6-7: Spreadtrum new chipset production is reportedly having problem; MediaTek is having tight supply including MT6755 and MT6735; Mobile VR and dual-cam could become the killer apps for smartphones; etc.
Spreadtrum new chipset production is reportedly having problem; MediaTek is having tight supply including MT6755 and MT6735; Mobile VR and dual-cam could become the killer apps for smartphones; etc.
|
Chipset |
| Intel CEO Brian Krzanich indicates that Intel plans to deliver 10%-20% performance improvements with chips based on the 10nm and 7nm manufacturing processes. (CN Beta, PC World, Computer World) |
| Intel launched its Xeon Processor E5 v4 family of products, based on the Broadwell-EP core. They are fabricated using a 14nm process. Xeon E7 v4 series processors with up to 24 physical cores (48 threads). (CN Beta, eWeek, Hot Hardware, Digital Trends, Toms Hardware)
|
| Spreadtrum new chipset production is reportedly having problem, causing China local vendors acquiring chipsets from MediaTek, causing tight supply for mid-to-low chipsets, including MT6755 and MT6735. (East Day, TechNews, CSIA)
|
| Morgan Stanley’s analyst Charlie Chan indicates that the recent technology industry developments suggest that mobile VR and dual-cam could become the killer apps for smartphones. MediaTek generates USD20-25 ASP from its high-end chipset, which is around 2 times the mid-end chips at USD10 and 3 times the low-end chip at USD7. (Barron’s, press) |
| TSMC is expected to enjoy full utilization of 16nm process production capacity through September. TSMC has landed orders for graphics chips, mobile processors and virtual reality (VR) chips for use in non-Apple devices. (China Times, Digitimes, press) |
|
Touch Display |
| China-based makers will ship an estimated 180.322 million touch panels in 2Q16, increasing 16.6% on quarter and 9.8% on year, according to Digitimes Research. The shipments will consist of 157.732 million touch panels used in handsets. (Digitimes, press, FPDisplay)
|
| LG Electronics unveiled a plan aimed at tripling volume sales of OLED televisions in 2016 to more than 900,000 units. The global market in 2015 was just 335,000 units, of which more than 90% were LG products. (TechNews, Nikkei) |
| Small- to medium-size LCD module (LCM) maker Star World Technology focuses on LTPS applications for high-end smartphones and will extend to tablets, 2-in-1 notebooks and VR devices, according to company chairman Hsu Ting-chen. (Digitimes, press) |
|
Battery |
| Four Intel representatives resigned their posts at the AirFuel Alliance, an industry group that was formed to push wireless charging standards. At the same time, it is rumored Intel has been laying off staff who work in wireless charging business in Shanghai and US. (CN Beta, My Drivers, Forbes, Fortune, Sina) |
|
Connectivity |
| AT&T Labs announce reaching 10Gbps in 5G trials as they make their team-up with Nokia an official hardware partner. (CN Beta, PC Mag, Slash Gear) |
|
Smartphones |
| In its annual emerging market consumer survey, Credit Suisse with the help of Nielsen, interviewed 16,000 people in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. Weak markets, weak currencies and lower expectations hurt emerging market sentiment. Smartphones shows the weakest spending intention momentum (from 2014 till 2015) of all. (199IT, Credit Suisse, report, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s)
|
| A survey by Creative Strategies found that while almost all American Apple iPhone users have at least tried Siri, only 3% have ever used it in public. It seems users are still uncomfortable talking to their devices. Even more fascinating is this happens in the US where consumers are accustomed to talking loudly on phones in public. (CN Beta, PC Mag, 9to5Mac, Creative Strategies) |
| Indian government is reportedly may allow Apple to open its own retail outlets in the country without any sourcing requirement for 2-3 years as it tries to work out an arrangement under which Apple will agree to local purchases once it gets a stronger toehold in the country. (Apple Insider, Times of India, iFeng, 163) |
| ZTE Blade A2 is officially launched – 5” HD display, MediaTek MT6750 processor, 13MP PDAF + 5MP cameras, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, LTE, dual-SIM, 3D fingerprint recognition, 2500mAh battery, from CNY599. (CN Beta, Phone Arena, Times News)
|
| Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is official – 5.1” QHD Super AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 processor, 12MP PDAF OIS + 5MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 6.0, LTE, fingerprint sensor, IP68 certified, 4000mAh battery, USD795. (USA Today, Engadget, ZDNet, AnandTech)
|
|
Tablets |
| Acer CEO Jason Chen has noted that current strategy is to devote 70% of its efforts to core businesses, 20% to core-related businesses and 10% to long-term investments. This means that Acer will continue to have a strong focus on the PC business. (Digitimes, press) |
|
Internet of Things |
| McKinsey&Company has conducted a survey in March 2016 with 3500 Chinese consumers. The change of the Chinese consumer’s attitudes and slowdown of economy, the car industry in China is slowing down. From 2010 till 2015, car sales growth exceeds 12% every year, but in 2020 onwards, it seems the growth will reduce to merely 5%. (199IT, report)
|
| Prophix is a new USD400 toothbrush that has a built-in camera for capturing images of teeth and gums. It has a built in HD camera that can shoot 10MP photos and 1080p video. (CN Beta, Engadget, Peta Pixel)
|
| Acer Jibo robot project led by MIT Media Lab will start shipping in October. The robot was originally planned for mass production in the 1H16, but the schedule has been changed to allow for improvements on the robot. The selling price of the robot has also been raised from USD599 to USD749. (Digitimes, press, Fudzilla, China Times)
|
| Hon Hai vice president Lu Fang-ming has expressed confidence in Pepper, which is built in collaboration with Japan Softbank. He has indicated that Pepper is analogous with Apple iPhone, which is first launched in 2007. (CN Beta, Feng, Taipei Times)
|
