IF / News

Chipsets

Nvidia has announced that it has been working with VMware to bring its virtual GPU technology (vGPU) to VMware’s vSphere and VMware Cloud on AWS. (TechCrunch, NVIDIA, IT Home, Sina)

TSMC’s 7nm production capacity in 2019 has been scheduled, and the 2020 5nm process is also victorious. Apple and Huawei will definitely use its 5nm process first. TSMC will be a 5G chip manufacturer for MediaTek and Qualcomm in 4Q19, and Huawei, Apple’s next-generation processors such as Kirin 990 and A13 will also use the 7nm EUV process. (CNMO, Xfastest, Cult of Mac, CN Beta)

Israel’s autonomous driver assistance company Mobileye, an Intel company, laid the cornerstone for its new global development center in Jerusalem, Israel. When complete, the 8-story complex will span 50,000m² above ground and 78,000m²  below ground and provide work space for as many as 2,700 employees. It is scheduled to open in 2022. (CN Beta, Intel, Business Wire)

Touch Display

LG has filed a patent about the rollable smartphone. The patent reveals a full-fledged smartphone with a screen that bends in more than one direction and has two hinges. (GSM Arena, LetsGoDigital, CN Beta)

AU Optronics (AUO) has developed a 5.6” foldable AMOLED display for smartphone, which is durable enough to withstand more than 200,000 folding times; and a 17.3” OLED display for notebooks or small-sized TV, which has 3840×2160 resolution, 225PPI, and 120Hz refresh rate. (CN Beta, AnandTech, Android Community, AUO)

Samsung been working on its successor of Galaxy Fold for some time now; and 3 new design patents suggest that the device is close to being finalised. This includes a much-reduced notch on the internal screen and a larger and more usable external screen.  The current tiny external screen is one of the main turn-offs of the main Galaxy Fold. (CN Beta, LetsGoDigital, MS Poweruser)

Camera

Cameras that replace car side mirrors with a high-tech – and more aerodynamic – alternative will go into safety testing by US road regulators, potentially bringing legislation currently blocking the high-tech upgrade in line with what is permitted internationally. Several automakers already offer vehicles with cameras in the place of traditional glass mirrors. (CN Beta, CNET, SlashGear)

Storage

Toshiba Memory, which will rebrand as Kioxia on 1 Oct 2019, has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with LITE-ON Technology to acquire its Solid State Drive (SSD) business. The purchase price is USD165M; the transaction is expected to close by the 1H20 and is subject to customary closing adjustments and regulatory approval. (CN Beta, Financial Post, Taipei Times)

Biometrics

Zhang Fan, chairman of Goodix, has revealed that by end of 2019, LCD optical-based fingerprint on display (FoD) will enter mass production, and the ultra-thin FoD solution for 5G phones will also enter mass production. He has indicated that the LCD FoD has been greatly improved, reaching the same level as the capacitive fingerprint scanner. (CN Beta, Sohu)

Connectivity

Huawei has won 50 5G commercial contracts worldwide as of Jun 2019. Over 50% of these contracts are in Europe and Huawei is gaining more popularity across Europe. (CN Beta, GizChina)

Ericsson has a new production facility in Poland, in the town of Tczew in the Pomorskie region in Northern Poland. The company has said that it plans to focus on 5G equipment at the new plant. The production has already started, and the plant is planned to reach full capacity in 1Q20. (CN Beta, Reuters, Telecom Paper)

Phone

Google is moving aggressively to shift production of its Pixel smartphone from China to Vietnam as it seeks to build a low-cost supply chain in Southeast Asia that will serve as a springboard for its growing hardware ambitions. According to IDC, In 2018, Google shipped some 4.7M smartphones, which only accounted for 0.3% of global market share. (Android Central, Asia Nikkei, Kejilie, UDN)

Samsung is reportedly expanding its smartphone component sales strategy when it comes to Chinese OEMs, especially Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo. James Kang, home and tech analyst at Euromonitor International, has indicated that Samsung is expanding its supply of components to Chinese makers, seeking a way to improve its business performance in its sluggish smartphone business. (Android Authority, Korea Times)

Apple is allegedly poised to start online sales of its devices in India soon, benefiting from new rules making India’s more attractive to foreign brands. India has eased rules that forced companies such as Apple to source 30% of their production locally. The government has also allowed so-called single brand retailers to set up online stores before physical shops. (Apple Insider, Bloomberg, CN Beta)

Japan is in the process of creating new legislation that caps discounts mobile carriers can offer on devices, which may make Apple iPhone a less attractive choice in the country. Hoping to end the country’s high mobile phone charges, the Japanese government has decided to cap the discounts a mobile company can give to just JPY20,000 (USD188). It would also force carriers to cut cancellation fees for users who quit in the middle of a two year contract. (CN Beta, Japan Times, IB Times, Apple Insider)

OPPO Reno 2 series is announced, featuring 6.53” 1080×2400 FHD+ AMOLED,  motorized pop-up 16MP, Android 9.0, under display fingerprint, 4000mAh 20W: Reno 2 – Qualcomm Snapdragon 730, rear quad 48MP-13MP telephoto-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro, 8+256GB, INR36,990 (USD515). Reno 2Z – MediaTek Helio P90 MT6779, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP mono-2MP depth, 8+256GB, INR29,790 (USD415). Reno 2F – MediaTek Helio P70, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP mono-2MP depth, 8+128GB. (GSM Arena, GizChina, Fonearena)

Redmi Note 8 series is announced in China, featuring rear fingerprint scanner, Android 9.0: Note 8 – 6.39” 2340×1080 FHD+ IPS, Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP depth-2MP macro + front 13MP, 4+64 / 6+64 / 6+128GB, 4000mAh 18W, CNY999 (USD139) / CNY1199 (USD167) / CNY1399 (USD195). Note 8 Pro – 6.53” 2340×1080 FHD+ IPS, MediaTek Helio P90, rear quad 64MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP depth-2MP macro + front 20MP, 6+64 / 6+128 / 8+128GB, 4500mAh 18W, CNY1399 (USD195) / CNY1599 (USD223) / CNY1799 (USD251). (GSM Arena, Android Headlines, Fonearena)

Modular phone Fairphone 3 is announced, which is built from using environmental-friendly raw materials and fair-labor practices – 5.65” 18:9 FHD+, Qualcomm Snapdragon 632, rear 12MP + front 8MP, 4+128GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, NFC, 3000mAh Quick Charge 3.0, EUR450. (GizChina, Android Authority, Fairphone, Fast Company, CN Beta)

LG Q70 is announced in South Korea – 6.4” 2340×1080 FHD+ IPS hole in display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 675, rear tri 32MP-13MP ultrawide-5MP depth + front 16MP, 4+64GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4000mAh Quick Charge 3.0, dedicated Google Assistant button,  KRW548,900 (USD453). (Gizmo China, CN Beta)

Wearables

Garmin unveils Fenix 6X Pro Solar – 1.4” 280×280 transflective display with transparent solar cell, 10ATM water resistance, 32GB storage, GPS / GLONASS / Galileo, altimeter, barometer, heart rate monitor, blood-oxygen monitor, from USD700. (GSM Arena, The Verge)

Huami has announced 3 new smartwatches: Amazfit GTS – 1.65” 348×442 AMOLED, 5ATM water resistance, GPS / GLONASS, 220mAh, CNY900 (USD125). Amazfit Smart Sports Watch – 1.34” 320×320 transflective display, 5ATM water resistance, GPS / GLONASS / Beidou / Galileo, 1.9GB user-available storage, from CNY1,300 (USD180). Amazfit X concept watch – 2.07” 326ppi curved AMOLED, 220mAh. (GizChina, My Drivers, TechRadar, GSM Arena)

Fitbit Versa 2 is announced – supports Amazon Alexa, built-in microphone, heart rate monitor, 50ATM water resistance, lasts 5 days after 1 fully charged, and will be upgraded with sleep monitor and smart wake-up functionality. It is priced at USD200. (Android Central, CNET, The Verge, Fitbit, CN Beta)

Home

According to Canalys, The global smart speaker market grew 55.4% in 2Q19 to reach 26.1M units. Amazon maintained the worldwide lead by shipping 6.6M units of Echo smart speakers. Baidu, despite only serving the China market, grew 3700% to reach 4.5M units in 2Q19, after it re-entered the market with Xiaodu devices in 2Q18. Baidu became the second largest vendor and overtook Google which shipped 4.3M in the same quarter. (VentureBeat, Neowin, Canalys, press)

Redmi TV is launched, featuring 70” 4K HDR display, 6^th-Gen Amlogic processor, 2+16GB, 2.4G / 5G dual-band Wi-Fi, built-in digital assistant Xiao Ai, CNY3,799 (USD530). (Android Central, Engadget, Trusted Reviews, CN Beta, IT Home)

Automotive

Guangzhou, China-based self-driving car startup Pony.ai has  announced that it will team up with Toyota, the Japanese auto giant with a roughly 9% share of the global car market, to explore “safe” mobility services involving driverless technology across a range of segments and industries. (Digital Trends, Bloomberg, VentureBeat, Leiphone)