IF / News

Chipsets

According to Strategy Analytics, the global smartphone Applications Processor (AP) market declined 2% year-over-year falling to USD4.8B in 2Q19. Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung LSI, HiSilicon and MediaTek captured the top-five revenue share spots in the global smartphone applications processor (AP) market in 2Q19. Qualcomm continued its smartphone AP market share leadership with 40% revenue share followed by Apple with 20% and Samsung LSI with 13%. (Laoyaoba, Strategy Analytics)

China Mobile has launched the Internet of Things (IoT) eSIM chip — OneChip. China Mobile has exhibited all products of the OneChip brand, including communication chips, eSIM cards (C2X2, SE-SIM security chips, etc.), and the first fully self-developed eSIM chip CC191A, a total of more than 10 eSIM chip products. (CN Beta, Small Tech News)

TSMC and UMC are set to allocate more of their available 12” fab capacities for the fabrication of display driver ICs in 2020 to satisfy growing demand for applications such as 8K TVs and 5G smartphones, according to Digitimes. (Digitimes, Digitimes, Yahoo, Kuaibao)

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) has reportedly kicked off volume production of 14nm FinFET chips, and plans to move a newer 12nm FinFET process to risk production by the end of 2019. (Digitimes, Guancha, Digitimes, CNYES)

Touch Display

Xiaomi has been granted a patent for a vertically folding phone. Sketches of the device show the phone has a small display at the top when folded. This display will likely show info such as time, caller ID, and notifications. At the bottom half of the phone are dual rear cameras arranged vertically. (Gizmo China, Tiger Mobiles, IT Home)

Vizio, a U.S. TV producer, and Xiaomi will adopt OLED panels in 2020. LG Display (LGD) will benefit fully from this change as it has been exclusively supplying OLED panels since 2013. Currently, the group consists of 15 members, including Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic of Japan and Skyworks, Konka and HiSense of China, as well as LG Electronics. The number of members will rise to 17 next year. Samsung Display also plans to mass-produce QD displays based on OLED technology beginning 2021. (Laoyaoba, Sohu, 51Touch, Elecfans, Business Korea)

Huawei’s recently filed patent suggests the company is considering releasing a foldable phone. The patent shows a device that folds vertically. The folding position is not exactly at the center which leaves a small part of the display exposed even when it is completely folded. (Gizmo China, TechieWorld, CN Beta)

Memory

Micron Technology has unveiled the Micron i300 microSDXC UHS-I series, which is offered in 128GB to 1TB capacities. The card is based on Micron’s advanced 96-layer 3D quad-level cell (QLC) NAND technology, making it cheaper for small- to medium-sized deployments to have primary storage in the camera compared to a centralized storage architecture. (Digitimes, press, Tech Republic, Micron, Flash Market, Sohu)

Battery

LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol has indicated that the company will support local battery parts-making companies, emphasizing the importance of achieving mutual growth with its partners to upgrade Korea’s competence in the fast-growing industry. Shin has visited 2 companies ― Dongshin Motech in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province, which produces battery pack cases for EVs, and Daegu’s Shinsung FA, which manufactures EV battery-making equipment ― to seek ways to boost cooperation with them. (Laoyaoba, Korea Times)

Volkswagen has revealed that it will build a battery pack assembly facility as part of an USD800M expansion project that will turn the Chattanooga, Tenn. factory into its North American base for manufacturing electric vehicles. (TechCrunch, Green Car Congress, Auto News, CN Beta)

Connectivity

China Mobile and Huawei have successfully deployed the first batch of 5G base stations. Both companies has applied 5G network in the Shandong Gold Mining (Laixi) Co., Ltd. The 5G coverage covers the entire 500m underground mine and it controlled the unmanned electric successfully. This is the first time that 5G is deployed for an underground mine operation in China. This indicates that 5G enables smart mining to take the key step. (GizChina, IT Home)

According to China Mobile, by 2020, there is over 100 5G phone models in the market. In addition, there would have over 150M units 5G phones. However, the interesting part is that the carrier believes that the competition will drop the price of 5G phones to CNY1000-1500 (USD143-214) by end of 2020. (GizChina, CN Beta)

China Mobile will release 47 5G terminals of 5 categories together with 34 partners, to strongly support 2C and 2B businesses in the first year of 5G for commercial use. 5G terminals to be released by the 5G Terminal Pioneers Industry Alliance include 19 mobile phones, 7 AR/VR products, 5 chips, 7 CPEs, and 9 modules. (CN Beta, Sina, C114, Shine.cn)

Phone

Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun has revealed that all the phones it will release in 2020 priced above CNY2000 (USD285) will have 5G support. He has also added that they plan to announce at least 10 5G smartphones in 2020. (Gizmo China, My Drivers, Gizmo China)

According to IDC, smartphone shipments in China stood at 98.9M units in 3Q19, down 3.6% year-on-year. This marked a narrower decline than the first half of the year, in part due to Huawei’s strong performance. Huawei’s market share reached a record high of 42.0% with its increased brand appeal and strong channel partnerships. (IDC, data, data, GSM Arena)

Social video app TikTok from ByteDance has just surpassed 1.5B downloads on the Apple’s App Store and Google Play as it continues to be one of the world’s most popular apps, according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence. (CN Beta, Neowin, Sensor Tower)

Strategy Analytics forecasts that Apple’s entry into the 5G race in 3Q20 will catapult the vendor into the lead in 5G smartphones. It may seem counterintuitive that Apple, which currently has no 5G phones in its portfolio will be able to pass current 5G market leaders Samsung and Huawei. (GizChina, My Drivers, Strategy Analytics, press)

Foldable “flip” phone Motorola Razr is announced – 6.2” 876×2142 Foldable pOLED + 2.7” 600×800 gOLED external display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, rear 16MP + front 5MP, 6+128GB, Android 9.0, front fingerprint scanner, eSIM, 2510mAh 15W, USD1,500 (with U.S. Verizon). (Android Authority, Engadget, GSM Arena, Motorola)

PC Tablet

Lenovo has announced launching the first 5G computer in world. This PC is equipped with 3 core technologies: dual mode optimization for all frequency band; frequency adaptive antenna; and, dual route quick charge. (CN Beta, Khaleej Times, AA Stock, Zing Gadget)

Augmented / Virtual Reality

Apple’s patent describes an AR headset “having device-mount audio mode”. This is specifically for a headset where another device like an iPhone is mounted in front of the user’s eyes. (Apple Insider, USPTO, Sina, CN Beta)

Home

According to Canalys, global smart speaker market grew 44.9% to reach 28.6M units in 3Q19. Amazon pulled ahead of the pack by shipping 10.4M smart speakers after emerging from a stellar Prime Day performance, closely followed by strong back-to-school and off-to-college shopping campaigns. Alibaba regained top spot in the China market, placing it second globally. Google slipped from third in 2Q19 to fourth as the company advanced its Nest brand. (CN Beta, Canalys, press)

Automotive

According to Gartner, by 2023, worldwide net additions of vehicles equipped with hardware that could enable autonomous driving without human supervision will reach 745,705 units, up from 137,129 units in 2018. In 2019, net additions will be 332,932 units. This growth will predominantly come from North America, Greater China and Western Europe, as countries in these regions become the first to introduce regulations around autonomous driving technology. (Neowin, Gartner, press, CN Beta)