IF / News

In Mar 2021, ARM introduced the Armv9 architecture, the successor to the 10-year-old Armv8 technology. The company has introduced the first CPU designs based on the new architecture. Cortex-X2 promises a 30% performance increase over the first-generation Cortex-X1. Cortex-A710 CPU is the first “big” CPU based on Armv9, promising a 30% improvement in energy efficiency.  (Neowin, ARM, GSM Arena)

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon Developer Kit, an ARM-based PC reference design meant for testing Microsoft Windows 10 apps. This developer kit provides an affordable alternative to other consumer and commercial devices. This dev kit will also help developers test Microsoft’s new x64 app emulation for Windows on ARM. (The Verge, Neowin, CN Beta)

Phone vendors have reportedly started to lower their orders for 5G components. In 2Q21, the momentum of pulling goods fell by 10%-30% compared with 1Q21, mainly reflecting that demand is not as expected. As demand has cooled faster than expected, but the tight supply of upstream ICs has gradually eased, the original boom in short supply of related chips will also fade, affecting the subsequent development of semiconductor, electronic foundry and component factories. (UDN, UDN, Laoyaoba, IT Home)

IC Insights lists top-15 worldwide semiconductor (IC and O S D—optoelectronic, sensor, and discrete) sales ranking for 1Q21. The top-15 semiconductor companies’ sales surged by 21% in 1Q21 compared to 1Q20, reaching USD101.863B.  14 of the top-15 companies had semiconductor sales of at least USD3.0B in 1Q21. (IC Insights, Laoyaoba)

Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide are on track to boost 200mm fab capacity by 950,000 wafers, or 17%, from 2020 through 2024 to reach a record high of 6.6M wafers per month, according to SEMI. 200mm fab equipment spending is expected to reach nearly USD4B in 2021 after passing the USD3B mark in 2020 and hovering between USD2B-3B from 2012 to 2019.  (Laoyaoba, SEMI.org, SEMI.org)

E Ink has announced the launch of the world’s first On-Cell Touch ePaper module. This new On-Cell touch ePaper module supports both the E Ink Kaleido Plus Print Color technology platform and the E Ink Carta black and white ePaper technology platform. (Liliputing, Business Wire, IT Home)

Visionox has released a flexible AMOLED notebook solution. The solution is equipped with a 14” flexible AMOLED display, which integrates flexible display, camera under display, extremely narrow bezel, 120Hz high refresh rate and other light and thin integrated performance. (Laoyaoba, Sohu, 163)

Google has deployed its first all-electric Street View car, which is a Jaguar I-Pace fitted with a mobile air-sensing platform for gathering data on the city’s air quality over the next 12 months. Created by environmental intelligence company Aclima, the technology’s sensors can measure and analyze pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, fine particulate matter, and ozone, which at high levels can harm not only the climate but also human health. (Digital Trends, The Verge, 9to5Google, IT Home, Sina)

USB-IF’s upgrade to the USB-C standard will accommodate levels of up to 240W. The jump in maximum power is more than double today’s 100W capacity. The new 240W option is called Extended Power Range (EPR). (The Verge, CNET, USB.org, Sohu, My Drivers)

According to the patent registration records of the State Intellectual Property Office, vivo has received a batch of network and wireless communication patents from Ericsson. In Feb 2020, this company has just acquired a number of patents in the field of communications and related technologies from Nokia. (I-AM, Laoyaoba)

Honor CEO, Zhao Ming, has indicated that the brand will be focusing on the smartphone field rather than joining the recent trend of working on cars. (CN Beta, Gizmo China, IT Home)

Netflix is allegedly planning to get into gaming, possibly with the launch of a suite of downloadable games in 2022. Netflix would consist of a mix of licensed Netflix intellectual property and original work commissioned from independent studios, offered to existing Netflix subscribers. (Apple Insider, Axios, The Information, 36Kr)

Google’s long-in-development, from-scratch operating system, Fuchsia, is now running on real Made by Google devices, namely, the first-generation Nest Hub. An update is beginning to roll out to owners of the first-generation Nest Hub, first released in 2018. This update will not change any of the functionality of the Nest Hub, but under the hood, the smart display will be running Fuchsia OS instead of the Linux-based “Cast OS” it used before. (CN Beta, The Verge, 9to5Google)

Founder of Huawei Technologies Ren Zhengfei has called on the company’s staff to “dare to lead the world” in software as the company seeks growth beyond the hardware operations that U.S. sanctions have crippled. Huawei is clearly trying to diversify its business since the hardware has taken a massive hit in the past 2 years. (GSM Arena, Reuters, Reuters)

A US court has now issued a final order vacating Xiaomi’s designation as a Communist Chinese Military Company. According to a filing in the US courts the US Department of Defense has now affirmed that a final order removing Xiaomi from the deny list “would be appropriate”. (Engadget, Mi.com, Android Authority, Bloomberg, CN Beta)

Tecno Spark 7 Pro is announced in India – 6.6” 720×1600 HD+ HiD 90Hz, MediaTek Helio G80, rear tri 48MP-2MP depth-AI lens + front 8MP, 4+64 / 6+64GB, Android 11.0, rear fingerprint, 5000mAh 10W, INR9,999 (USD137) / INR10,999 (USD151).  (Gizmo China, NDTV, 91Mobiles)

Coolpad Cool 20 is official in China – 6.52” 720×1600 HD+ v-notch, MediaTek Helio G80, rear dual 48MP-AI portrait lens + front 5MP, 4+64 / 4+128 / 6+128GB, Android 11.0, no fingerprint scanner, 4500mAh, CNY699 (USD109) / CNY899 (USD140) / CNY1,099 (USD171).  (Gizmo China, Yahoo)

realme Narzo 30 5G is launched in Europe – 6.5” 1080×2400 FHD+ HiD IPS LCD 90Hz, MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G, rear tri 48MP-2MP macro-2MP depth + front 16MP, 4+128GB, Android 11.0, side fingerprint, 5000mAh 18W, EUR219. (GSM Arena, realme)

Facebook has announced the launch of the PyTorch Enterprise Support Program, which enables service providers to develop and offer tailored enterprise-grade support to their customers. Facebook says the new offering, built in collaboration with Microsoft, was created in direct response to feedback from PyTorch enterprise users developing models in production for mission-critical apps. (CN Beta, Neowin, VentureBeat)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE  with 5G support is announced in Germany – 12.4” 2560×1600 LCD 60Hz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G, rear 8MP + front 5MP, 4+64GB, Android 11.0, 10090mAh 45W, S-Pen included, EUR649. (GSM Arena, Samsung)

Lenovo Pad Pro 2021 is launched in China – 11.5” 2560×1600 OLED 90Hz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, rear dual 13MP-5MP + front 8MP-ToF, 6+128GB, Android 11.0, side fingerprint, 8400mAh 20W, 4 JBL speakers, 2 microphones, CNY2,499 (USD390).  (Liliputing, IT Home)

Lenovo Yoga Pad Pro is announced in China – 13” 2160×1350 LTPS LCD supporting HDR10 / Dolby vision, Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, front 8MP-3D ToF for face recognition, 8+256GB, Android 11.0, 10000mAh Quick Charging 4, 4 JBL 9W speakers supporting Dolby Atmos, CNY3,300 (USD515). (Engadget, GSM Arena, MyFixGuide)

Lenovo Pad Plus is announced in China – 11” 1200×2000 2K LCD, Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G, rear 13MP + front 8MP-ToF, 6+128GB, Android 11.0, 7700mAh Quick Charge 3.0, 4 1.5W JBL speakers with Dolby Atmos, CNY1,599 (USD250).  (Gizmo China, GizChina, IT Home)

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool being developed by Duke scientists can be added to the standard toilet to help analyze patients’ stool and give gastroenterologists the information they need to provide appropriate treatment for chronic issues such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). To develop the artificial intelligence image analysis tool for the Smart Toilet, researchers analyzed 3,328 unique stool images found online or provided by research participants.  (CN Beta, Duke Today, Eureka Alert)

Beijing has greenlighted JD.com, Meituan and Neolix to trial self-driving delivery vehicles on designated public roads in the Yizhuang Development Area, an economic and technological growth pilot initiated by the municipal government of the capital city. All three companies are using dainty box-on-wheels vehicles similar to those of Nuro to shuffle goods around. (TechCrunch, Sina, 163)

Germany has adopted legislation that will allow driverless vehicles on public roads by 2022, laying out a path for companies to deploy robotaxis and delivery services in the country at scale. The bill, has been passed the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, specifically looks at vehicles with Level 4 autonomy. Level 4 autonomy is a designation by the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) that means the computer handles all the driving in certain conditions or environments. In Germany, these vehicles will be limited to geographic areas. (CN Beta, DW, TechCrunch)

Volkswagen has received a EUR7.5B (USD9.2B) offer for Lamborghini. The company has asserted that it is “not for sale”. Quantum Group AG is represented in the acquisition offer for Lamborghini by Rea Stark. (CN Beta, Auto Car, Reuters)

Peng Peng, VP of Huawei’s smart electric field, revealed that in the future, Huawei may have a deeper cooperation with Midea’s Welling in smart electric and other fields; and Midea has also said that there is currently no car chip plan. (Laoyaoba, Sohu, Sina, Caixing Global)