IF / News

Chipsets

MediaTek announces Helio P95, which is a single-cluster 8-core chipset with 2x Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and 6x Cortex-A55 clocked at 2.0GHz. There is an Imagination PowerVR GM 94446 GPU with a 10% improvement in performance over the last generation. The chipset also has a large L3 cache. (Gizmo China, MediaTek, GizChina)

Samsung has introduced a Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (CC EAL) 5+ certified Secure Element (SE) turnkey solution for mobile devices. The new SE offers a strong security solution, consisting of a security chip (S3K250AF) and optimized software, that fully guards private data on an isolated data storage. (Android Central, Samsung, CN Beta)

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has indicated that Apple is planning to launch Macbook with ARM processors in 1H21. Apple has been proactive with its funding for R&D and production of the 5nm chipset that will power the first Mac machine with ARM CPU in the next 12-18 months. (GizChina, 91Mobiles, EET China, My Drivers)

Xiaomi is expanding its presence in the chipset industry by becoming a shareholder of two chipset companies, namely Shanghai-based ASR Microelectronics and OnMicro Corporation, through its investment arm Hubei Xiaomi Yangtze River Industrial Fund. (Gizmo China, 36Kr)

Globalfoundaries has announced its embedded magnetoresistive non-volatile memory (eMRAM) on the company’s 22nm FD-SOI (22FDX) platform has entered production, and GF is working with several clients with multiple production tape-outs scheduled in 2020. (My Drivers, Globe Newswire, AnandTech)

Touch Display

Samsung Display has unveiled an optimized OLED display for 5G smartphones with newly reduced blue-light emission and lowered power consumption. The latest smartphone OLED display has earned certification of ‘Eye Care Display’ from SGS and validation of ‘Energy Savings’ from UL, for successfully lowering blue-light emission and power consumption, respectively. (Phone Arena, Business Wire, Neowin, My Drivers)

Camera

By optimizing the overtime mode of production line employees, OmniVision can restore its production capacity to about 70% by the end of Feb 2020, and is expected to return to 100% in Mar. OmniVision packages and tests 400M-500M image sensor chips each year, and the shipment of 12” high-pixel image sensor wafers is 200,000. (Laoyaoba, East Day)

Battery

Panasonic has revealed that it will stop producing solar cells and modules at Tesla’s factory in Buffalo, N.Y., ending a 4-year joint venture with the electric automaker. Panasonic has said it will cease solar manufacturing operations at the Tesla factory by the end of May 2020. The company will exit the factory by Sept 2020. (TechCrunch, Asia Nikkei, BJ News, Nikkei)

Connectivity

Huawei chairman Liang Hua has revealed that Huawei will build its first European manufacturing plant in France. Huawei would invest EUR200M (USD217M) in the first phase of setting up the mobile base station plant. He said it would create 500 jobs. (CN Beta, SCMP, Japan Times)

Phone

Alphabet and its subsidy Google CEO Sundar Pichai has revealed that the company will invest USD10B in its offices and data centers across United States in 2020. It will focus 11 states, out of the 26 where Google has physical presence. (Neowin, Google, CN Beta)

Android and Google Play vice-president Sameer Samat has revealed that Google has applied for a license to resume business with Huawei. In Nov 2019, Microsoft is granted a license to export mass-market software to Huawei, after which Huawei resumes shipping notebooks with Windows. (My Drivers, Android Central, TechRadar, Deutsche Presse-Agentur)

Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed that the company will open its first physical retail store in India in 2021. India’s retail market is currently worth around USD600B, according to a 2017 report by consultancy PwC. By 2020, Indian shoppers could be spending USD1T year, it added. (Engadget, Reuters, CNN, CN Beta)

According to China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), in Jan 2020, the domestic mobile phone shipments in China sharply fell by 38.9% year-on-year with shipments of just 20.8M units. In that, shipments from domestic brands fell by 42.9%. (Gizmo China, CAICT)

According to IDC, the worldwide smartphone market is expected to decline 2.3% in 2020 with shipment volume just over 1.3B. The COVID-19 outbreak is expected to stress the short-term scenario with shipments declining 10.6% year over year in 1H20. Global smartphone shipments are expected to return to growth in 2021 driven by accelerated 5G efforts. For the epicenter, China, we forecast the domestic market to drop by nearly 40% year over year for 1Q20 and even with a potential Mar 2020 recovery it will still be difficult to reach levels in 2019. (CN Beta, IDC, press)

According to Counterpoint Research, Apple iPhone 11 becomes the second-best selling model globally for 2019 despite it being launched in Sept 2019.  The first iPhone with multiple cameras was launched at a lower price than its predecessor. Out of the top ten models, Apple captured six places with iPhone XR being the top-selling model globally in 2019, capturing a 3% market share. (Counterpoint Research, Phone Arena)

Huawei P40 Lite (a rebranded nova 6 SE) is announced – 6.4” 1080×2310 FHD+ IPS HiD, HiSilicon Kirin 810, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 16MP, 6+128GB, Android 10.0, side fingerprint scanner, 4200mAh 40W, EUR299. (Gizmo China)

LG V60 ThinQ 5G is announced – 6.8” 1080×2460 FHD+ P-OLED with a 360 Freestop Hinge, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, rear tri 64MP-13MP ultrawide-3D ToF + front 10MP, 8+128GB, Android 10.0, under display fingerprint, 5000mAh Quick Charge 4+, wireless charging, price not yet known. (GSM Arena, Android Authority, CN Beta)

OPPO A31 is revealed in India – 6.5” 720×1600 HD+ IPS, MediaTek Helio P35 MT6765V/CB, rear tri 12MP-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 8MP, 4+64 / 6+128GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4230mAh 10W, INR11,490 (USD160) / INR13,990 (USD195). (Gizmo China, Mobile Indian, OPPO)

HTC Wildfire R70 is announced – 6.3” 720×1560 HD+ IPS, MediaTek Helio P23 MT6763, rear tri 16MP-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 8MP, 2+32GB, Android 9.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 4000mAh 10W. (GSM Arena, HTC)

vivo Z6 5G is announced in China – 6.57” 1080×2400 FHD+ IPS HiD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 16MP, 6+128 / 8+128GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 5000mAh 44W, CNY2,298 (USD327) / CNY2,598 (USD370). (Gizmo China, My Drivers)