279. (GSM Arena, Android Central, Samsung, Samsung)

Tecno Camon 16 Premier is launched in India – 6.85” 1080×2460 FHD+ 2xHiD IPS 90Hz, MediaTek Helio G90T, rear quad 64MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP video-2MP depth + front dual 48MP-8MP ultrawide, 8+128GB, Android 10.0, side fingerprint, 4500mAh 18W, INR16,999 (USD230). (GizChina, Gizmo China, GSM Arena)

Gaming accessory company Turtle Beach has announced the acquisition of Neat Microphones. Neat creates, manufactures, and sells high-quality digital USB and analog microphones that embrace cutting-edge technology and design. (CN Beta, The Verge, PR Newswire)

Google smart speakers like the Nest Hub and Nest Mini will have a new option called “Guest Mode”. When enabled by saying “Hey Google, turn on guest mode”, users can enjoy features, like asking questions, controlling smart home devices, setting timers and playing music. The device will not show personal results, like calendar entries or contacts, until the mode is turned off.  (The Verge, Google)

BMW has announced future plans to roll out Digital Key Plus, an enhanced version of Apple’s Car Keys feature that incorporates Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, enabling drivers to unlock and start their vehicle without needing to take their iPhone out of their pocket or bag. BMW says the feature will first launch in its new iX electric vehicle, slated to launch in Europe in late 2021 and in North America in early 2022. (CN Beta, Mac Rumors, BMW)