IF / News

Chipsets

Intel and esports company ESL have extended a long-standing partnership, signing a 3-year, USD100M deal designed to boost the profile of electronic sports worldwide. Intel will provide the technology — including high-powered computer processors and 5G — for some of the best-known esports events through 2021. (CN Beta, CNBC, VentureBeat)

Intel has finally announced that its 10nm chip and is expected to begin shipping in 2H19. According to Gartner, the total design cost of a 10nm chip is about USD120M, and the 7nm chip is USD271M, which is 2 times higher than 10nm, so not all companies can handle the latest technology. The chip manufacturing process selected by self-driving chip companies is 12nm~40nm. The strategy is relatively conservative and conservative. (CN Beta, Leiphone, Tencent)

Intel has added a new chipset that is made using the company’s 22 nm fabrication process to its 300-series lineup. Intel B365 PCH for desktop PCs has a similar positioning with the company’s B360 chipset, but the two products have many differences apart from their manufacturing technologies. The chip is made using Intel’s 22 nm fabrication process and therefore formally belongs to the Kaby Lake family. (CN Beta, Sina, Tom’s Hardware, AnandTech)

Touch Display

Google’s patent “foldable computing device” covers any manner of bendable, flexible, retractable, or foldable device rather than just a smartphone.  The patent could enable Google to claim royalties from entities that manufacture and sell electronic devices that reinforce the durability of said devices using one or more of the specified methods. (CN Beta, Neowin, My Smart Price)

According to TrendForce, the global smartphone market has been approaching saturation, with less room for product differentiation. Thus, smartphone makers have shifted their focus to next-generation foldable models. Trendforce expects the first foldable smartphone to be launched in 2019, accounting for only 0.1% in the global smartphone market. The penetration rate is estimated to reach 1.5% in 2021. (TrendForce, press, TrendForce[cn])

LG Electronics reportedly plans to begin selling big-screen TVs next year that can be rolled up and put away like a poster. The envisioned 65” TVs will retract automatically at the touch of a button like a garage door. They will sport organic light-emitting diode or OLED screens, which produce crisper images and fold more easily than traditional LCD or liquid-crystal display panels. (CN Beta, Bloomberg, The Verge)

Memory

Tsinghua Guo Xin has mentioned that it has the mainstream DRAM memory design capability in the world. Recently, the company has made clear that their DDR4 memory chip development work has been basically completed, but the downstream manufacturing OEM has not improved significantly yet, and the production capacity is still difficult to guarantee. Tsinghua;s DDR4 memory has basically completed the design and development work, but the difficulty now is that there is no DRAM fab in China, and it is impossible to put into production, so it is impossible to go public. (CN Beta, HQEW)

According to TrendForce, Looking ahead to 1H19, NAND Flash manufacturers have tried to slow down their production capacity expansion, but the seasonal headwinds and high inventory levels would only intensify oversupply concerns in the market. Contract prices of NAND Flash products in 1Q19 are expected to drop further by around 10%. (TrendForce, TrendForce[cn])

According to IC Insights, 2018 DRAM market is expected to show an increase of 39%, a solid follow-up to the 77% growth in 2017. The number-one position is not unfamiliar territory for the DRAM market.  It was also the fastest-growing IC segment in 2013 and 2014.  IC Insights forecasts that DRAM will rank nearly last in terms of market growth in 2019, with a 1% decrease in total sales.   (IC Insights, press, My Drivers)

Biometrics

Apple could have included a facial recognition system similar to Face ID on an iPhone while retaining Touch ID, with regulatory filings revealing the company did consider having both forms of biometric security on the same device as part of a wider authentication system.  (CN Beta, 9to5Mac, BGR, Apple Insider, WIPO)

Connectivity

AT&T has announced a partnership with Cradlepoint to offer several different “5G Evolution” routers that deliver fast 4G today — with the promise of supporting faster 5G speeds in the future. This gives AT&T the ability to start selling 5G-upgradeable hardware nationwide without actually guaranteeing 5G network service in a given area. (My Drivers, ZOL, PR Newswire, VentureBeat)

Huawei Technologies has secured more than 25 commercial contracts for 5G. Huawei has shipped more than 10,000 base stations for the 5G of mobile communications, says its rotating chairman Ken Hu. Huawei said it expects revenue to exceed USD100B in 2018, a 8.7% rise from 2017. (CN Beta, Reuters, Huawei)

Huawei has been allowed by India to participate in 5G trials. In an invitation to Huawei, the telecom secretary asked it to participate in the trials, and even complimented it for developing the telecom sector in India. The others invited are Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung, all of whom have started making presentations to the government. (Gizmo China, CN Beta, India Times)

Phone

HTC is eyeing to reboot its smartphone sales in 1H19 by focusing on mid-tier to high-end models, hoping they can improve its market share and profitability, according to HTC Taiwan president Darren Chen. While planning to enhance its deployments in the channel and SI (system integration) sectors, HTC is also considering adopting a more aggressive approach in cross-sector, channel and content collaborations to promote its VR headsets. (GSM Arena, Digitimes, press, GizChina, UDN, ET Today)

OPPO has opened up its first Research and Development (R&D) centre in India (Hyderabad). To recall, OPPO has opened 3 R&D centres in the past and now this new centre is the fourth centre and the biggest outside China. (GizChina, CN Beta, Indian Express)

Huawei Nova 4 is announced in China featuring a display camera hole – 6.4” 2310×1080 FHD+ IPS, HiSilicon Kirin 970, rear tri 48MP-16MP-2MP / 20MP-16MP-2MP + front 25MP, 8+128GB, Android 9.0, 3750mAh, CNY3399 / CNY3099. (Android Authority, Android Headlines, CN Beta)

HTC Desire 12s is launched in Taiwan – 5.7” 1440×720 HD+, Qualcomm Snapdragon 435, rear 13MP + front 13MP, 3+32GB / 4+64GB, Android 8.1, 3075mAh, rear fingerprint scanner, NTD5990 / NTD6990.  (Android Authority, CN Beta)

Lenovo Z5s is announced in China – 6.3” 1080×2340 FHD+ IPS, Qualcomm Snapdragon 710AIE Turbo, rear tri 16MP-8MP-5MP + front 16MP, 4+64 / 6+64 / 6+128GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 3300mAh, CNY1398 / 1598 / 1898. (CN Beta, Sina, Caijing, CE.cn, NDTV, India Today)

Lenovo Z5 Pro 855 version is announced – 6.39” 1080×2340 FHD+ Super AMOLED, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, rear dual 16MP-24MP + front dual 16MP-8MP slider, 6+128 / 8+128 / 8+256 / 12+512GB, Android P, in-display fingerprint scanner, CNY2698 / 2998 / 3398 / 4398. Engadget CN, Leiphone, India Today, Sina)

Coolpad Cool Play 8 is announced – 6.2” 1080×2246 FHD+ IPS, MediaTek MT6750, rear dual 16MP-2MP + front 8MP, 4+64GB, Android 8.1, rear fingerprint scanner, 4000mAh, CNY999. (GSM Arena, GizChina)

Home

OnePlus CEO reveals that the company is expected to launch the much awaited OnePlus TV in India in 2020. The TV might feature 4K LED, self-developed graphic processing algorithm and big display operating system. (My Drivers, GizChina, Economic Times)

Automotive

Jaguar Land Rover’s plans to cut cost by GBP2.5B as losses mount will result in job losses in the UK of up to 5,000.  Jaguar Land Rover had suffered a GBP90N loss in 3Q18  as a host of factors – including Brexit, diesel demonisation and trade tensions in China – conspired to make the shining star of UK car manufacturing look under siege. (CN Beta, Financial Times, Cars UK)