10-7: Samsung Electronics has ended the production of smartphones in its last factory in China; Maxis and Huawei Technologies have signed an agreement for the provisioning of the 5G network in Malaysia; etc.
Touch Display
Samsung has patented a hologram projecting dock accessory. Samsung envisions it being interactive. Users can slot their Galaxy smartphone into the dock and have it project holographic details above the phone’s display. (CN Beta, Tom’s Guide, Android Headlines, LetsGoDigital)
Memory
In order to avoid potential competition in the same industry, Tsinghua Unigroup has the rights to consolidate the business within the Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC). In view of the strategic layout of the Tsinghua Unigroup currently has no plans to enter the memory chip manufacturing business, nor has it planned to consolidate the YMTC. (CN Beta, SCMP)
After a continuous decline for N months, the price of DRAM memory chips remained basically stable in Aug / Sept 2019. The data collected by DRAMeXchange shows that the average price of the DDR4-2133 8Gb (1GB) PC chip after Sept 2019 is USD2.94, which is completely the same as last month. In terms of the overall pattern, the memory is still oversupply. In other words, the price of 4Q19 is falling or cannot be avoided. (CN Beta, Sina, My Drivers)
Battery
According to the statistics of Chongdiantou, Apple currently has 9 models of iPhone that support USB PD fast charging. In 2019, it also comes standard with PD accessories for iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. (CN Beta, Chongdiantou)
Tesla has quietly acquired a battery manufacturing and engineering company based in Canada called Hibar Systems in a push to start making its own battery cells. The company is specialized in building manufacturing equipment for different processes in battery manufacturing. (CN Beta, Clean Technica, Electric Autonomy, Electrek)
Connectivity
Maxis and Huawei Technologies have signed an agreement for the provisioning of the 5G network in Malaysia. As part of the agreement Huawei will be supplying 4G/LTE and 5G radio equipment and services to Maxis. (CN Beta, Telecoms, Malay Mail)
Phone
Samsung Electronics has ended the production of smartphones in its last factory in China. Production at the factory in southern China’s Huizhou ended in end of Sept 2019. It said it made “the difficult decision to cease operations of Samsung Electronics Huizhou” in order “to enhance efficiency” in its manufacturing. (CN Beta, SCMP, Washington Post, CNN)
Xiaomi has said it sold more than 3.8M smartphones during Amazon’s Great Indian Festival and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sales. Realme, on the other hand, sold over 2.2M smartphones during the same period on Flipkart. (GSM Arena)
Apple is set to launch the next version of the iPhone SE 2 in 1Q20, according to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The new phone will be more affordable than the rest of the Apple iPhone lineup and feature A13 processor with 3 GB RAM, in a familiar iPhone 8 chassis. He predicts Apple will sell 30M-40M units across 2020. (Digital Trends, 9to5Mac, TF Securities)
According to Smartisan CEO Luo Yonghao, the smartphone business and the brand “Nut” has been transferred, yet the Smartisan still exits. It seems the phone business is transferred to ByteDance, and the first Nut phone to be launched by ByteDance in 2H19. (CN Beta, SCMP)
PC Tablet
Microsoft has announced that ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are working on their own dual-screen and foldable devices powered by Windows 10X, which will be coming in the fall of 2020. (CN Beta, Liliputing, Laptop Mag, Windows, On MSFT)
Augmented / Virtual Reality
Microsoft has filed a patent application for a dedicated floor mat for virtual reality (VR), which could help users avoid obstacles while wearing a headset. (Engadget, Variety, USPTO, CN Beta)
Automotive
Huawei has officially unveiled Huawei HiCar, which can be linked to the car, mobile phone, and watch. User can also use the car camera to share scenery videos along the way with family. User can check the status of the car in real-time from the mobile phone. It also takes control of the car air conditioners, windows, wiper and even the locks. (CN Beta, GizChina)
Tesla has released the production and delivery numbers for 3Q19. Tesla delivered a total of 97,000 Model S, Model 3, and Model X combined in 3Q19 vs. 95,200 cars delivered in 2Q19, that is a +1.8% growth QoQ. (CN Beta, X Auto)
Fintech
Payments firm PayPal has become the first company to pull out of an alliance that is trying to launch Facebook’s digital currency Libra. PayPal has said it “remained supportive of Libra’s aspirations” but has chosen to focus on its own core businesses. (CN Beta, CNBC, BBC)
Samsung has also launch samasung galaxy A20s