8-2: Didi Chuxing to merge with Uber’s Chinese business unit; Till end of June 2016, CNY2000 above mid-to-high end smartphone market share has increased 4.38% from 2015 to 47.59%; etc.
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Chipset |
| According to Digitimes, many wafer foundry houses in Taiwan and China are expected to join the race to ramp capacity after TSMC announced recently that it will raise its capex for 2016 to USD9.5-10.5 billion from USD9-10 billion set previously. (Digitimes, press, China Times) |
| Intel has finally started up their 10nm fabrication facility and the prototyping phase is expected to begin soon. It will be starting its 10nm factory during 3Q16, confirming that its upcoming Cannonlake processors are still on track. (CN Beta, WCCF Tech, Tweak Town)
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| Citigroup’s Christopher Danely noted that sales of USD28.3 billion in June 2016, globally, a 10.7% increase from May. Cowen & Co.’s Timothy Arcuri notes that June global semiconductor sales of USD28.3 billion rose 11% M/M (-4% Y/Y) with sequential growth just slightly below 5-yr seasonality (+12% M/M) on lower mix/ASP (-5% M/ M vs seasonal +2%), which offsets better unit shipments (+17% M/M vs seasonal +10%). (TechNews, Barron’s, blog) |
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Touch Display |
| TV and IT-use TFT-LCD panels are currently in short supply, according to the Innolux chairman Wang Jyh-chau. (Digitimes, press, 51Touch) |
| Innolux chairman Wang Jyh-chau indicates that the company’s rigid OLED panel is entering mass production. As the market currently switching to flexible OLED application, by using the company’s subsidies R&D, the company is entering preparing phase of mass production for flexible OLED, and expects to enter commercial mass production in 2017. (51Touch, OLEDW, Toutiao) |
| Innolux posted consolidated revenues of NTD66.805 billion (USD2.09 billion), gross margin of 2.33%, operating loss of NTD3.039 billion, net loss of NTD3.476 billion for 2Q16. (Digitimes, press, 51Touch, TechNews)
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| Japan National Institute for Materials Science has developed a flexible, organic / metal hybrid polymer display that can be cut without destroying it. The technology only needs a few seconds of power to adjust to its new shape, and it even maintains its last information when it is switched off, a lot like e-paper. (Digital Trends, Engadget, NIMS, Xinhuanet)
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Memory |
| According to Digi-Capital, the worldwide VR and AR market is expected to grow from USD4 billion in 2016 to USD150 billion in 2020. Industry sources say that the expansion of the VR and AR market is primarily to increase the demand of NAND flash which keeps storing data when a device’s DRAM and power are shut off. According to IHS, the average capacity of NAND flash memory equipped with smartphones will increase from 28.9GB in 2016 to 94.3GB in 2020. (TechNews, Business Korea, Digi-Capital, press)
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| China’s state-backed technology conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup has acquired a majority stake in XMC, a major compatriot semiconductor manufacturer, and brought it under a new holding company called “Yangtze River Storage Technology”. (TechNews, XMC, Evertiq) |
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Battery |
| IHS Markit states the global energy storage market is expected to double to 2.9GWh installed capacity by the end of 2016. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries will rule the roost, with more than 80% of global energy storage installations utilizing the technology by 2025. (IHS, press, CN Beta, Energy Matters)
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| Electric carmaker Tesla and leading rooftop solar installer SolarCity announced that they had agreed to a USD2.6 billion merger, moving to create a company that combines household renewable energy, battery storage and cars that are able to run on it. (CN Beta, Washington Post, NY Times, MSN) |
| Lithium prices have tripled in the course of a year amid ballooning global demand for eco-car batteries, which is compounding a supply shortage that could last for another few years. China is the world’s largest consumer of the rare metal, accounting for about 40% of global demand. (TechNews, Nikkei)
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Connectivity |
| Verizon Communications Inc said it will buy GPS vehicle tracking company Fleetmatics Group Plc for about USD2.4 billion in cash. (CN Beta, Business Insider, USA Today) |
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Smartphones |
| CBNData report indicates that the consumers who just enter employment aged 23-28 are the main consumer group of “Internet Celebrity”, occupying 49% of the overall consumers. In 2016, the market value (including related consumer product sales, marketing income, and other related incomes) of “Internet Celebrity” is expected to reach CNY58 billion. (199IT, CBNData report, Sina, CN Beta)
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| According to Nielsen, until end of June 2016, CNY2000 above mid-to-high end smartphone market share has increased 4.38% from 2015 to 47.59%, whereas CNY1000 below low-end smartphone share has decreased 3.21%. This indicates that Chinese consumers’ demands for mid-to-high end smartphones have increased. (TouTiao, Sohu, 199IT)
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| According to Apple’s own tally, it has created some 715,000 jobs in Japan either through direct employment or as it relates to hardware suppliers, app development firms and other related companies. (CN Beta, Apple Insider, Apple, Yomiuri, Mac Otakara) |
| Audio semiconductor company Cirrus Logic’s CEO Jason Rhode said that despite a sunnier overall outlook for his company, he is not expecting “any outlandish unit growth in the mobile market”. KeyBanc’s Vinh and Wang wrote they believed that Apple iPhone 7 component orders were tracking down 15%-20% compared to the second half of 2015. (CNBC, CN Beta) |
| According to The Guardian’s analyst Charles Arthur, Apple with so many iPhones in use, the combination of replacement sales, adjunct sales (such as its Watch) and services – its newest focus – has enough momentum to keep Apple profitable. Tim Cook’s reference to services is part of the company’s new narrative, where its future profits come from users buying a mix of hardware upgrades and content. (TechNews, The Guardian, article, Benedict Evans, blog)
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| Sony India’s Vijay Singh Jaswal indicates that the company aims to launch flagship products in India, which will further enhance their presence in the market. (Android Authority, Times of India, Sina) |
| Didi Chuxing to merge with Uber’s Chinese business unit and that would effectively halt a fierce battle for market share in the world’s second biggest economy. (CN Beta, Auto Home, CE, Hexun, NY Times, USA Today) |
| Huawei announces 2 new Honor handsets: Honor Note 8 – 6.6” 2560×1440 Super AMOLED 2.5D glass display, HiSilicon Kirin 955 processor, 13MP OIS + 8MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 32 / 64 / 128GB storage, Android 6.0, LTE, dual-SIM, USB Type-C, 4500mAh battery, from CNY2299. Honor 5 – 5” HD display, MediaTek MT6735P processor, 8MP + 2MP cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, Android 5.1, LTE, dual-SIM, 2200mAh battery, CNY599. (Android Authority, Gizmo China, Gizmo China, Engadget, Giz China)
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Tablets |
| Worldwide tablet shipments, inclusive of slates and detachables, reached 38.7 million in 2Q16 according to IDC. Growth continues to decline with the market receding 12.3% year over year as vendors begin to refocus their product lines and consumers hold off on purchases. (Android Headlines, IDC, press, IT Home)
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Wearables |
| Philips launches Personal Health Program, a series of tracking devices, which consists of Health Watch, Body Analysis Scale, and Ear Thermometer that pair with the company’s HealthSuite Health app for iOS and Android. (CN Beta, Apple Insider, Phone Arena, Philips)
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| IHS Markit stripped the retail version of the Oculus Rift VR headset and priced each component. The total cost of the materials used to build the device equal around USD200, meaning that it has over a 50% profit margin on each unit sold. (eTekNix, IHS, blog, OfWeek)
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IoT |
| Google Life Sciences and the pharmaceutical heavyweight GalaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the creation of a brand new venture known as Galvani Bioelectronics, a firm that seeks to “enable the research, development, and commercialization of bioelectronic medicines”. (Digital Trends, GSK, Sina, 36Kr) |
| Apple has hired Dan Dodge, former CEO and the co-founder of QNX, the division of BlackBerry that supplies a large percentage of automotive software to car companies. (CN Beta, eWeek, Forbes) |
