08-04: Huawei has submitted three trademark applications for P300, P400 and P500; Lenovo, HP and Dell are set to introduce their first 5G notebooks in 2H19; etc.
Chipsets
MediaTek chipset powered JioPhone from Reliance will soon hit the Indian market amid falling demand for Reliance Retail’s 4G feature phone. MediaTek has worked with Reliance Retail to bring out an ultra-low-priced Android Go OS-based 4G VoLTE smartphone under the Lyf brand. (GizChina, Economic Times)
Samsung Electronics has said it is difficult to assess the impact of Japan’s export curbs on its semiconductor business, pledging it would minimize damage through various measures within its reach. The company has said that the planned EUV line in Hwaseong plant will go into operation in the first half of 2020 as scheduled, adding that a 7 nm ultra-violet (EUV) line and an image sensor line (S4) will be additionally built. (My Drivers, CN Beta, Business Korea)
Touch Display
OPPO’s foldable phone design patent illustrates a foldable smartphone that may include one or more rotation mechanisms, one or more decorating assemblies, a first body, a second body, a supporting assembly, and a display panel assembly. The hinge mechanism plays a vital role as it has to be able to withstand years of folding and unfolding. (CN Beta, Patently Apple, Tech Investor News)
Samsung may be looking to create a media device that rolls up like a scroll. Its patent shows a cylindrical object from which a flexible display can be pulled and then retract into. (CN Beta, CNET)
Taiwan’s top-two flat panel makers, AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux, are expected to follow in the steps of their rivals in China and Korea to cut back their output in order to prevent panel prices from falling further, particularly for large-size TV. According to IHS Markit, AUO’s average capacity utilization rate in 2018 is about 90%-95%, but it has dropped to 80-85% since 2019, reducing production by about 10%. Innolux is introducing IPS process in each factory, which is equal to Indirect reduction of capacity rate. (LTN, China Times, Digitimes)
According to CITIC Securities, the small-size panel price in June 2019: the price of mobile phone panels above 6.22” fell by 2.8%-3.8%. This is different from the performance of May, MoM price increase of about 4%, mainly due to: 1. Under the negative impact of U-China trade, the total domestic mobile phone shipments in Jun is -6.3%, and the new model is -48.5%; 2 Major domestic Android customers cut shipments, affecting the pace of panel shipments. Looking forward to the future, small-size demand is stable, but considering that LG Display (LGD) / BOE’s capacity at the OLED side continues to increase, CITIC Securities believes that the oversupply situation of small size still exists, and the price pressure will continue until 2020. (CITIC Securities report)
Camera
OPPO’s new design patent illustrates a new Find machine has a ‘V’ on the rear which becomes more visible when the front camera is extended. Two cameras are in periscope structure as the company describes the slider. The front shows an image-filling design with nicely rounded edges. (CN Beta, GizChina, MS Poweruser, LetsGoDigital)
Battery
Building permits reveal Tesla plans to do solar roof testing at its car plant in Fremont, California. Tesla has slashed and struggled with its solar business after acquiring SolarCity for USD2.6B in 2016. CEO Elon Musk has recently tweeted that he is hoping the company will be able to produce about 1,000 solar rooftops a week by the end of 2019. (Engadget, CNBC, Sina, CN Beta)
Connectivity
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan has issued commercial licenses for 5G base stations and land mobile stations (mobile terminals and in-vehicle mobile base stations) to NTT DoCoMo and KDDI. MIC has also issued a reserve license to Softbank. Through the issuance of these licenses, the 3 companies will begin the comprehensive construction of 5G communication networks on the premise of commercial use. (CN Beta, Engadget Japan)
The Federal Communications Commission (FTC) has unanimously voted to distribute more than USD20B of Universal Service Fund subsidies over the next decade as part of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. It has also adopted a long-awaited proposal to get more detailed information from broadband providers about where they offer service in order to improve the agencys coverage maps. (My Drivers, CN Beta, FCC, CNET)
According to Bloomberg, In the race for tech supremacy, China is betting it can seize the lead by building the world’s biggest 5G wireless networks. South Korea’s wireless carriers were the first to offer commercial 5G services, with SK Telecom Co. launching its network in April and Samsung Electronics Co. already offering a 5G-enabled smartphone. But while U.S. carriers in cities like Minneapolis and Chicago have the beginnings of 5G offerings, it’s in sheer scale where China is on course to edge ahead over the next 5 years. (Bloomberg, article, CN Beta)
Phone
Huawei has submitted three trademark applications to the UK IPO (Intellectual Property Office). The names that appear on the trademark filing are P300, P400, and P500. The 3 trademarks are categorized as Class 9, with the description; ‘smartphones; mobile phones; tablets’. (CN Beta, LetsGoDigital, GSM Arena, GizChina)
Realme, a sub-brand of OPPO, is expected to ship over 10M smartphones in 2019 judging from its fast shipment growth, according to Digitimes. Realme, launched in May 2018 first in India, is now one of the top-5 brands in India’s e-commerce smartphone segment. (Digitimes, press, LTN)
Total smartphone shipments by China’s handset vendors are expected to register an on-year decline in 2H19, due mainly to weakening demand at home and abroad, according to Digitimes Research. Chinese handset makers managed to see their smartphone shipments surge 26.7% on quarter and 5.6% on year to 180M units in 2Q19, mainly bolstered by their aggressive shipments of new handsets to overseas markets. (Digitimes, press, Digitimes)
PC / Tablet
The world’s top-3 notebook vendors Lenovo, HP and Dell are set to introduce their first 5G models in 2H19, and Apple is also expected to roll out its 5G MacBook series in 2H20, according Digitimes. Apple’s ceramic antenna boards for 5G connection will be better than metals which is currently in use. (GizChina, Digitimes, press, Digitimes)
The worldwide tablet market declined 5.0% year over year during 2Q19 as global shipments fell to 32.2M units, according to IDC. Apple led the market and managed to increase its share compared to last year as the iPad maker gained 4% points year over year. (CN Beta, IDC, press)
Economy
According to UBS, Global growth momentum waned sharply towards the end of 2Q19 and appears to be flat vs 1Q19 at around 2.8% annualized (vs UBS’ early 2Q19 tracking of 3.1%). The loss of momentum seems to be almost entirely due to the soft data—a global confidence shock, related to the sequence of events since early May 2019 (China tariff escalation, Huawei, Mexico tariff threats, Brexit concerns rising again). Global survey implied growth fell from 3.6% to 3.1% between the beginning and end of the quarter, while ‘hard data‘ implied growth was roughly unchanged. (UBS report)
