IF / News

Chipsets

Qualcomm, as part of its patent battle against Apple, claims Intel went back on its word by failing to produce technical documents and code covering how its latest radio frequency components are being used in Apple’s 2018 iPhone. (Apple Insider, The Register, CN Beta)

Qualcomm has revealed that Apple’s new iPhone models for 2018 may not adopt its modem chip solutions amid a patent royalty row between them. However, supply chain sources cited by Digitimes have speculated that Qualcomm and Apple will probably make peace when it comes to 5G chip supply. (Digitimes, press, Pocket Now, Android Headlines)

IC Insights forecasts that the 2018-2022 global GDP and IC market correlation coefficient will reach 0.95, up from 0.88 in the 2010-2017 time period.  IC Insights depicts the increasingly close correlation between worldwide GDP growth and IC market growth through 2017, as well as its forecast through 2022. (IC Insights, press, Laoyaoba)

Innosilicon, designer of the industry leading crypto currency mining ASIC products, has announced that it has achieved a industry record breaking performance in its Terminator Sha256 Bitcoin mining ASIC series, utilizing Samsung Foundry’s advanced low-power FinFET technology. This ASIC, with a stunning 63W/TH performance on chip, 75W/TH at the wall (25 degree ambient), is currently in mass production.  (Laoyaoba, Bit Coin Exchange, Innosilicon)

Touch Display

Foxconn’s subsidy Sharp is going to sell smartphone using its own OLED panel. Sharp’s VP Katsuaki Nomura indicates that the company has already begun producing OLED panels since Jun 2018, and will launch Sharp’s smartphone using its own OLED panel in 3Q18. (UDN, Laoyaoba)

Google is building official notch support into Android P, but it is laying down some ground rules first: two notches is the limit. Android UI product manager Megan Potoski wrote that Google is working with device partners “to mandate a few requirements” for app compatibility purposes. Among those are limits on notches. (TechRadar, The Verge, Tech Times, Android Developers Blog, Laoyaoba)

Japan Display Inc (JDI) joins Sony, Panasonic and other Japanese suppliers who are counting on battery-powered self-driving cars to increase demand for components such as interactive screens, cameras and sensors. JDI is supplying curved displays to Volkswagen and other carmakers, and is in discussion to install more than 10 displays per car in a few years time, according to Holger Gerkens, the head of JDI’s automotive business.  (EToday, Financial Times, Laoyaoba)

Storage

Unigroup Guoxin’s DDR4 chipset is under development, and expects to push to the market by end of 2018. The company VP Du Linhu reveals that the company’s DRAM chipset is expanding production. Currently DDR3 is the mainstream product, and the development of DDR4 will complete by end of 2018. (JRJ, Laoyaoba, CN Beta)

Foton Motor and Tsinghua Unigroup have signed a strategic collaboration framework. Under this framework, both companies will work together on end-to-end smart networked car solutions. (Laoyaoba, Xinhuanet)

TrendForce forecasts that the ASP of NAND Flash will drop by around 10% QoQ respectively in 3Q18 and 4Q18. Although 3Q18 heralds the traditional peak season for the sales of consumer electronics, the growth of the end market demand has been weaker than anticipated. At the same time, the supply of 3D-NAND Flash continues to expand. (TrendForce[cn], TrendForce, press)

TrendForce reports that the global sales revenue of DRAM modules for 2017 totaled USD11.7B, amounting to a significant growth of 69% compared with the result of the previous year. The high revenue is due to the nearly 50% YoY growth of DRAM ASP, although the contribution of the spot market to the total DRAM revenue is getting smaller. (TrendForce, press, TrendForce[cn])

Phone

According to IDC, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 342.0M units during 2Q18, resulting in a 1.8% decline when compared to the 348.2M units shipped in 2Q17. Huawei delivered shipments of 54.2M units to move into the second position with a record high market share of 15.8%.  (IDC, press, CN Beta)

Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 3Q18 ended 30 Jun 2018. The company has posted quarterly revenue of USD53.3B, an increase of 17% from the year-ago quarter. Apple shipped 41.3M iPhone during the June quarter. The average selling price (ASP) of the iPhone is USD724, up from the USD606 ASP from one year ago.  (Apple, Apple Insider, Apple Insider, CN Beta)

Huawei has announced its operating results for 1H18. In the mentioned time period, Huawei achieved a sales revenue of CNY325.7B (USD47.66B). Its year-on-year increase is 15%, while the operating profit margin is 14%. (GizChina, JRJ, Reuters CN, NBD)

Lenovo’s VP Chang Cheng claims that Lenovo will be the first in the world to bring a 5G smartphone to the market. He also claims that the smartphone will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. (Ubergizmo, My Drivers, Sohu)

According to Counterpoint Research, global smartphone shipments declined 2% annually in 2Q18. The top 10 players captured 79% of the market, thereby leaving 600+ brands competing for the remaining 21% of the market. The weak smartphone demand is due to a slow-down in developed markets like China, US and Western Europe, where replacement cycles are lengthening.  (GSM Arena, Counterpoint Research, press)

Huawei Honor Note 10 is announced – 6.95” 2220×1080 FHD+ AMOLED, HiSilicon Kirin 970, dual rear 24MP-16MP + front 13MP, 6 / 8GB + 64 / 128GB, Android 8.1, rear fingerprint scanner, 5000mAh, from CNY2799. (CN Beta, Honor, Liliputing)

PCs / Tablets

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 with DeX support and Samsung S Pen stylus is launched – 10.5” 2560×1600 Super AMOLED, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, rear 13MP + front 8MP, 4GB + 64 / 256GB, Android 8.1, 7300mAh, USD725 (including keyboard cover). (Android Authority, The Verge, Ubergizmo)

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is launched – 10.5” 1920×1200 TFT, Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, rear 8MP + front 5MP, 3GB+32GB, Android 8.1, 7300mAh, EUR330 / EUR390 (LTE). (Phone Arena, Digital Trends, Samsung)

Wearables

Sennheiser’s new Memory Mic can attach magnetically to clothes and can record up to 4 hours of audio at any distance from phone. The audio is synced via Bluetooth to a companion video app. It is most likely geared toward families and parents who want to capture special moments in their child’s lives. (The Verge, B&H)

Automotive

Alphabet’s self-driving car division, Waymo, has announced that it is partnering with Valley Metro, which is the public transportation provider in the Phoenix area. Waymo uses its vehicles to bring riders the “last mile”. Waymo would be filling in gaps from Valley Metro’s system, and getting passengers to their home safely. (Android Headlines, VentureBeat, Bloomberg, Sina, 36Kr)

Autonomous aviation startup Xwing has raised USD4M to scale operations and hire aerospace and software designers and engineers. Xwing, instead of building fully-autonomous aircraft, is making software that will allow for the pilotless flight of aircraft.  (TechCrunch, Aeronautics)

Artificial Intelligence

Real estate investment startup Skyline AI has raised an USD18M Series A. Skyline AI says its technology is trained on what it claims is the most comprehensive data set in the industry, drawing from more than 100 sources, with market information covering the last 50 years. (TechCrunch, Reuters, PR Newswire)

LG has announced that it is opening an AI research lab in Toronto, Canada, which will serve as an extension of its AI facility in Silicon Valley.  (Engadget, Bloomberg, LG, CN Beta)

Payment

According to Alipay’s data, in 2018 summer holiday, Alipay service covers 40 countries or regions, and 80 airports for tax refund. Alipay indicates that in 5 more years, China citizens do not need to carry their wallets when touring in foreign countries. (CN Beta, Sina)

Fintech

Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, has announced that it has purchased Trust Wallet, a popular Ethereum and ERC20 mobile wallet and decentralized application browser that has built a strong reputation for security by never requesting user data or private information.  (Coin Desk, Coin Telegraph, Fortune, Business Wire)