7-16: TSMC indicates 5nm process enter MP in 2020; Infineon acquires Cree’s Wolfspeed business; OPPO R9 reported to switch platform from MTK to QCT; etc.
TSMC indicates 5nm process enter MP in 2020; Infineon acquires Cree’s Wolfspeed business; OPPO R9 reported to switch platform from MTK to QCT; Micron has announced its newest embedded SLC NAND flash optimized for the next generation of IoT and automotive applications; PureLiFi an alternative to Wi-Fi that uses modulating LED light as a way of sending data from one LiFi-equipped device to another; etc.
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Chipset |
| TSMC indicates that 5nm will enter mass production in 2020. (CN Beta, 163, iFeng, Design-Reuse, Digital Trends) |
| Infineon and Cree announced that Infineon has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Wolfspeed Power and RF division (“Wolfspeed”) of Cree. The deal also includes the related SiC wafer substrate business for power and RF power. The purchase price for this planned all-cash transaction is USD850 million. (CN Beta, Sohu, Yahoo, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s) |
| OPPO plans to sell 120-150 million units in 2017. OPPO R9 reportedly is going to change its platform from MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755) to Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (MSM8953) processor. (TechNews, C114, MK52) |
| Silicon Valley company Quanergy received USD1 billion Series B round of financing, led by Texas Instruments (TI). Chinese investors also involve in this series funding. Till now, Quanergy already received investments from Samsung Electronics, Tesla and TI. (EE Trend, Fortune, 163) |
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Memory |
| Micron Technology has announced its newest embedded SLC NAND flash optimized for the next generation of IoT and automotive applications. (Digitimes, press, EEPW) |
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Connectivity |
| PureLifi, the University of Edinburgh spin out that is developing what it calls ‘LiFi’ technology, an alternative to Wi-Fi that uses modulating LED light as a way of sending data from one LiFi-equipped device to another, has raised just over GBP7 million in Series B funding. (TechCrunch, PureLiFi)
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| The White House announced the Advanced Wireless Research Initiative, a group backed by USD400 million in investment that will work on research aimed to “maintain U.S. leadership and win the next generation of mobile technology” and specifically developing wireless networking tech that will offer speeds 100 times faster than the 4G and LTE networks that are being used today. (Engadget, TechCrunch, CN Beta, The White House) |
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Smartphones |
| Microsoft’s Windows marketing head, Yusef Medhi admitted that Windows 10 hitting 1 billion device mark will likely take longer than planned. (Kit Guru, ZDNet, Sina, 163) |
| Sony has confirmed that it is shutting down its Xperia Beta program, which was launched earlier this year to beta test the company’s official Marshmallow software. (GSM Arena, Xperia Blog, Ubergizmo, 163, IT Home)
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| 17 July is ‘World Emoji Day’ because it features on the ‘Calendar’ emoji. Twitter analysed how emojis are used around the world. The people of France and Italy live up to their romantic stereotypes, the Spanish prefer to flex their muscles while the British and Americans mainly seem to be weary. (Daily Mail, Washington Post, CN Beta)
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| Kyocera Hydro Shore is announced – 5.5” qHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, 5MP + 2MP cameras, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, Android 5.1, IP57 certified, 2160mAh battery, USD80. (Digital Trends, GSM Arena, Kyocera, CNET)
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Internet of Things |
| Samsung will reportedly invest CNY3 billion (USD448.2 million) in a Chinese electric carmaker, BYD. The investment is expected to forge a strategic partnership between Samsung, which also produces semiconductors and liquid-crystal displays for cars, and BYD. However, BYD officially denies this news. (Barron’s, blog, Korea Herald, Yahoo, Sina, 163) |
| Tesla Motors has been in talks with what will be South Korea’s largest shopping mall to set up a store, according to the shopping complex’s owner, Shinsegae Group. (CN Beta, Auto News, Hybrid Cars)
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| Honda Motor and SoftBank will co-develop a system that uses artificial intelligence to talk with drivers and offer information and recommendations tailored to their tastes. Connected cars are expected to make up a majority of passenger vehicles in 2030, with a projected 700 million on the road. (CN Beta, Sohu, Nikkei) |
| China’s Internet of Things (IoT) market could balloon to USD121.45 billion by the year 2022, according to Markets and Markets. (Read/Write, PR Newswire) |
