10-13 #SpeckofDust: MediaTek has allegedly shipped nearly USD300M of mobile phone chips to Huawei in Sept 2020; OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has left the company; etc.
Prior to the deadline for the final shipment of Huawei, MediaTek has shipped nearly USD300M of mobile phone chips to Huawei (self-study, ODM) in Sept 2020, with an average selling price of USD22, equivalent to shipping 13M mobile phone chips to Huawei, enough for Huawei to use for more than 1 month. (CN Beta, Small Tech News)
Huawei is allegedly to release a car smart screen, equipped with Hongmeng OS system. Earlier in Sept 2020, Huawei Electric Technology is established with a registered capital of CNY250M, and Huawei holds 100% of the shares. The company’s business scope includes engineering and technology research and test development; manufacture and sales of smart car equipment. (Gizmo China, IT Home, Sina, Sohu)
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation had rejected Foxconn’s application for tax subsidies, citing the fact that its plans are “smaller in scale and economic impact” than it originally planned. Foxconn is reportedly failed to reach the minimum employment quota necessary to even receive tax subsidies. Foxconn is not building the 20Mft2 LCD “Gen 10.5” factory that it has promised. The plant would not live up to expectations. (The Verge, Apple Insider, BizTimes, CN Beta)
Major CMOS image sensor (CIS) suppliers including Samsung Electronics and OmniVision reportedly have been pushing sales of midrange CIS components to Chinese handset brands due to increasing market demand, according to Digitimes. (Digitimes, Digitimes, Laoyaoba, Yahoo)
TF Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo has pointed out that GSEO is expected to have no EPS growth in 2021. The main reasons include the new business model of Apple for camera lens, the better-than-expected progress of new entrants and the price competition of Largan. He has pointed out that the ODM proportion of Apple lenses is expected to drop from 30-40% in 2020 to less than 10% in 2021. Benefiting from this, the development and shipment progress of Sunny Optical and Samsung Electromechanical (SEMCO) are significantly better than expected. Therefore, it is believed that the price pressure of Largan and GSEO’s Apple lenses will increase significantly from 2021. Largan can still reduce some of the pressure by getting more Android mid-to-high-end orders, but GSEO is the biggest loser because it cannot do it. (Laoyaoba, TF Securities)
Cornell University has invented an earphone that can continuously track full facial expressions by observing the contour of the cheeks – and can then translate expressions into emojis or silent speech commands. With the ear-mounted device, called C-Face, users could express emotions to online collaborators without holding cameras in front of their faces – an especially useful communication tool as much of the world engages in remote work or learning. (Engadget, Scifi Lab, Cornell)
A few Android OEMs are reportedly working on 100W wireless charging solutions. They are planning to launch new phones with 100W wireless charging in 2021. OPPO announced its 65W wireless charging technology in early 2020. OPPO has also stated that its 125W wired charging solution will degrade the battery to 80% of its capacity after 800 charging cycles, while its 65W wired solution will reduce the capacity to 90% after 800 charging cycles. (Android Central, CN Beta)
Xiaomi has demonstrated its own take on Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology. This opens the door to faster file sharing, smart door locking / unlocking, and mobile payments. (Android Authority, Weibo)
OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has left the company. Pei co-founded OnePlus with CEO Pete Lau in December 2013, the two having previously worked together at OPPO. (Android Central, Android Police, TechCrunch, Sina)
According to Kantar, at a time of near-unprecedented economic challenges, the total value of the BrandZ India Top 75 fell by 6% in 2020, shedding USD13B in value for a total brand value of USD215.608B. Individual brands’ performance in the India Top 75 remained highly variable. While 43 returning brands declined in value in 2020, 26 returning brands actually gained in value from their 2019 performance. (Kantar report)
Samsung Galaxy A42 5G is announced in UK – 6.6” 1080×2400 FHD+ Super AMOLED u-notch, Qualcomm Snapdragon 750, rear quad 48MP-8MP ultrawide-5MP macro-5MP depth + front 20MP, 4+128GB, Android 10.0, fingerprint on display, 5000mAh 15W, GBP349. (GSM Arena, Android Central, Samsung, Sam Mobile)
Nest has unveiled a new Thermostat, priced at USD129, that is focused on simplicity and affordability. The new model does not automatically learn and adjust temperature, but it can recommend schedules to help users save on energy costs. Google said it estimates it can save people 10%-12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills. (Android Authority, The Verge, CNBC)
Google’s parent company Alphabet has taken the wraps off the latest “moonshot” from its X labs dubbed Mineral: A robotic buggy “Plant Buggy” that cruises over crops, inspecting each plant individually and, perhaps, generating the kind of “big data” that agriculture needs to keep up with the demands of a hungry world. (CN Beta, Engadget, TechCrunch, Google)
