IF / News

Samsung Electronics has reportedly secured an order to manufacture Qualcomm’s mobile application processor (AP) for 5G budget smartphones. Samsung is likely to be a producer of the 5G version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4-series processors that are expected to be available on the market in 2021. (Gizmo China, Korea Herald)

Samsung has patented a new handset featuring a transparent display. The patent is based more around the technical aspect, going to great lengths to detail the different layers and components required to achieve transparency. An OLED panel is apparently used, since this type of display is equipped with a transparent luminous panel which lets light shine through. (Gizmo China, LetsGoDigital, CN Beta)

According to UBI Research, China is the largest buyer of smartphone OLED panels in 2Q20. China bought 52.5% of the total volume for the quarter, followed by South Korea’s 35% and US’s 8.3%. Chinese companies purchased a total of 30.4M units of smartphone OLED panels. Out of the Chinese companies, Huawei bought the most with 53.4%. This was followed by OPPO’s 18.6%, vivo’s 14.8% and Xiaomi’s 8.3%. (CN Beta, The Elec, Gizmo China)

vivo has announced “VISION+”, a global initiative that will build a visual content ecosystem, reaffirming the brand’s long-term commitment to user-centric design and leadership in mobile photography technology.  (Android Headlines, PR Newswire, Pandaily, QQ)

Xiaomi has filed a patent application for a smartphone design that includes two pop-up cameras aimed to work as both rear and front-facing camera. Both the camera sensors pop-up at an angle. (CN Beta, Gizmo China, LetsGoDigital)

vivo has announced its new RGBW sensor, which features improved sensitivity while avoiding color cast problems. The increase in sensitivity measures in at 160% as well. vivo expects the technology to make an appearance on smartphones by 2H21. (Laoyaoba, My Drivers, Gizmo China)

Samsung has announced that it has clinched a deal to supply network equipment to US wireless carrier Verizon. Samsung Networks, the network equipment manufacturing arm of the South Korean conglomerate will supply “wireless telecommunication solutions” worth KRW7.9T (around USD6.6B) to the American wireless provider over the next 5 years. The contract will run through Dec 2025. (Android Headlines, ZDNet, CN Beta, FSS)

Strategy Analytics forecasts that total shipments of smartphones would be 1.26B units in 2020, reducing 11% from 2019. Samsung Electronics is expected to maintain its market leadership in 2020 with shipment of 265M units, or a market share of 21%. Apple will take second place with 192M units (15.3%), pushing Huawei to a third place. (GizChina, Korea Herald, Pulse News, Gizmo China)

Huawei reportedly has slashed component orders for its forthcoming Mate 40 series products by 30%, according to Digitimes. Back in Jun 2020, Huawei is reportedly aiming to sell 8M devices of the new lineup just in 4Q20, which would still be an accomplishment with the unpredictability of the US-Sino relations and Huawei being merely a hostage in this whole situation. (GSM Arena, My Fix Guide, Digitimes)

Samsung is expected to increase its smartphone shipments to 300M units in 2021. The company plans on raising the shipments as its rival, Huawei, faces stiff regulations by the US, and as the overall smartphone market declines. In 2020, it is expected that the company will ship a total of 260M units, so an increase of 15% over 2020 is expected in 2021. (Gizmo China, ET News)

Liu Bo, OPPO’s vice president and president of China region has confirmed that the company’s overall sales volume in 2020 is expected to increase to 100M units, and the sales volume in China region is expected to increase by more than 30% in 2H20. As for product positioning, he said the Find is mainly high-end, Reno is a hit, the A series is an entry-level boutique, and the K series is mainly online. (My Drivers, Sina, My Zaker, CN Techpost)

Huawei is reportedly planning to produce around 50M units of smartphones in 2021. On the other hands, Samsung is aiming to ship 300M units of smartphones in 2021. The new, aggressive target is aimed at taking advantage of the vacuum caused by Huawei’s troubles.  (Android Authority, The Elec)

Huawei consumer business CEO Richard Yu has revealed that the company has been working on its own proprietary operating system called Harmony OS (HongMeng in China), which has now apparently reached about 70%-80% of the level of Android. (Gizmo China, CN Beta)

realme V3 is launched in China – 6.517” 720×1600 HD+ v-notch, MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G, rear tri 13MP-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 8MP, 6+64 / 6+128 / 8+128GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint, 5000mAh 18W, CNY999 (USD146) / CNY1,399 (USD205) / CNY1,599 (USD234).  (BGR, NDTV, realme)

Huawei Y9a is announced in Middle East and Africa – 6.63” 1080×2400 FHD+ IPS LCD, MediaTek Helio G80, rear quad 64MP-8MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front motorized pop-up 16MP, 6+128 / 8+128GB, Android 10.0 (HMS), side fingerprint scanner, 4200mAh / 4300mAh 22.5W/ 40W (region dependent), from USD239 (EUR200). (GSM Arena, Huawei, GizChina)

Xiaomi POCO X3 NFC is launched in Europe – 6.67” 1080×2400 FHD+ HiD 120Hz HDR10, Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G, rear quad 64MP-13MP ultrawide-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 20MP, 6+64 / 6+128GB, Android 10.0, side fingerprint, 5160mAh 33W, EUR229 / EUR269. (GSM Arena, Gizmo China, Indian Express)

Xiaomi POCO M2 is announced in India – 6.53” 1080×2340 FHD+ v-notch, MediaTek Helio G80, rear quad 13MP-8MP ultrawide-5MP macro-2MP depth + front 8MP, 6+64 / 6+128GB, Android 10.0, rear fingerprint scanner, 5000mAh 18W, INR10,999 (USD150) / INR12,499 (USD170).  (GSM Arena, GizChina)

OPPO has applied the “OPPO Glass” trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The application status is “pending”, OPPO Glass is classified as the 9th category. It can be concluded from the description that it applies to glasses / head-mounted devices. (CN Beta, LetsGoDigital)

Samsung Electronics will reportedly close its TV manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China in Nov 2020. The decision is part of its efforts to improve efficiency at its production bases worldwide amid fierce competition in the industry. (CN Beta, Neowin, YNA)

The J7, an L3 self-driving super heavy-duty truck led by Chinese truck maker FAW Jiefang, is launched, becoming a milestone product in FAW Jiefang’s “Columbus Smart Logistics Open Program”. The J7 is equipped with seven cameras, five millimeter-wave radars, and one lidar, and is equipped with the SuperPilot system. (CN Beta, Sina, IT Home, CN Techpost)