IF / News

Chipsets

Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, has announced Nvidia Jarvis, a multi-modal AI software development kit, that combines speech, vision, and other sensors in one AI system. (CN Beta, Nvidia, Neowin)

MediaTek is reportedly developing a mid-range 5G SoC MT6873 with 7nm FinFET at TSMC, which would have an ARM Cortex-A77 CPU and a Mali-G77 ARM GPU. The newly developed SoC would be smaller and cheaper to produce than MT6885. The mass production should begin in 2Q20. It means the  market availability sits at 3Q20. (GSM Arena, My Drivers, GizChina)

Touch Display

Japan Display Inc (JDI) President and CEO Minoru Kikuoka has indicated that JDI is expected to be profitable in fiscal 2H19, which runs through Mar 2020, with its new OLED products projected to reach the market later in 2020. He has also said the company would not rely solely on OLED panels to drag itself from the red, as “they are confident in our technology, but nobody knows what the market will look like after 2021.” (CN Beta, Bloomberg, Japan Times)

ZTE has filed a patent application with WIPO describing a front-end smartphone with a very small screen opening, and its opening position is quite unique. ZTE has decided to let the front camera aperture be better hidden in the status buoy of the signal bar. The patent also states that the display has a “sound wave transmission area” (sound on display), meaning that the speaker, receiver/microphone can be placed under the display. (CN Beta, LetsGoDigital)

Camera

Xiaomi has filed a patent for in-display camera technology with CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration) showing designs for a smartphone with dual cameras under the display. (GizChina, Tiger Mobiles, GSM Arena, My Drivers, Sohu)

Memory

SK hynix has announced today that it has developed 1Znm 16Gb (Gigabits) DDR4 (Double Data Rate 4) DRAM. The productivity of this product has improved by about 27% compared to the previous generation, 1Ynm. SK hynix plans to expand the 1Znm technology process to a variety of applications, such as LPDDR5, the next generation mobile DRAM, and HBM3, the fastest DRAM to be. (CN Beta, IT Home, Tech Power Up)

Yangtze Memory Technology (YMTC) has started producing 256Gb TLC chips using its in-house developed 64-layer 3D NAND technology in 1Q19, with monthly output reaching 5,000 wafers initially. YMTC allegedly plans to increase its 64-layer 3D NAND chip output to 60,000 wafers monthly by the end of 2020. (Digitimes, press, HQEW, Elecfans)

Battery

A groundbreaking ceremony for the first overseas factory of the world’s leading lithium-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) took place on 18 Oct 2019 in Thuringia, a state in east-central Germany, marking the start of construction of the first lithium-ion battery factory in Germany. (CN Beta, PR Newswire, Evertiq)

Sensory

Working with clinicians from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, EPFL has developed a conformable electrode implant that will allow people with a dysfunctional inner ear to hear again. It uses body-safe, resilient platinum for electrodes, but overcomes the metal’s usual stiffness thanks to micron-level machining inspired by kirigami paper cutting. (Engadget, EPFL)

Telecom Paris in France has devised an artificial skin for interactive devices that responds to touch, dubbed “Skin-On Interfaces”. The skin is able to detect a variety of gestures, including sliding, stretching and rotation. The artificial skin is programmed to associate different gestures with certain emotions. (Digital Trends, New Scientist, Gizmodo)

Connectivity

China Unicom executive director and SVP Shao Guanglu has indicated that China Unicom and China Telecom have jointly built a shared 5G network, which not only doubled the coverage of both parties, but also brought more network capacity and faster speed to users. (Laoyaoba, BJNews, CN Beta, IoT Online)

Singapore has set its sights on up to four 5G networks, instead of the two initially planned for, as the authorities take bolder steps to spearhead developments believed to be crucial to the nation’s economic growth. The Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) more aggressive push to have two extra smaller 5G networks will take into account immediate industrial needs, for example, in smart ports and smart factories to remotely operate cranes or vehicles to move shipping containers or goods round-the-clock. (CN Beta, Straits Times, Channel News)

According University of Oulu, as 5G research is maturing towards a global standard, the research community must focus on the development of beyond-5G solutions and the 2030 era, i.e. 6G. It is not clear yet what 6G will entail. 6G research should look at the problem of transmitting up to 1Tbps per user. This is possible through the efficient utilization of the spectrum in the THz regime. Extended spectrum towards THz will enable merging communications and new applications such as 3D imaging and sensing. (CN Beta, 36Kr, University of Oulu, white paper)

Google Fi is working on enabling faster network switching by adding multi-SIM support. The “multi-SIM auto switching” functionality is expected to become available sometime in the near future. Since devices with two physical SIM slots are rare in the U.S., the functionality will be available on devices having an additional virtual eSIM. (Android Central, 9to5Google)

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple’s ‘iPhone SE 2’ will feature an updated antenna design that should improve how the smartphone transmits data to cellular networks. Kuo believes that Murata is lined up to provide antenna components to Apple in early 2020. Use of the existing supplier and other factors could lead to a launch of the model by the end of 1Q20. (GSM Arena, Apple Insider, TF Securities)

Phone

Samsung has filed a total of 9 trademarks to secure the name of its future Galaxy A-series devices——A12, A22, A32, A42, A52, A62, A72, A82, A92. (LetsGoDigital, IT Home, CN Beta)

The president of Samsung Electronics Greater China, Gyehyun Kwon, has indicated that Samsung will launch a variety of 5G products in 1H20, which will cover high-end and low-end segments. He has revealed that Samsung’s first folding phone Galaxy Fold will soon be launched in China. (CN Beta, Tencent)

Honor’s president Zhao Ming has revealed that Honor’s first 5G smartphone, Honor V30, will debut in Nov 2019. He has also said that this 5G phone will support both NSA and SA network architecture. (CN Beta, IT Home, Huawei Central)

Huawei nova 5z is announced in China – 6.26” 2340×1080 FHD+ IPS hole in display, Huawei Kirin 810, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 32MP camera on display, 6+64 / 6+128GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, CNY1,599 (USD226) / CNY1,799 (USD255). (Gizmo China, CN Beta, Huawei)

Honor 20 Lite (Youth Edition) is announced in China – 6.3” 2400×1080 20:9 FHD+ AMOLED Always-on-Display (AOD), Huawei Kirin 710F, rear tri 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP depth + front 16MP, 4+64 / 6+64 / 6+128 / 8+128GB, Android 9.0, 4000mAh 20W, under display fingerprint, CNY1,399 (USD200) – CNY1,899 (USD270). (GSM Arena, Honor, CN Beta, Gizmo China)

Augmented / Virtual Reality

Apple has targeted a 2020 release for its augmented reality (AR) headset, although the timeframe could be pushed back if the product needs more development, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. (CN Beta, Mac Rumors, Bloomberg)