03-06: Corning is developing glass that can be repeatedly folded; HTC is reportedly in talks with Micromax, Lava and Karbonn to return to the Indian market; etc.
Chipsets
Apple is expected to wait until 2020 before it releases a 5G version of its iPhone. Cowen analyst Matthew Ramsay explains that Apple is “in a difficult position” given its reliance on Intel’s modem products, and it has 4 options (Samsung, Huawei, MediaTek and Qualcomm) to deal with the situation, “none of which is ideal”. (Bloomberg, BGR, Apple Insider, Pocket Now, CN Beta)
Touch Display
LG has secured a patent on a ‘Mobile Terminal’, which talks about an expandable and contractible display that can presumably be used in mobile devices. Users would be able to magnify the display according to their convenience and per the accompanying images, it would not just be possible to expand and contract the mobile device with such a display sideways, but also diagonally. (Android Headlines, Mobielkopen)
Corning is developing glass that can be repeatedly folded, and reports that it is on track to manufacture it in quantity in a couple of years when foldable phones are in the mainstream. (The Verge, Apple Insider, Wired, CN Beta)
Camera
Despite camera hardware expertise, Sony has never really offered a killer smartphone camera experience in the past few years. Adam Marsh, Sony’s Senior Manager of Global Marketing, has explained that internal barriers between the camera and smartphone teams, meant the information did not flow freely between teams. (Android Authority, Trusted Reviews, Xperia Blog)
OPPO’s VP Brian Shen has confirmed that the camera module on its upcoming model will lay flat, despite having a triple camera setup with such a large sensor of 48MP on board. This same phone will also feature the company’s new 10× zoom technology. He has stated that the stock for the first sale will be up to 2M units. (Gizmo China, Gizmo China, Sina)
Huawei’s VP of Global Product Marketing, Clement Wong, has confirmed that P30 Pro will feature a periscope-style zoom camera for “super-zoom” capabilities. (The Verge, Android Central, Teller China, CNMO)
Biometrics
Apple has snapped up a batch of U.S. patents from a defunct home security camera company, Lighthouse AI, potentially in efforts to expand its own artificial intelligence-powered user identification technology. (CN Beta, Mac Rumors, 9to5Mac, Apple Insider, IAM)
Connectivity
Intel has announced that it contributed the Intel Thunderbolt protocol specification to the USB Promoter Group, enabling other chip makers to build Thunderbolt compatible silicon, royalty-free. In addition, the USB Promoter Group announced the pending release of the USB4 specification, based on the Thunderbolt protocol. (GSM Arena, Intel, USB, Engadget CN, CE China, HQEW)
Phone
HTC is reportedly in talks with Micromax, Lava and Karbonn to return to the Indian market. Discussions with the three Indian brands are in advanced stages, including the possibility of Lava and Karbonn teaming up to bid for the HTC brand license. HTC wants to license its brand for smartphones, mobile accessories and tablets. (GSM Arena, Economic Times, iResearch)
Ulefone Power 3L is announced – 6” 720×1440 HD+ IPS, MediaTek MT6739, rear dual 13MP-5MP + front 5MP, 2+16GB, Android 8.1, rear fingerprint scanner, 6350mAh 10W fast charging. (Android Headlines, Ulephone)
Realme 3 is announced in India – 6.22” 720×1520 HD+ IPS, MediaTek Helio P70, rear dual 13MP-2MP + front 13MP, 3+32GB / 4+64GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4230mAh 10W fast charging, INR8,999 / INR10,999. (GSM Arena, Neowin, CN Beta)
OPPO F11 Pro is announced – 6.53” 1080×2340 FHD+ IPS, MediaTek Helio P70, rear dual 48MP-5MP + front motorized pop-up 16MP, 4+64GB / 6+128GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4000mAh VOOC 3.0, INR24,999 (USD354). (GSM Arena, The Verge, Digital Trends, CNET, CN Beta)
OPPO F11 is announced in India – 6.5” 2340×1080 FHD+ IPS, MediaTek Helio P70, rear dual 48MP-5MP + front 16MP, 4+128GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4020mAh VOOC 3.0, INR19,990 (USD283). (Gizmo China, NDTV)
Wearables
Samsung has announced the company is working with Calm, the number 1 app for sleep, meditation and relaxation with over 40M downloads, giving consumers seamless access to the service via Samsung Health. (Neowin, Samsung, CN Beta)
The worldwide market for wearable devices grew 31.4% during 4Q18, reaching a new high of 59.3M units according to IDC. Shipments for the entire year of 2018 grew by 27.5% with 172.2M wearables shipped. Much of this growth was attributed to the growing number of ear-worn devices as they captured almost a quarter of the market during the year. (CN Beta, IDC, press, VentureBeat)
Automotive
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas indicates that Tesla’s announcement of fully online sales “is a major event in U.S. auto retailing”. He reveals that most auto companies would love to sell vehicles the way Tesla does. There is just one catch. They cannot because it is against the law. Morgan Stanley believes that U.S. auto dealers, through regulatory representatives, “may resist this tactic”. (CN Beta, CNBC)
Artificial Intelligence
A startup headquartered in San Francisco, Unanimous has announced the beta launch of Swarm, an on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for amplifying business decision-making with AI. Uniquely, Unanimous’ platform leverages swarm intelligence, a biological phenomenon in which groups of organisms (like birds, bees, and fish) form closed-loop systems to produce insights. (VentureBeat)
