IF / News

Intel is aiming to ship 100M units of AI PC, what it calls computers powered by its AI processors, by 2025, a 150% jump from its goal by 2025 of 40M units. Intel Sales & Marketing Group Director Jack Huang said most of these PCs shipping next year will be based on the US company’s Meteor Lake, which launched late last year and has shipped 20M units in 2024. The 100M units include desktop and laptop and notebook will account for 75% to 85% of that figure, the director said. Besides Meteor Lake, these PCs will also be powered by Lunar Lake, Arrow Lake-S, Arrow Lake-H, HX and U, he said. Besides Meteor Lake, these PCs will also be powered by Lunar Lake, Arrow Lake-S, Arrow Lake-H, HX and U, he said. Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake-S launched in South Korea last week and they are codenames for Intel Core Ultra 200V (for notebooks) and Intel Core Ultra 200S (for desktops), respectively. (CN Beta, The Elec, UDN)

Apple iPhone SE 4 that is set to come out early 2025 is expected to debut Apple’s first in-house 5G modem, according to Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu. Apple’s in-house modem will then be joined by a secondary Apple-made Wi-Fi 7 chip in the iPhone 17 Pro in 2H25. Pu has previously said that iPhone 17 Pro models in 2025 will be equipped with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi 7 chip, which matches his latest expectations for adoption. Pu believes that both custom modem and Wi-Fi 7 chips will achieve majority adoption in iPhones by 2027.  (CN Beta, MacRumors)

At least one Apple iPhone 17 model launching in 2025 will be equipped with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi 7 chip, according to TF Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo. Broadcom currently supplies over 300M Wi-Fi + BT chips (hereafter referred to as Wi-Fi chips) per year to Apple. However, Apple will rapidly reduce its reliance on Broadcom. With new products in 2H25 (e.g., iPhone 17), Apple plans to use its own Wi-Fi chips, which will be made by TSMC’s N7 process and support the latest Wi-Fi 7 spec. Apple expects to move nearly all products to in-house Wi-Fi chips within about 3 years. (MacRumors, Twitter)

Samsung is expanding its use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors in its Galaxy flagship phones, while its own Exynos processors are primarily utilized in mid- to low-end smartphones, tablets, and home appliances. However, Exynos processors may no longer be used even in home appliances, as Samsung is reported considering installing Qualcomm’s processors in these devices. Samsung needs to install expensive Qualcomm processors in the Galaxy S25 series of smartphones set to launch in 2025, it plans to actively use Qualcomm products in home appliances to achieve related cost efficiencies. According to Yoo Mi-young, Vice President and Head of the Software Development Team in the Digital Appliances (DA) Division, Samsung is currently developing new products aimed at launching home appliances that utilize large-scale language models, or edge computing, in 2025. Additionally, Samsung is working on its own low-power, high-performance neural network processing unit chip. (CN Beta, TrendForce, SamMobile, SEDaily)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has reportedly notified Chinese chip design companies that it is suspending production of their most advanced AI chips. TSMC has told Chinese customers it would no longer manufacture AI chips at advanced process nodes of 7nm or smaller. The U.S. has imposed a raft of measures aimed at restricting the shipment of advanced GPU chips, which enable AI, to China to hobble its artificial intelligence capabilities, which Washington fears could be used to develop bioweapons and launch large-scale cyberattacks. Earlier Nov 2024, the U.S. imposed a USD500,000 penalty on New York-based GlobalFoundries for shipping chips without authorization to an affiliate of blacklisted Chinese chipmaker SMIC. (Android Headlines, Financial Times, Reuters)

TSMC has made adjustments to its foundry quotations for 2025 to clients to alleviate the effects of gross margin losses caused by high operating costs in overseas facilities and 2nm deployment costs, according to Digitimes. Clients may also access the foundry’s quotes for 2nm process manufacturing, which is scheduled to commence in 4Q25. TSMC’s advanced manufacturing and packaging technologies are progressing, and the deployment costs of 2nm are beginning to affect the foundry’s gross margin performance. In light of inflationary pressures and the elevated expenses associated with constructing offshore fabs, TSMC has notified customers of a potential price increase of up to 10% in 2025. The adjustments will primarily target the foundry’s advanced 5nm, 4nm, and 3nm process manufacturing. The proposed increases exceed earlier estimates of 4%, reaching up to 10% based on factors including client relationship, product type, order volume, and manufacturing capabilities. (Digitimes, Digitimes, CN Beta)

The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Corning may have abused its dominant position on the worldwide market for a special type of glass that is mainly used to protect the screens of handheld electronic devices, such as mobile phones. The European Commission’s antitrust probe aims to identify whether Corning exploited its market position to sign exclusive supply agreements with smartphone makers and companies that process raw glass to the detriment of competitors. The agreements may have forced smartphone makers to source “all or nearly all” of their protective glass from Corning, offering rebates for compliance and requiring manufacturers to report competitive offers. Corning’s agreements with raw glass processors allegedly included similar exclusivity obligations and no-challenge clauses that prevented them from challenging Corning’s patents. (Android Authority, European Commission, MacRumors)

Tecno unveils “Universal Tone”, which is an AI-Powered multi-skin tone imaging technology that integrates the industry’s newest spectral database and insights. It is built upon a unique 268-skin tone database. The database, claimed to be developed in collaboration with color science experts, categorizes skin tones with scientific precision. Tecno positions its Universal Tone technology as a meaningful step toward a more inclusive society. (Gizmo China, PR Newswire, Tecno)

Apple and Masimo are back in a California court for a bench trial that will see Masimo arguing that Apple illegally poached its employees and stole trade secrets when developing the Apple Watch. Masimo first filed the trade secret lawsuit against Apple in 2020, and there was a jury trial in April 2023. During that trial, the court threw out more than half of Masimo’s trade secret claims, but the judge ultimately declared a mistrial because the jury was not able to come to a final decision. Six of seven jurors sided with Apple, while one Masimo holdout would not change her opinion. Apple and Masimo were slated to retry the case with another jury, but Masimo abandoned all claims asking for monetary compensation in order to get a bench trial instead. Masimo originally requested USD1.85B in damages, along with reasonable royalties, lost profits, and a penalty for wilful trade secret appropriation. (MacRumors, CN Beta)

Huawei has officially announced HarmonyOS Next. This marks Huawei’s first operating system built independently of Android as it aims to transition its devices to an entirely in-house OS. It will work across a broad range of devices ranging from smartphones to wearables, smart home devices and car cockpits. HarmonyOS Next uses a self-developed microkernel based on the OpenHarmony open-source core. It supports apps via the Huawei Ark compiler with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) and promises a seamless unified architecture between HarmonyOS Next devices, the cloud as well as interconnectivity across various device form factors. Huawei Consumer Business Group Chairman, Richard Yu announced that 15,000 apps and services are now part of the HarmonyOS Next ecosystem with more on the way. The previous versions of HarmonyOS are currently running on over 1B devices globally. This figure includes smartphones, tablets, smart wearables, smart home and car infotainment systems. (Phone Arena, Light Reading, GSM Arena, Huawei)

Xiaomi debuted its latest Android 15-based operating system called HyperOS 2, designed to make everyday tasks easier by creating a smooth link between smartphones, TVs, wearables, cars, and home devices. The backbone of HyperOS 2 is Xiaomi HyperCore, a new system platform built from the ground up. Xiaomi has made changes to improve how the system handles tasks, manages memory, and processes inputs, all with the goal of making devices run faster and more efficiently. Xiaomi’s graphic uses a method called heterogeneous computing, which splits tasks across different types of processors. This will give users smoother visuals, especially when playing games or watching videos. Xiaomi has also worked on improving the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 5G connections on its devices, ensuring users stay connected without sudden drops. Xiaomi HyperConnect allows different Xiaomi devices to sync easily with one another. Users will be able to switch between their phone, TV, or smartwatch without interruption. File transfers are now 33% faster, while latency issues—like delays in signal transmission—have been reduced by 54%. (Gizmo China, Xiaomi, IT Home)

Apple will invest USD10M in a new factory in Bandung. The investment will reportedly be made alongside Apple’s local supplier, Yageo Corporation, with the new facility dedicated to building accessories and components for Apple devices. Apple has submitted its proposal to the Indonesian Ministry of Industry and is awaiting clearance on its device ban. Apple is not  the only company facing troubles in Indonesia, as Google was also banned from selling its Pixel 9 series for not complying with the 40% local content rule. (Neowin, GSM Arena, Bloomberg)

Samsung will reportedly add a mysterious 4th model to the Galaxy S25 series and that this smartphone will be thinner compared to the other Galaxy S25 models. The mysterious Galaxy S25 model with the model number “SM-S937” will be announced in 2Q25. The device is expected to be “thinner” than the rest of the upcoming S25 cast and battle against Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 “Air”. A previous database listing showcased SM-S931, SM-S936, and SM-S938 for the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra. (GSM Arena, ET News, Android Central, Smartprix)

According to Counterpoint Research, shipments of ODM outsourced design smartphones in 1H24 increased by 6% YoY. The proportion of total smartphone shipments was 41%. Smartphone brands are selling not only their own in-house designed products but also finished products manufactured by original design manufacturers (ODMs) through specialized outsourcing companies under their own brands, and this proportion is gradually increasing. Low-priced smartphone models are the main models, and ODM product shipments also grew in 1H24 as Chinese companies such as Xiaomi increased their shipments in the global low- to mid-priced market. During the period when Samsung reduced its ODM manufacturing, its share in the global low- to mid-priced smartphone market under USD250 also fell from 24% in 1H22 to 18% in 1H24. (Gizmo China, Counterpoint Research)

Worldwide tablet shipments grew 20.4% in 3Q24, totalling 39.6M units, according to IDC. The dismal 2023 market makes for easy year-over-year comparisons, but optimism is growing on the supply side of the industry which is a win overall. Apple shipped 12.6M units, with a modest growth of 1.4% year over year in the quarter. Back to school season helped boost sales for the newly launched iPad Air model. The new iPad Pro performed below expectations as their prices are too steep and unattractive in emerging markets. Samsung had a great 3Q24 with 7.1M shipments and YoY growth of 18.3%. They launched more premium tablets during the quarter with the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S10+ with AI features. In 3Q24, their low-end Galaxy A9 models drove their sales across most regions. Commercial deployments also played a key role in driving shipments for Samsung. (GSM Arena, IDC)

Samsung is allegedly developing second generation of Galaxy Ring. It is going to arrive sooner than initially planned. It will boast better battery life than the original, and it will also be thinner. It will apparently have some new features too. (GSM Arena, Naver)

itel smart ring is recently spotted on Indonesia’s Telecom SDPPI (Directorate General of Resources and Equipment Standardization for Post and Informatics), along with an associated app listed on the Play Store. The involvement of itel’s parent company, Transsion, indicates that related brands like Tecno and Infinix might also be planning their own smart rings in the near future. The smart ring is designed for Android compatibility and could include several key health and fitness features. One notable feature is a “Physical Recovery score”, which estimates the body’s readiness for physical activity based on data like calorie intake and sleep duration.(Phone Arena, 91Mobiles)

Sony has passed 65M units sold of its Playstation 5 (PS5) console. The number of PS5s that Sony has sold in 3Q24 is down from the same time in 2023 when the company sold about 1.1M more of the console. 2024 overall has seen a decline as well, with Sony reporting that by this time in 2023, it had sold 2M more units in total. Sony recently reported in Sept 2024 that it had surpassed 61.7M PS5s sold worldwide. (Android Headlines, Sony)

Samsung announced it is working with Google and Qualcomm on augmented reality (AR) devices in 2023. Samsung has recently filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent “the electronic device may be AR glasses and / or a head-mounted device”. It adds the device will not obscure real-world objects. In other words, Samsung could be designing AR glasses that overlay virtual content similar to Apple’s Vision Pro. The patent states that the device uses reference points in the virtual space relative to the real-world space for navigation and operation. Users can interact with these virtual images by touching or selecting them. (Andriod Headlines, 91Mobiles, WIPO)