8-18: Nokia has confirmed that 3 / 4 new Nokia-branded Android devices are set to be unveil in 4Q16; Smartisan CEO Luo Yonghao denies rumor of being acquired by LeEco; etc.
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Chipset |
| Samsung and LG have gained an increased interest in the automotive market, and while both companies seem to aim at achieving similar goals of becoming respectable auto part suppliers, their strategies are very different. (Android Headlines, article)
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| TSMC has reportedly secured orders to produce 10-nanometer “A11” processors for Apple iPhones in 2017. (Apple Insider, CN Beta) |
| In addition to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Chipbond Technology and MJC Probe (MPI) have entered the supply chain for Apple’s 2017 iPhone series, according to Digitimes. MPI provides probe cards for TSMC‘s wafer testing, while Chipbond will be engaged in the driver-IC backend services. (Digitimes, press, CN Beta) |
| China-based IC backend service company Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics reportedly will acquire US-based Amkor Technology. (Sohu, Digitimes, press) |
| LG will reportedly outsource fabrication of its SoC solution to Intel using 10nm chip process, and to be rolled out in 2017. (iTer News, CN Beta, Re/Code, Extreme Tech, Android Central) |
| Intel has announced a new member of the Xeon Phi family. The new part, currently under the codename of Knights Mill, is being aimed at the deep learning market and is scheduled for release in 2017. (AnandTech, article, The Register, Tencent, 10JQKA)
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Touch Display |
| After having a discussion with the head of IR of OLED technology maker Universal Display, Darice Liu, Gabelli & Co.’s Hendi Susanto implies that whenever OLED arrives in an iPhone in 2017 / 2018, it could be a kind of partial or interim approach by Apple, before presumably moving to more extensive use in the iPhone. (TechNews, Barron’s, blog) |
| Apple announced ongoing advances in an effort to make its Chinese supply chain environmentally friendly, throwing a spotlight on Lens Technology, the first Chinese supplier to commit to a clean energy process for components manufactured for Apple products. Lens Technology will power all glass production for Apple with 100% renewable sources by the end of 2018. (CN Beta, Apple Insider) |
| In addition to the processor orders, TSMC has been contracted to manufacture OLED driver ICs for Apple iPhone in 2017. (Digitimes, press, CN Beta, Apple Insider) |
| UBI Research says that 4” ~6”AMOLED panels shipments will reach 318.8 million in 2016 – up 27% compared to 2015. The fast growth will continue to reach 505 million in 2017, 902 million in 2018, 1.17 billion 2019 and over 1.35 billion in 2020. (Korea Herald, OLED-Info) |
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Memory |
| Stanford University’s phase change memory (PCM) breakthrough could make it 1,000× faster than DRAM. Applying a 0.5THz electric pulse to PCM for picoseconds at a time creates crystallized filaments that can be measured and, in theory, be used to store data. This happens while the bulk of the material is still in its amorphous state but more importantly, the filaments are created on the picosecond timescale. (CN Beta, Tech Spot, Stanford, Extreme Tech)
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| NAND flash vendors have increased chip prices citing strong demand for new smartphones particularly Apple iPhone 7 featuring up to 256GB of storage, according to Digitimes. Prices will keep soaring until 4Q16. (Digitimes, press, Apple Insider, CN Beta) |
| Micron Technology is working with its controller partner Silicon Motion Technology to develop controller solutions for Universal Flash Storage (UFS) chips. (Digitimes, press, CEB2B) |
| Marvell has announced its new controller for affordable and miniature SSDs, the 88NV1160. The chip can be used to build small form-factor SSDs in M.2 as well as BGA packages. (AnandTech, IT Home, CWW)
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Battery |
| USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the support organization for the advancement and adoption of USB technology, announced a Certified USB Charger Compliance and Logo Program to establish USB chargers for compliant USB Type-C devices. (Engadget, Business Wire, Linux IDC, 163)
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| A new solid-state battery from ZTH Zurich can function safely even under 100°C temperature. They liken the battery to a sandwich, with two electrodes as the bread and a layer of solid lithium garnet electrolyte as the meat inside. (New Atlas, ETH Zurich, CN Beta)
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Biometrics |
| “DiskFiltration”, dubbed by Ben-Gurion University, is a unique technique that uses acoustic signals (or sound signals) emitted from the hard disk drive (HDD) of the targeted air-gapped computer to transfer the stolen data. (TechNews, Extreme Tech, The Hacker News, SC Magazine, Ben-Gurion University)
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Material |
| Singapore Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has created bendable concrete that they say could be easily applied in the form of relatively thin, light paving slabs. Ordinarily, concrete is made from a mix of cement, gravel, sand and water. The new material, known as ConFlexPave, additionally contains polymer microfibers. (Science Daily, New Atlas, CN Beta)
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Connectivity |
| Cisco Systems, the largest networking equipment company in the world, will lay off 14,000 of its over 73,000 employees. (CN Beta, Fortune, CRN, Bloomberg, Gizmodo) |
| Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, reportedly wants to merge Sprint with T-Mobile. (Android Headlines, Digital Trends, Tmo News, Bloomberg) |
| Intel architects Brad Saunders and Rahman Ismail have sketched out a coming USB audio standard that could help push the 3.5mm jack aside. (Engadget, CNET, Intel, China Times, 163)
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| Intel is launching a new silicon photonics product. The Intel PSM4 silicon photonics module can deliver 100 gigabits per second across 2 kilometers, making it easier to share data at high speeds across the “spine” of a data center. (CN Beta, Intel, Venture Beat)
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| China Unicom has released 1H16 financial report: Net profit slumped by 79.6% compared with the year-earlier period, to around CNY1.4 billion, due to a rise in sale and marketing costs as well as an increase in network, operation and support expenses. Sales at the company dropped by 3.1% over the same period, to CNY140.3 billion, although service revenues edged up 1.4%, to CNY121.9 billion. (CN Beta, Asia Nikkei, Reuters, Light Reading) |
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Smartphones |
| Smartisan CEO Luo Yonghao denies rumor of being acquired by LeEco. (CN Beta, 163, IT 168)
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| According to a new study by Greenpeace with about 6,000 people across US, Mexico, Russia, Germany, China and South Korea. The survey found that they have an average of at least 3 phones sitting at home. More than half said they would be okay with changing phones less often. (CN Beta, India Times, The Guardian, Greenpeace press) |
| Nokia executive Mike Wang, president of the joint management team in China, has confirmed that 3 / 4 new Nokia-branded Android devices are set to be unveil in 4Q16. (Android Authority, The Paper, Nokia Mob) |
| LG has opened a new production base in Haiphong, a northern port city of the country, that will manufacture the company’s key products for exports. (TechNews, Korea Herald) |
| FIH Mobile’s new handset plant in Maharashtra, India will kick off production in 2H16, one year after commencing operations of its plant in Andhra Pradesh. (Digitimes, press) |
| BenQ T55 is announced – 5.5” HD IPS LCD 2.5D curved display, MediaTek MT6735 processor, 13MP + 3MP cameras, 1 / 2GB RAM, 8GB storage, Android 5.1, LTE, dual-SIM, 2900mAh battery. (Android Headlines, Phone Radar)
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Tablets |
| Shipments of white-box tablets are expected to reach 39 million units in 2H16, a 30% increase compared to those shipped in 1H16, buoyed by an easing in component supplies and pricing, as well as an expected pick-up in demand from the US and Europe, according to Digitimes Research. However, shipments of white-box tablets in the second half of 2016 will still represent a decrease of 6.3% from a year earlier period. (Digitimes, press, OfWeek)
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Wearables |
| Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced that the company will create a studio “Intel Tech Experience Labs” in Hollywood to produce 360-degree sports and entertainment virtual reality experiences. The studio will build on Intel’s 360 Replay technologies. (CN Beta, Venture Beat, PC Mag)
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| McDonald’s has introduced new toys “Step-It” into its Happy Meals aimed at encouraging kids to be active, a toy that is shaped like an activity tracking smartwatch. McDonald’s is offering the toy at its U.S. and Canadian stores for the next 4 or so weeks. (Phone Arena, Marketing Mag, Slash Gear, CN Beta)
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| RadicalMedia and Uncorporeal are partnering on 3D captures of celebrities for augmented reality and eventually virtual reality performances, giving digital stand-ins a greater presence. (Engadget, Variety)
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| iNew (a subrand of Chinese phone vendor ThL) introducing H-One health watch – 1.54” 240×240 Mirror Screen, Bluetooth 4.0, compatible with Android and iOS, 220mAh battery, USD83.99. (Gizmo China, iFeng)
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Internet of Things |
| Finland has been testing autonomous EasyMile buses on public roads for a little while now, and it is ready to try out the buses on the main streets of Helsinki. (Engadget, TechCrunch, YLE, NewHua)
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Others |
| The United Nations’ intellectual property organization says China has joined the world’s top 25 most innovative economies for the first time. The report found that Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Finland and Singapore were the top 5 most innovative economies in the world. (Global Innovation Index, WIPO report, Fox News, UN, CN Beta)
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