6-2: Xiaomi bought 1500 patents from Microsoft; In next 2 years Lenovo wants to sell phone at product costs; Phone panels supply decline is the reason of rising prices; etc.
Allwinner launches 2 new IoT chipset R40 and R58; Intel to collaborate with Foxconn on developing 5G network infrastructure technologies; Smartphone shipments are expected to grow 3.1% in 2016; KPCB venture capitalist Marry Meeker’s annual Internet Trends report; Xiaomi bought 1500 patents from Microsoft; In next 2 years Lenovo wants to sell phone at product costs; Phone panels supply decline is the reason of rising prices; etc.
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Chipsets |
| While global smartphone demand is growing more slowly, the rise of low-cost smartphones benefits both consumers and chip designer ARM Holdings, its chief executive Simon Segars argues. (Nikkei) |
| Through a joint venture with the government of Chongqing, GlobalFoundries plans to expand its global manufacturing footprint by establishing a 300mm fab in China. (CN Beta, Yahoo, Times Union, Post-Star) |
| NIVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang told reporters that the company has moved away from “commodities” like smartphone chips and focused on powering artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, VR and next-gen gaming. (Tencent, Tom’s Guide)
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| To further pursue IoT market, Allwinner launches 2 new chipset R40 and R58 – R40 is quad-core Cortex-A7 with speed up to 1GHz, and R58 is 28nm octa-core Cortex-A7 with speed up to 2GHz. (Yesky, EE Trend, ARM Devices)
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| Intel to collaborate with Foxconn on developing network infrastructure technologies to make it easier for mobile telecom carriers and their solution providers to upgrade their networks and start preparation for 5G mobile communications. (C114, Digitimes) |
| Intel, Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and SanJet Technology Corporation announced a collaboration to create a connected transportation platform solution to enable cars with new telematics services such as usage-based insurance or interactive fleet management capability. (Nikkei, TechNews, Cafes Guide, Intel)
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Touch / Display |
| IHS Technologies analyst Kevin Wang expects Apple 2017 iPhone would feature OLED display curved at both sides. (CN Beta, Cult of Mac, Phones Review)
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| According to Sigma Intell, phone panels supply decline is the reason of rising prices. Till May 2016, for 5” HD panel as an example, the prices has increased more than 15%, and for some smaller customers it is more than 20%. (Sigma Intell, press)
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Camera |
| Elephone launches Elecam 360, which can record 360° videos, built with dual 220×220 panoramic lens, using Sony IMX117 sensors, compatible with Android and iOS, with 1500mAh battery that can shoot with both lenses for 60 minutes. (Gizmo China, Giz China, Action Cam Advisor)
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| Quanta Computers and ImmerVision, the inventor of the 360-degree panomorph lens announce the launch of the world’s first 360-degree live VR streaming add-on camera, designed for the ever-burgeoning smart phone market. (TechNews, Forbes, AZO Optics, Yahoo, Hexun)
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Memory |
| SanDisk announces faster, higher-capacity USB-C Dual Drive flash drive. (Windows Central, Android Central, Android Headlines, Yesky)
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| TrendForce highlights two points for 2H16: the preparation for the next Apple iPhone release and rapid growth in SSD demand are the major highlights in the NAND Flash market, and also the tight supply for both planar NAND and 3D-NAND. (TechNews, TrendForce, press, TrendForce[cn], press) |
| Micron Technology has introduced a new lineup of 3D NAND flash SSDs – the 1100 SATA and 2100 PCIe NVMe SSDs – designed to address the storage demands of today’s most challenging client computing platforms. (Digitimes, AnandTech, Micron, CN Beta, TechReport)
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Sensors |
| North Carolina State University is developing a wearable early warning system known as the Health and Environmental Tracker (HET). Consisting mainly of a wristband and chest patch, the technology monitors patients’ bodies and their environment, sending an alert when an attack may be imminent. (CN Beta, Science Daily, Gizmag)
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Smartphones |
| According to IDC, smartphone shipments are expected to grow 3.1% in 2016, which is a substantial slowdown from the 10.5% growth in 2015 and 27.8% in 2014. Shipments are expected to hit 1.48 billion in 2016 and grow to 1.84 billion in 2020. Devices powered by the Google operating system are expected to grow 6.2% in 2016 with 1.24 billion shipments. (IDC, press, Apple Insider, DoNews)
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| According to KPCB venture capitalist Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends report, global internet usage was flat in 2015. At the same time, the smartphone usage is also slowing down. (KPCB, report, report[cn], CN Beta, Market Watch, Koat)
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| According to KPCB venture capitalist Marry Meeker’s annual Internet Trends report, Apple enjoyed a brief lead on Google before being surpassed by the latter’s unquenchable thirst for more users. Ever since, there is no new challenger and little reason to believe that the current split between iPhone and Android users will shift dramatically. We are close to reaching mobile equilibrium. (KPCB, report, report[cn], CN Beta, The Verge)
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| Lenovo Mobile Business Group President, Cheng Xudong said recently that the company plans to give up the race for profits by pricing its products at cost. He beleives that phones from the ZUK lineup as well as Moto lineup will help the company increase its presence in the Chinese market. (Gizmo China, My Drivers, TechWeb, CNR) |
| Xiaomi is buying 1,500 patents from Microsoft. The patents include “voice communications, multimedia and cloud computing”. (CN Beta, USA Today, BBC, Reuters, Ars Technica) |
| Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is open to returning its search business to China, if it could be done right. (CN Beta, Re/Code, USA Today) |
| Google is selling 371 million Lenovo shares in the range of 4.56 Hong Kong dollars to HKD4.62 a share, a discount of up to 4% to yesterday’s close, IFR reported. (Barron’s, Reuters, Sina) |
| LG quietly launches X Power and X Style: X Power – 5.3” HD display, MediaTek MT6735 processor, 13MP + 8MP cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM, 4100mAh battery, USD180. X Style – 5” HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 8MP + 5MP cameras, 1.5GB RAM, 16GB ROM, 2100mAh battery, USD180. (Phone Arena, XDA Developers, CN Beta, Softpedia)
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Wearables |
| According to the sources close to the industry, those kid’s smartwatches that are available online for the price around CNY100 are actually very cheap second-hand products. The original cost of these watch is merely CNY10+. Security, safety and GPS accuracy, which are the main selling points of these smartwatches are not guaranteed. This market is messy, everyone can easily enter this market easily, and there is no standard production standard. (CN Beta, article, China.Finance) |
| Microsoft open its Windows-based holographic platform to developers and rival device manufacturers. It has listed a number of major companies that would begin factoring Windows Holographic into their plans, including HTC, Intel, Qualcomm, Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo. Microsoft believes 80 million AR devices will be sold by 2020, more than the 64.8 million VR headsets projected to sell that year. (CNET, USA Today, 163, Huxiu)
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| HTC is expected to spin off its VR business in 3Q16 at the earliest. HTC will own a 100% stake the new business entity without further elaboration. (Digitimes, China Times) |
| Nokia has closed the acquisition of Withings, a specialist in digital health products and services, for EUR170 million. It is a part of push into Digital Health segment. (Android Authority, Engadget, Nokia, TechWeb, iFanr) |
| Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is officially released – an OLED display, a capacitive touch button at the bottom of the display, its functions include exercise tracking, sleep monitoring, heart rate, notification, alarm vibration, mobile payment, etc. and it is also IP67 rated, priced at CNY149. (Gizmo China, My Drivers, Huxiu)
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Internet of Things |
| According to Ericsson latest Mobility Report, mobile phones continue to be the largest category of connected devices, but in 2018 they are expected to be surpassed by IoT, which includes connected cars, machines, utility meters, remote metering and consumer electronics. IoT devices are expected to increase at a CAGR of 23% from 2015 to 2021, driven by new use cases. In total, around 28 billion connected devices are forecast by 2021, of which close to 16 billion will be related to IoT. (Ericsson, report, CN Beta, Vanguard, Fredonia Leader)
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| According to IDC latest research, China home IoT will continue to grow steadily in the next 5 years. By 2020, the market size is expected to reach about USD19.4 billion. Home security / home monitoring, smart appliances, personal wellness are the main use cases. (IDC, press, EE Trend)
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| IBM CEO Ginni Rometty has declared that “within 5 years cognitive AI will impact every decision made”. (CN Beta, Yahoo, Fortune, Re/Code) |
| Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks that Apple’s car business is a “miss opportunity” and only expects to enter mass production in 2020. He does not considere Google’s self-driving car program to be a direct competitor to Tesla because “they are not a company”. (Gizmodo, Re/Code, The Verge, CN Beta)
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| Segway, acquired by Ninebot last year, has launched Segway MiniPro in North America, priced at USD999. It has UL 2272 certification which was designed to evaluate the safety of self-balancing scooters or “hoverboards”. (CN Beta, Venture Beat, CNET)
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