06-27: BOE has successfully developed LCD under display optical fingerprint scanner technology; Vkansee has announced a partnership with Tianma to apply Vkansee’s MAPIS OLED technology for Tianma’s OLED displays; etc.
Chipsets
According to Bai Yanmin, vice president of ZTE Corporation and general manager of TDD&5G products, ZTE has developed the third-gen 5G chip, based on the 7nm process. Corresponding products will be released in 2H19. (GizChina, IT Home)
Touch Display
Apple has reportedly agreed to invest USD100M in Japan Display Inc (JDI). Apple intends to increase aid to JDI through Chinese investment company Harvest Group which, along with Hong Kong fund Oasis Management, is negotiating a JPY58.2B (about USD540M) infusion into JDI. Apple’s USD100M sum is lower than JDI’s original request of USD185M, which came with contingencies for waiving money owed and guaranteeing LCD orders. (Apple Insider, Asahi, WSJ, CN Beta)
BOE is showcasing BD Cell display technology. Through the use of black and white and color double-layer cell design, as well as pixel partitioning technology and micro-scale super-fine light control technology, BD Cell display contrast reaches a million levels, dark color performance is more profound. Compared with the OLED display, the BD Cell display has richer grayscale image details, and the power consumption can be 40% lower than that of the same size OLED display. It has a strong impact color performance and ultra-high definition HDR experience. (CN Beta, EXP Review)
Memory
For the flash memory chip, Tsinghua Unigroup’s Wuhan’s YMTC has begun mass production 64-layer 3D NAND flash in 2H19. In 2020, it will develop a 128-layer 3D flash memory. According to Wang Huixuan, the company’s co-president, Unigroup has a large industrial layout in Sichuan with a total investment of over CNY200B. The construction period takes 3~5 years, and the 3D stack memory chip factory built by Unigroup in Chengdu is the most important investment project. They are currently building a 3D stacked memory chip factory. After the first phase is completed, it will produce 100,000 pieces per month. After the completion of the third phase, it will have a production capacity of 300,000 pieces per month. (My Drivers, CN Beta, Tsinghua Unigroup)
Biometrics
BOE SVP Liu Xiaodong has revealed that the company has successfully developed LCD under display optical fingerprint scanner technology, which will enter mass production by end of 2019. (CN Beta, My Drivers)
US-based OLED fingerprint sensor developer Vkansee has announced a partnership with Tianma to apply Vkansee’s MAPIS OLED technology for Tianma’s OLED displays. Vkansee says that its fingerprint sensor optical resolution reaches 800PPI, and its signal-to-noise ratio is 10 times better than competitive collimator or lens optical fingerprint solutions. (OLED-Info, Vkansee, OfWeek)
Battery
Tesla is reportedly developing the means to manufacture its own battery cells, something that the electric vehicle maker has relied on Panasonic to do since the companies signed an extensive partnership deal in 2014. (Engadget, CNET, CNBC, 36Kr)
Connectivity
Ericsson has released a series of hardware and software solutions that extend the 5G deployment options. Ericsson has also announced that it has obtained 22 5G commercial contracts. Ericsson China President Zhao Yutao has said that Ericsson’s China R&D team has more than 5,000 people, and the annual R&D investment in China is over CNY3B. (CN Beta, TechNode, SCMP)
Huawei has offered to sign a ‘no-backdoor agreement’, which will stipulate that it will not allow any snooping on its network or handing over of data, with the Indian government and mobile phone companies and has urged its rivals such as Nokia and Ericsson from Europe to follow the same approach. (My Drivers, Economic Times, Live Mint)
Phone
Honor will release its first 5G smartphone in 4Q19, said George Zhao, company president. He expects that 5G smartphone sales will break the 100M mark in 2020 and he bets China will be the market to do it first. (GSM Arena, Sohu, CNMO, GizChina, Sina)
Huawei consumer business product line president He Gang has announced Huawei’s 1+8+N strategy in the 5G era. Television has become one of the 8 products that the company is putting focus on. (CN Beta, Sohu, Sina)
Huawei consumer business product line president He Gang has announced that the P30 series shipment has exceeded 10M units as of 20 Jun 2019, i.e., 85 days sine it is launched. (CN Beta, Huawei Central)
Xiaomi Group SVP and Redmi brand GM Lu Weibing has revealed that Redmi 5G phone is under development. He has also stressed that by the end of 2020 there will be 5G phones costing less than CNY2,000 (USD300 / EUR260). (My Drivers, Sina, GSM Arena)
Augmented / Virtual Reality
HTC claims its Vive Cosmos VR will bring impressive experience, supporting 90fps, a 88% increase as compared with the HTC Vive. (GSM Arena, Twitter, CN Beta)
Robotics
LG is working on 5G robots, partnering with Korean carrier SK Telecom for the project. LG is planning to commercialize the cloud-based autonomous robots, which will be connected to SK Telecom’s 5G network. Feature updates for the robots will be downloaded across this network. (CN Beta, ZDNet, CNET)
