IF / News

Intel has announced the launch of a graphics division which will be called Arc. It will develop GPUs for laptops and computers which will hit the market as early as 1Q22. The first Intel Arc GPU is going to be based on Xe-HPG microarchitecture. It will bring mesh shading, variable-rate shading, video upscaling and ray tracing. (GSM Arena, Intel)

Baidu has announced that the 2nd Generation of its AI chip Kunlun has started its mass production using a manufacturing process of 7nm. Baidu Kunlun 2 makes use of proprietary architecture XPU in its 2nd Generation allowing even triple the performance of its predecessor. This means that it will be able to triple the throughput of the Kunlun 1, which offers 256 TOPS INT8 and 260,000 million operations per second with consumption less than 150W. (CN Beta, EDN China, My Drivers, Reuters, CNBC)

Intel is shutting down its RealSense computer vision division to focus on its core businesses, marking the end for a portfolio of high-tech cameras and sensors that were built for robotics, digital signage, 3D scanning and other forward-looking use cases. (CN Beta, The Verge, CRN, Engadget)

UNISOC-powered smartphones’ Application Processor (AP) shipments soared in 1H21, up 122% compared to 1H20, according to Counterpoint Research. For 2Q21, UNISOC ranked fourth in the market with an 8.4% share and ranked third in the open market (excluding Apple). The company has succeeded in expanding its customer base, securing a series of design wins with major OEMs like Honor, realme and Motorola. In its home market, the UNISOC T610 and T740 have been successfully adopted by ZTE, Hisense and Honor. (Counterpoint Research, Laoyaoba)

Renesas Electronics and Dialog Semiconductor have announced that the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission has waived its jurisdiction to review the recommended all-cash acquisition of Dialog by Renesas. The acquisition has been approved by Dialog shareholders. If the transaction can be successfully approved by the UK regulatory agency, it is expected that the merger and acquisition procedures will be completed by the end of Aug 2021. (Laoyaoba, Business Wire, Evertiq)

UNISOC has announced that it has joined Google’s new Android Ready SE Alliance, a collaboration between Google and Secure Element (SE) vendors, to offer a growing list of open-source, validated, and ready-to-use SE Applets for new and emerging use cases such as digital keys, identity credentials, E-money solutions. (Laoyaoba, Business Wire, Bloomberg)

TCL’s subsidy CSOT is reportedly to supply OLED panels for smartphones to Samsung.  In 2020, Samsung sold its LCD production line in Suzhou to TCL Technology and Samsung has also acquired a stack in the Chinese company. TCL is also providing more than 15% of Samsung’s LCD panel requirements for Smart TVs and Samsung is its second-largest customer. (Gizmo China, Cheaa, Digitimes, OLED-Info)

LG Display (LGD) will spend KRW3.3T (USD2.81B) to expand its small- to mid-sized OLED production capacity. The company will expand its Gen-6 (1500×1850mm) Paju OLED plant from 30,000 substrates per month to 60,000 substrates per month by 2024. The funds are likely going to be used in building new lines E6-3 and E6-4, each with a capacity of 15,000 substrates per month. Apple is planning to launch a new iPad with an OLED panel; LGD will start supplying OLED panels for the series a year later in 2023. (Apple Insider, IT Home, The Elec)

OPPO has showcased several new camera technologies including a new RGBW camera sensor, a continuous optical zoom module, improved OIS system and its latest selfie camera under-display technology. (Android Authority, Android Central, Digital Trends, Engadget)

SK hynix has expanded its Gold P31 family of SSDs with a high-capacity 2TB option. These drives are considered to be among the fastest and most energy-efficient SSDs with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface in the industry, holding a spot on our Best SSDs page as our favorite pick for laptops. With the addition of 2TB versions, SK hynix’s Gold P31 family will be able to address applications that require higher storage capacities.  (CN Beta, My Drivers, AnandTech, Tom’s Hardware)

OPPO has applied for MagVOOC trademark, which can safely presume that this is OPPO’s own magnetic wireless charging technology. realme has unveiled two MagDart devices that charge smartphones at 15W and 50W speeds. (GizChina, Gizmo China, MySmartPrice)

LG Electronics has announced its successful demonstration of the transmission and reception of wireless 6G terahertz (THz) data over a distance of more than 100m in an outdoor setting. The milestone is achieved in collaboration with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany, with the data traveling between Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute and Berlin Institute of Technology buildings. (CN Beta, LG, Telecom Paper, Pulse News)

T-Mobile has confirmed “unauthorized access” to its systems, days after a portion of customer data was listed for sale on a known cybercriminal forum. Roughly 47.8M current and former or prospective customers have been affected by the cyberattack on its systems. (Laoyaoba, Engadget, TechCrunch, BBC, Gebi News)

Samsung has announced that it has partnered with The Commons Project Foundation to make it easier for Galaxy users in the U.S. to carry a verifiable digital version of their COVID-19 vaccination record. “SMART Health Cards” within Samsung Pay will roll out to the company’s best Android phones. (Android Central, Business Wire, CN Beta)

Samsung’s President and Head of Mobile Communications Business TM Roh has revealed that Samsung has made a decision to cease the advertisement on proprietary apps including Samsung Weather, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Theme. (Gizmo China, YNA, The Verge)

Guo Ping, Huawei’s rotating chairman, believes that the issue with the U.S. will eventually have a solution. The Chinese manufacturer is working with industry chain partners to solve the problem of supply continuity and competitiveness. He has expressed confidence in Huawei’s mobile phone business, saying that he believes that “our consumer business will survive and we will not give up the mobile phone business”.  (GizChina, My Drivers, Sina)

Apple is tapping more suppliers in China for key roles in producing the latest iPhone. Chinese electronics maker Luxshare Precision Industry will reportedly build up to 3% of the upcoming iPhone 13 series, winning orders away from Taiwanese rivals Foxconn and Pegatron. Apple is slated to produce between 90M-95M of the new iPhones through Jan 2022. (Asia Nikkei, Laoyaoba)

Google Pixel 5a 5G is unveiled –  6.34” 1080×2400 FHD+ HiD OLED, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, rear dual 12.2MP-16MP ultrawide + front 8MP, 6+128GB, Android 11.0, rear fingerprint, 4680mAh 18W, IP67 rated, USD449. (GSM Arena, Google, Apple Insider)

Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G is launched – 6.5” 1080×2400 FHD+ HiD Super AMOLED 120Hz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 776G 5G, rear quad 64MP OIS-12MP ultrawide-5MP macro-5MP depth + front 32MP, 6+128 / 8+128 / 8+256GB, Android 11.0, fingerprint on display, 4500mAh 25W, IP67 rated, starting at GBP410. (CN Beta, GSM Arena, Samsung)

Redmi 10 is announced – 6.5” 1080×2400 FHD+ HiD 90Hz, MediaTek Helio G88, rear quad 50MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 8MP, 4+64 / 4+128 / 6+128GB, Android 11.0, side fingerprint, dual speakers, 5000mAh 18W, 8W reverse wireless charging, USD179 / USD199 / USD219. (Gizmo China, Mi.com, CN Beta)

vivo iQOO 8 series is announced: 8 – 6.56” 1080×2376 FHD+ HiD AMOLED 120Hz, Qualcomm Snapragon 888 5G, rear tri 50MP-13MP telephoto-13MP ultrawide + front 16MP, 8+128 / 12+256GB, Android 11.0, fingerprint on display, dual speakers, 4350mAh 120W, CNY3,799 (USD585) / CNY4,199 (USD647). 8 Pro – 6.78” 1440×3200 QHD+ HiD LTPO AMOLED 120Hz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ 5G, rear tri 50MP gimbal stabilization-16MP telephoto OIS-48MP ultrawide + front 16MP, 8+256 / 12+256 / 12+512GB, Android 11.0, fingerprint on display, dual speakers, 4500mAh 120W, 50W fast wireless charging, 10W reverse wireless charging, CNY4,999 (USD770) / CNY5,499 (USD848) / CNY5,999 (USD925). (GSM Arena, Engadget)

Samsung Galaxy A03s is announced in India – 6.5” 720×1600 HD+ v-notch, MediaTek Helio P35, rear tri 13MP-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 5MP, 3+32 / 4+64GB, Android 11.0, side fingerprint, 5000mAh 15W, INR11,499 (USD155) / INR12,499 (USD168). (Samsung, Money Control, NDTV, Sammy Hub)

itel A48 is launched in India – 6.1” 720×1560 HD+ v-notch, Unisoc octa-core, rear dual 5MP-5MP AI lens + front 5MP, 2+32GB, Android 10 Go, rear fingerprint, 3000mAh, INR6,399 (USD86). (Gizmo China, GizChina, itel)

Apple will allegedly start mass-producing its latest AirPods in China instead of in Vietnam as previously planned. The company still hopes to move around 20% of new AirPods production to Vietnam later. Apple’s plan to bring some MacBook and iPad production to Vietnam has also been put on hold due to stricter border control measures in China and Vietnam, which has resulted in a lack of engineering resources and an incomplete supply chain. (Mac Rumors, Asia Nikkei)

Holoride is a VR gaming system powered by automobile. The company is currently courting developers to build games via their recently announced SDK and are partnering with automakers to make sure that the data they need from the car to make their games a reality is available. (Engadget, TechCrunch)

LG Electronics and Canada-based Magna International have established a joint venture to manufacture electronic motors, inverters, and in-vehicle chargers. The new company, LG Magna e-Powertrain, will be headquartered in Incheon, South Korea.  (Laoyaoba, The Elec, Autobala, Globenewswire)