9-5: Estimate cost of 2.5 million Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall due to battery issue at around USD1bln; CMOS image sensor suppliers should prioritize the 6 technologies; etc.
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Chipset |
| Silicon Valley is rethinking the circuit board, in a bet that flexible, form-fitting alternatives could reshape electronics and spur more manufacturing in the U.S. manufacturing specialists like Jabil Circuit and Flextronics International keep facilities in the U.S. to help customers design products and build prototypes. (CN Beta, ADVFN, NASDAQ, 4-Traders) |
| Set-top box (STB) solution provider ALi has announced it is partnering with France-based Wyplay, a software solutions company for TV operators, to provide Wyplay’s Frog Turnkey solution pre-integrated on ALi’s STB SoC. The pair has obtained orders from Skyworth Digital. (Digitimes, press, China Times) |
| According to Digitimes, TSMC and other pure-play foundries will see their capacity utilization to fall in 4Q16, with 2nd-tier foundry players under pressure to fill their capacity. Several foundry chipmakers have started to implement discount strategies to lure in more business. (Digitimes, press, CECB2B, CSIA) |
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Touch Display |
| Mainland China is shifting high-end mobile phone panel production, decreasing the supply of a-Si panel—HannStar and CPT indicate that there is no worry of orders till end of 2016, and phone panel prices will increase. At the same time, HannStar could receive its insurance claim of CNY600~1500 million in 2H16, making its profit increase. IHS analyst Kevin Hsieh indicates that BOE shutting down its G5 fab, shifting resources for AMOLED and LTPS panels, causing less resource for a-Si panel. Tianma also shares the similar situation. (52RD, CECB2B, OfWeek) |
| Polarizer maker BenQ Materials will close its factory in Southern Taiwan Science Park at the end of Sept. 2016 and lay off 247 employees, according to the company. However, the R&D unit with 51 employees at the factory will remain in operation, BenQ Materials noted. (China Times, Digitimes, press, TechNews) |
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Camera |
| According to Gartner, CMOS image sensor suppliers should prioritize the 6 technologies, which will be important for the survival of the suppliers, to meet customer requirements in the specific market. To target the wider market, high-frame-rate technologies and chip-stacking technologies will be more important, because those technologies are required in various cameras to extend the functions. (Gartner report)
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Memory |
| According to Capital Care consultancy, memory vendors are aggressively developing 3D NAND. (Capital Care report)
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| According to Capital Care consultancy, 3D TLC NAND will increase gradually. (Capital Care report)
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Battery |
| [IFA 2016] TechNovator XE is a wireless charging station powering up a smartphone wirelessly from across the room, of the size 5m radius. It expects to be launched in the market in 2017. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, Yahoo)
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| Estimates from Credit Suisse Group AG, Daishin Securities Co. and Pelham Smithers Associates put the cost of 2.5 million Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall due to battery issue at around USD1 billion or less. Still, the estimated impact only represents less than 5% of Samsung’s projected net income of KRW23 trillion (USD20.6 billion) in 2016. Samsung gets about USD600 of revenue and USD108 of operating profit for every Note 7 it sells, Credit Suisse estimates. (CN Beta, Bloomberg, Stuff, Economic Times)
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| South Korea SK Securities pegs the cost of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall alone at KRW500 billion (USD447 million) and estimates that Note 7 sales for the July-September quarter could come to around 3 million units, well below the initial estimate of 5 million. (TechNews, Asia Nikkei) |
| With the 2.5 million units Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recalled, industry analysts said that 3 scenarios are possible, including the reuse of remaining parts and components, excluding defective batteries, turning them into refurbished phones for emerging markets, and the scrapping of all of the recalled models regardless of whether they have defective batteries. (Korea Economic Daily, TechNews) |
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Biometrics |
| University of California at Berkeley has developed a passthought reader integrated into an everyday set of earbuds. They have built the device using consumer-grade single-electrode EEG headse called the NeuroSky Mindwave, which costs USD100. (IEEE Spectrum, CN Beta)
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| CB Insights identifies 106 private companies in cybersecurity and mapped them according to the 11 main categories where they are operating. The startups included are mainly addressing Network and Endpoint Security, along with other niche market segments such as Deception Security, and more. (CB Insights, article)
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Smartphones |
| Apple reportedly has revised upward orders by 10% for parts and components needed for production of the new iPhone devices scheduled to be released on Sept. 7, according to sources from the iPhone supply chain in Taiwan. (Digitimes, press) |
| Gartner’s Brian Blau indicates that people would think Apple is losing its mystery because the technologies with smartphone are mature now. For Apple, they do not put market share as their first priority. Product / service quality and customer satisfaction are what they really care, and what push them for innovation. (East Day, Sohu, CN Beta) |
| Apple, Google, and Mozilla are among a number of companies and organizations that are officially supporting Microsoft’s lawsuit against the U.S. government over gag orders. (Digital Trends, Reuters, 163) |
| Apteligent has released a report based on internal data that suggests app performance slows by 15% in the summer. The report identifies humidity as the culprit, which weakens the signal strength and causes slight delays, though the company cannot say for sure based on their data why the extra delay occurs. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, IEEE Spectrum, Apteligent report)
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Wearables |
| [IFA 2016] Alcatel launches 360 Camera, which is a mobile accessory that can plug into smartphone. Both designs, square and round, are equipped with a 210° fisheye lens. (GSM Arena, PR Newswire, Pocket-Lint, OfWeek, CS)
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| [IFA 2016] VerveLife, designed by Motorola in partnership with Binatone have VerveCam+ — 28×56mm, QHD 2.5k at 30fps with built-in stabilizer motion video recording, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, IPX4 rating, USD200. (Android Headlines, VerveLife)
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| [IFA 2016] A startup called Innomdle Lab from Samsung is developing a watch strap named Sgnl that will let user take calls by holding her finger to her ear. (TechCrunch, Business Insider, Liliputing, 50cnnet, TWWTN)
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| Omate launches limited edition of Rise smartwatch that is bundled with Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa – 1.3” 360×360 round LCD display, MediaTek MT2601 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 3.5G HSDPA, 580mAh battery. (Engadget, Indiegogo, Sohu)
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Internet of Things |
| According to AVC, as the core of home internet, OTT (including smart TV and box) shipment in 2015 has reached 165 million units, and expects by 2020, it would reach 400 million units with CNY630 billion market size. More than 70% of Chinese families use OTT to watch TV. (China.com, Sohu, CN Beta, AVC report)
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| [IFA 2016] A prototype washing machine showed off by Hoover Europe (under the umbrella of the Italian company, Candy), with an integration of textile expert detector (TED) that can determine the make up of a clothing product when placed atop it. (TechCrunch)
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| Amazon beefs up machine learning presence in UK with new team of researchers. (CN Beta, Geek Wire) |
| LG says it is “aggressively investing” in robots, with its appliances group leading the way. it plans to make devices that work in tandem with home appliances like air conditioners and washing machines. (Engadget, Reuters, EE Trend) |
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