10-21: Samsung might orders phone batteries from LG Chem; Samsung is to plan compensation program to Note 7 customers; Meizu indicates Smartisan and others infringe patents of mBack; etc.
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Chipset |
| Globalfoundries remained unprofitable in in 1H16 with losses topping USD1.3M. The government of Chongqing has put on hold a deal with Globalfoundries for a joint venture 12” fab. (TechNews, Digitimes, press, EE Focus) |
| AMD’s 3Q16 income is a record USD13.07B. Even with such a good amount of sales income, it experienced a net loss of USD406M. A big dent in the finances this quarter was a USD340M charge related to an amendment to the Wafer Supply Agreement with GlobalFoundries, and a USD61M loss on debt redemption. (CN Beta, AMD, Hexus)
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| Nexchip Semiconductor, a joint venture foundry contract chip maker between Powerchip of Taiwan and Hefei City government of China, will expand its 12” wafer fab capacity to produce chips like analog chip, display driver IC, radio communication chip, and memory. (iTer News, HQEW) |
| According to Digitimes, TSMC is expected to win back its Qualcomm business with 7nm production, not 10nm. (Digitimes, press, China Times, YeSky) |
| Apple has decided to source 2 baseband chipset suppliers: Qualcomm and Intel for its iPhone 7— 1) limited to GSM/WCDMA/LTE support (A1778, A1784) with Intel XMM7360, and 2) with GSM/CDMA/WCDMA/TD-SCDMA/LTE support (A1660, A1661) with Qualcomm MDM9645M. Cellular Insights has conducted tests showing Qualcomm-powered iPhone 7s are able to consistently establish stronger connections to LTE networks than Intel-powered iPhone 7s. (CN Beta, Forbes, Cellular Insights, press)
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Sensory |
| MOOV HR is announced that promises heart rate monitoring comparable to that of the electrocardiogram (EKG). MOOV HR is a sensor in either a forehead sweatband (for most activities) or swim cap. (Pocket-Lint, Ars Technica, The Verge, Yahoo, 36Kr)
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| MIT and Stanford teamed up to develop Rovables, miniature robots full of sensors that roam around the human body while the wearer goes about their lives. The bots pack a microcontroller, wireless communications and a battery that powers them for 45min of continual use. (Engadget, Recode, ACM)
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| ZTE’s crowdsourced smartphone, dubbed Project CSX, is going to be an ‘eye tracking, self-adhesive phone’. It features a pair of cameras on the top and bottom bezels of the front of the phone for eye-tracking support, a split-screen function that displays different images at different angles for enhanced security. (Ubergizmo, The Verge, 163)
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Battery |
| Samsung is in discussions with LG Chem over batteries for future smartphones as the company seeks to diversify suppliers in the aftermath of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. (Korea Joongan Daily, Korea Herald, Android Authority, 163, Sina) |
| The molecule that carries oxygen through our bloodstream could help create much longer-lasting batteries, according to Yale University. The blood molecule, called a heme, also could reduce the amount of blood that is wasted when animals such as cows and pigs are slaughtered, according to a press release from Yale. (CN Beta, Yale EDU, New Atlas, Middle Town Press, Register Citizen)
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Smartphones |
| TrendForce reports the production volume of smartphones worldwide totaled around 350M units in the third quarter of 2016. This figure represents a sequential quarterly increase of 10.4%, which is a new high for the year. Analyst Avril Wu indicates that The combined production volume from Chinese brands reached 168M units in 3Q16, which is more than Samsung and Apple combined. (TrendForce[cn], press, TrendForce, press)
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| Shipments of smartphones totaled 35M units in India in 3Q16, increasing 21% on quarter and 25% on year, according to data released by Counterpoint Technology. Samsung, Micromax and Lenovo were the top-3 vendors in the India smartphone market, accounting for a market share of 21.6%, 9.8% and 8.9%, respectively. (199IT, Digitimes, press) |
| China-based smartphone vendors are expected to purchase more parts and components such as LCD panels from local suppliers for their smartphone production in 2017 amid their growing presence in the global market, according to Digitimes. (Android Headlines, Digitimes, press, Sina) |
| Meizu VP Li Nan hints that Smartisan, Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus and ZUK have infringed its patent of mBack. (Android Headlines, Gizmo China, Sohu)
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| China’s Telling Mobile is reportedly planning to invest in Meizu, and the amount is CNY200M. It also reveals the financial status of Meizu—1H16 revenues is CNY7B, net lose CNY304M. Meizu market value is estimated around CNY30.5B. (CN Beta, 163)
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| In terms of customer satisfaction Apple is the most popular smartphone brand among U.S. carrier subscribers, according to two new J.D. Power studies. Apple scored highest with T-Mobile and Verizon users, J.D. Power said on Thursday. Samsung ranked the highest with AT&T and Sprint customers, despite AT&T being the world’s first iPhone carrier. (CN Beta, CNET, J.D. Power, press, Apple Insider) |
| According to mobile service providers, less than 10% of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 users have turned in their Note7s for refunds or exchanges. Worldwide, over 1M users are still using the product. (CN Beta, Korea Joongan Daily) |
| Samsung is reportedly planning a compensation program for its Note 7 customers. (Ubergizmo, SamMobile, Korea Herald, HSW, iFeng) |
| Manu Sharma, vice president (mobile business), Samsung India indicates that the company festive sales are going as per expectations, which will result in record volumes in India in 2016. (GSM Arena, India Times, Hexun)
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| Samsung India Electronics will make all the future launches, including entry level smart phones, with 4G facilities and it expects to gain the market share. (Android Headlines, Mashable, India.com) |
| Samsung Galaxy On Nxt is official in India – 5.5” FHD 2.5D curved display, Samsung Exynos 7870 processor, 13MP + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, LTE, fingerprint sensor, 3300mAh battery, INR18,490. (Android Headlines, GSM Arena, Samsung)
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| Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro is official in China – 6” FHD Super AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 processor, 16MP PDAF + 16MP cameras, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage, Android 6.0, LTE, dual-SIM, 4000mAh battery, CNY3199. (NDTV, CN Beta)
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| Kodak Ektra is announced – 5” FHD display, MediaTek Helio X20 processor, 21MP PDAF OIS + 13MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 3000mAh battery, GBP449. (Android Authority, GSM Arena, Kodak, The Verge)
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Tablets and PCs |
| Microsoft has announced earnings of USD4.9B on revenues of USD22.3B for the first fiscal quarter of 2017. Surface revenue came in at USD926M, up 38% compared to the same time last year. (Apple Insider, Microsoft, CN Beta)
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