9-19: MediaTek is considering launching Helio X35; Samsung is looking to invest heavily in its OLED business, which will squeeze capex on foundry; etc.
|
Chipset |
| To expand its coverage of products, after launching its Helio X30 using TSMC’s 10nm process, which will enter mass production end of 2016 / beginning of 2017, MediaTek is considering to launch Helio X35. (HC360, Woyoo, ETime, Sohu) |
| According to Digitimes, Samsung is looking to invest heavily in its OLED business, which will squeeze capex on its other operations particularly the foundry segment. Such move could put Samsung at a disadvantage when competing against TSMC in advanced technologies, the sources indicated. There is a chance of Qualcomm moving back to TSMC for 10nm. (Digitimes, press, CN Beta) |
|
Touch Display |
| TrendForce indicates that because high-end smartphone demand is lower than expected, low-end smartphone has become a popular choice for customers thanks to its high value for money. Under the tight-supply situation of panel, in Sept. 2016, 4” WVGA and 4.5” FWVGA panel costs have reached record high—the increase rate has exceeded 50%. (OfWeek, TrendForce[cn], press)
|
| LG Display is looking into a way of halting part G6 (P6) lines and producing additional OLEDs by either converting them into OLED lines or utilizing idle spaces. (ET News)
|
| LG Display OLED business has faced losses for 3 consecutive years – 2014 lose KRW149 billion (USD135 million), 2015 lose KRW561 billion. In 2016, LGD will continue to lose KRW400 billion, because LGD begins to shift from large-size OLED, and continue to invest, yet the sales has not increased yet. (52RD, 51Touch) |
| LeEco announces that some of its 4th generation LeTV models prices will increase CNY100~200. LeEco indicates in 2016 because of the increase of average cost of cutting the panel, Taiwan earthquake, and the tight-supply in upstream supply chain, the costs of panel have increased, which have exceeded LeEco capability of subsidizing with its ecosystem. (CN Beta, 163) |
| Apple iPhone 7 new Home button requires physical contact with human skin or a capacitive surface in order to function, spelling trouble for winter if wearing gloves. Ubergzimo, GSM Arena, 9to5Mac, 163, ZOL) |
| As China’s biggest LCD panel maker, BOE has stopped investing in new LCD projects, but turning to OLED looking for a bigger business opportunity. (163, 51Touch) |
|
Camera |
| SK Hynix plans to fabricate 13MP CMOS image sensor chips at its M10 300mm wafer fab line, located in Icheon, Korea, starting from 2017. Until now, it had been producing memories such as D-RAM and NAND-Flash from 300mm factories while producing non-memory semiconductors from 200mm factory. (iTer News, F4News, EXP Review, SanWen8, ET News) |
|
Battery |
| Samsung Electronics will begin rolling out replacements of the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea and the US. From Oct 2016, Samsung Electronics service centers will handle the replacement procedures, according to SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus. (Korea Herald, People) |
|
Memory |
| According to IHS Markit, Samsung gained a 11.3% market share in the global market for integrated device manufacturers, including memory and non-memory chip companies, chip design houses, and foundries, in 2Q16. The figure is the second highest, behind US chip powerhouse Intel, which attained 14.7% market share. (Yonhap News, Korea Herald, CN Beta)
|
|
Connectivity |
| In “17th Wireless China Industry Summit 2016”, the big 3 operators have released their own 5G timetable, aiming to commercialize 5G by 2020. A planning titled “Nationwide Wireless Management Plan (2016-2020)” has been released by Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). In the planning, it states the basic commitment of providing sufficient band resources, and by 2020, the country will have more than 500MHz baseband ready. (CN Beta, 163, iFeng, MIIT)
|
|
Smartphones |
| Samsung Electronics announced it has sold stakes in several companies to raise money, which is allegedly USD891 million—include 4.5% in Rambus, 4.2% in Seagate, 6.3 million shares in ASML and 0.7% stake in Sharp. (Phone Arena, Bloomberg, Fortune, ZOL, Sina) |
| In an open letter to the leaders of the 28 European Union countries, the Business Roundtable group defended Apple over its tax dispute with the European commission. US businesses have warned European leaders they risk a “grievous self-inflicted wound” unless they overturn Brussels’ demand that Apple pay the Irish government EUR13 billion. (CN Beta, The Guardian, Forbes) |
| OPPO, which had its shipments impeded partially by tight supply of flat panels recently, has continued to ramp up its orders for parts and components, particularly panel products, as it still aims to ship 100 million smartphones in 2016, according to Digitimes. (Digitimes, press, Laoyaoba) |
|
Wearables |
| Chinese smart wristband maker Huami Technology, which makes the Xiaomi Mi Band fitness tracker as a manufacturing partner, is reportedly seeking a new round of financing on a USD1 billion valuation. (CN Beta, China Money Network, Financial Times) |
|
Internet of Things |
| The China-backed Hikvision has sold more than 1 million closed-circuit television cameras and recorders to UK clients, which have been used in airports, stadiums and the London Tube. It is estimated that by the end of 2016, 1.27 million Hikvision cameras will be in Britain, or 14% of the British video surveillance market. (The Sun, IB Times, CN Beta, The Times) |
| Lyft has laid out its plan dubbed “third transportation revolution”—the first phase by 2017, semi-autonomous cars will be made available to Lyft users, but will only drive along fixed routes; the second phase, the self-driving cars in the fleet will navigate more than just the fixed routes; and the third phase in 2021~2022, all Lyft rides will be completed by a fully autonomous car. (CN Beta, Gizmodo, The Verge, Recode, Business Insider)
|
| By 2020 250 million TV viewers around the world will be ready to watch shows using the latest technology known as High Dynamic Range (HDR). According to Strategy Analytics, annual worldwide sales of HDR-enabled TVs in 2020 will reach 58 million units, bringing the number of homes with at least one HDR-enabled TV to 107 million. Penetration of HDR TVs will reach nearly 25% of homes in the US. (199IT, Strategy Analytics, press) |
| Yi Technology has officially released the Yi M1 Mirrorless camera. It comes with M4/3 Mirrorless setup with Sony IMX269 sensor with 20.16MP. It features a mechanical shutter, super fast continuous shooting, RAW support, 4K Video shooting and ISO up to 25600. Priced from CNY2199. (Gizmo China, DoNews, Leiphone)
|
| Customer relationship management (CRM) giant Salesforce has unveiled its plan for more accessible, natively integrated AI for businesses today with the announcement of Salesforce Einstein, its “AI for CRM” technology. (CN Beta, USA Today, Fortune, Bloomberg, PC Mag) |
