8-11: OPPO and vivo are aided by old-school brick-and-mortar stores and the kind of advertising blitz; JDI has announced a new display technology known as a “Full Active” panel; etc.
|
Chipset |
| TSMC reportedly will replace Samsung as the sole supplier of chips for the new Apple Watch starting 2H16, using 16nm process technology, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. (Digitimes, press, EE Focus, Laoyaoba) |
| Spreadtrum announces its WCDMA / HSPA(+) platform SC7731C will be adopted by Africa’s largest mobile operator MTN from 3Q16. Both parties aim to provide high value-for-money smartphone solutions to South African customers. (EE Trend, Laoyaoba)
|
| UMC has announced consolidated revenues for July 2016 decreased 7.6% sequentially and 1.6% on year to NTD12.5 billion (USD397.9 million). UMC’s revenues for the first seven months of the year totaled NTD83.9 billion, down 5.1% from a year earlier. (Digitimes, press, TechNews, China Times) |
| SMIC reports that Revenue was a record high of USD690.2 million in 2Q16, an increase of 8.8% QoQ from USD634.3 million in 1Q16 and an increase of 26.3% YoY from USD546.6 million in 2Q15. Net profit for the period attributable to SMIC was USD97.6 million in 2Q16, as compared to USD61.4 million in 1Q16 and USD76.7 million in 2Q15. (EE Times, Tencent, DoNews, Yahoo, Barron’s) |
| Qualcomm claims to have licensing deals with more than 200 Chinese companies, that number does not only include OEMs. (TechCrunch, CN Beta) |
| Samsung has reportedly started testing the new unit. Exynos 8895 is said to be built on the 10nm process with a 30% performance increase compared to its predecessor, Exynos 8890. It comes with 4×Cortex-A73 + 4×Cortex-A53 in a big.LITTLE architecture. (TechNews, Phones Review, Android Headlines, Softpedia, Phone Arena) |
|
Touch Display |
| AU Optronics (AUO) has unveiled its 6G LTPS TFT-LCD factory in Kunshan City, eastern China, with volume production to begin in 4Q16. The fab has initial monthly production capacity of 25,000 1,500×1,850mm glass substrates, with all of the capacity to come into operation in 2H17. (EE Trend, Digitimes)
|
| Japan Display Inc. (JDI) has announced a new display technology known as a “Full Active” panel. It can reduce the width of the bottom bezel down to as narrow as the other three sides. The company also introduced a 5.5” FHD LCD display for smartphones built on this technology. (Android Authority, CN Beta)
|
| Samsung accused of poisoning over 200 workers in semiconductor and LCD factories, then withholding information on toxins it exposed them to. (Apple Insider, Associated Press, CN Beta) |
|
Memory |
| Samsung announces their newest 4th Gen vertical V-NAND, which has been increased to 64 layers, which offers capacities of 512Gb and speeds of up to 100MB/s per die. (CN Beta, PC Perspective, The SSD Review, Storage Review, PC World)
|
| Intel’s Optane SSDs and memory will not be limited to PCs featuring Intel’s own chips, but could work with PCs based on AMD processors as well. (CN Beta, PC World, Fudzilla)
|
|
Battery |
| TrendForce finds prices of cylindrical cells in 2Q16 rose by 1~4% compared with 1Q16. During the same period, the overall production capacity of polymer cells also expanded, causing a 1~2% quarterly decline in polymer cell prices. In sum, the worldwide lithium battery market reached a healthy supply-demand balance in 2Q16. (TrendForce[cn], press, TrendForce, press)
|
| SunPower announced 1,200 layoffs, close to 15% of its workforce, struggles with its power plant division and a revised 2016 outlook. (CN Beta, USA Today, Reuters) |
| SolarCity has revealed that it is designing a roof made entirely out of solar panels. This is an alternative to covering an existing roof with solar panels. (Digital Trends, Ubergizmo, TechCrunch, IT Home) |
| It is predicted that South Korea’s small and medium company’s battery technology will be used by Apple for its self-driving electric vehicle. (ET News, TechNews) |
| Audi has discussed using the up-and-down motion of shock absorbers to generate electricity, and now it has a working prototype system eROT. Combined with a 48-volt electrical system, Audi believes this energy-recovering suspension can both provide extra electrical power and increase suspension adjustability. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, Daily Mail)
|
|
Sensory |
| LIDAR is a technology that bounces light off nearby surfaces to create a 3D map of the world around it. MIT and DARPA’s new version of LIDAR can shrink the light-bouncing apparatus onto a chip that is smaller than a grain of rice, i.e., 0.5×5mm, and costs as little as USD10 to manufacture at scale. (TechNews, The Verge, IEEE Spreatrum)
|
|
Connectivity |
| Murata has become one of the world’s biggest suppliers of wireless modules for smartphones. Packed into this wireless module are Murata components that include ceramic capacitors, SAW filters, RF, power amplifiers and more. The only items Murata outsources are digital chips such as WiFi and Bluetooth, from companies like Broadcom, Texas Instruments (TI) or NXP. (EE Times, article)
|
|
Smartphones |
| According to GfK, 1H16 China smartphone sales has reached 220 million units, 20% increase on-year. Average retail price (not including Apple iPhone) has reached CNY1503, an increase from CNY1389 in 2Q15. According to IDC, China smartphone average selling price has increased from USD207 (CNY1380) in 2013 to USD257 (CNY1714). Gionee’s chairman Liu Lirong indicates that in the future there will be only 6-8 phone vendors survive in China market, differentiation is not only a trend, but also a survival technique. (CN Beta, 163, China Finance, article)
|
| According to Caijing, Xiaomi and Lenovo are the losers in this smartphone battlefield—Xiaomi does not have channel leverage, Lenovo does not have winning products. OPPO and vivo are winning with reasons that deserve some attention. (Sina, CN Beta, article)
|
| Upstart smartphone brands OPPO and vivo, which is owned by BBK, are surging in popularity in China—aided by old-school brick-and-mortar stores and the kind of advertising blitz rarely seen in the country’s mobile sector. (CN Beta, WSJ)
|
| Sensor Tower predicts that the number of apps on Apple iOS App Store could reach 5 million apps by 2020. By the end of 2016, the App Store should be offering 2.93 million apps. (Sensor Tower, Slash Gear, CN Beta)
|
| Finance minister Arun Jaitley has reportedly approved a proposal that clarifies how Apple could open stores in the fast-growing economy without initially having to source components locally in India. (CN Beta, Live-Mint, Bloomberg) |
| Coolpad Mega 2.5D is unveiled in India – 5.5” HD IPS LCD 2.5D curved display, MediaTek MT6735P processor, 8MP + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage, Android 6.0 (CoolUI 8.0), LTE, 2500mAh battery, INR6999. (Android Central, Android Headlines)
|
| Meizu M3E is official in China – 5.5” FHD IPS LCD display, MediaTek Helio P10 MT6755 processor, 13MP PDAF + 5MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, LTE, 3100mAh battery, CNY1299. (CN Beta, CN Beta, Android Headlines, GizChina)
|
| Zopo Hero 2 is unveiled – 5.5” HD 2.5D curved display, MediaTek MT6737 processor, 8MP + 2MP cameras, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, Android 6.0, LTE, dual-SIM, fingerprint sensor, USD69.99. (GizChina, Phones Review, Gizmo China)
|
| Kyocera Duraforce Pro is the first rugged smartphone to feature a wide lens action camera – 5” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, 13MP + 5MP with another “Super Wide View” 135° FOV 1080p action camera, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 6.0, IP6X rated, 3240mAh battery, USD418. (Phone Arena, Kyocera, Engadget, IT Home)
|
| Tablets |
| According to Digitimes Research, white-box tablet shipments were down 15.3% from sequentially to reach only 13.8 million units in 2Q16 because the quarter was a slow season for NA and EU, while demand from emerging markets also remained weak due to economic downturns. (Digitimes, press) |
| According to TrendForce, 1H16 global notebook shipment has reached 74.18 million units, a 4% decrease on-year. TrendForce estimates that the ratio of shipment of 1H16 and 2H16 to be 47:53. 2H16 supposed to be a hot season, yet it will not be that hit this year. (TrendForce[cn], press, TechNews)
|
| Wearables |
| Global smart headphones market is expected to reach USD7.48 billion by 2022, according to a new report by Grand View Research. (Yahoo, Market Wired, 4-Traders, CN Beta) |
| Jawbone dismisses recent rumors about a company selloff, and stating that it will release future products on the basis of product life cycle objectives and internal business processes. (Wearable, Android Headlines, 163) |
| Dlodlo V1 VR headset is launching in Oct. 2016 – dual 1200×1200 display with 105° field of view, weighed 88g, thick 16mm, USD559. (Android Headlines, Luxuo, The Verge, Dlodlo, Digital Trends, 163, ChinaZ)
|
| Internet of Things |
| According to Machina Research, though the market for the IoT is projected to reach a staggering USD3 trillion globally by 2025, that forecast has dimmed partly due to broader smartphone capability. Machina Research sees IoT connections rising from 6 billion in 2015 to 27 billion in 2025, with cellular networks making up 2.2 billion of those. (Machina Research, press, Read/Write, Fortune, 10JQKA) |
| Google’s new patent outlines a type of small drone with a screen that could project a virtual version of someone as it hovers around the office. The drone could either be powered by a cellphone sitting in the drone to connect to the internet, or paired remotely with another device. (CN Beta, Quartz, RT, USPTO)
|
| Micromax announces affordably-priced, Android-powered Canvas Smart LED TV series with 32”, 40” and 50” in India, priced at INR19,999, INR29,999 and INR42,999, respectively. (Android Authority, India Times, Tech Radar)
|
| LeEco will invest CNY 20 billion (USD3.02 billion) to build an auto park in Zhejiang province, as part of the group’s broad plan to mass-produce electric cars. The park, to span 2.87km2, will include an electric-car plant with annual capacity of 400,000 units. (CN Beta, Hybrid Cars, China Daily, Business Insider)
|
| General Motors is putting its recently acquired Cruise Automation to work in Arizona. Cruise Automation self-driving technology using a lot of sensors, dual camera LIDAR system, and have been testing in California. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, PC Mag, Fortune)
|
| Samsung Electronics America to acquire Dacor as part of home appliance portfolio expansion into luxury market. (CN Beta, CNET, LA Times, Samsung) |
| BMW showed off its vision of the next-gen connected car integrated with Amazon voice-controlled Alexa platform in the pipeline. BMW Connected uses an embedded modem to link with smartphones, wearables, and smart speakers like Echo. (CN Beta, Slash Gear, Digital Trends)
|
| For Amazon, drones could be combined with warehouses manned by robots and trucks that drive themselves to unlock a new autonomous future. (CN Beta, NY Times, Popular Science) |
