2024-04-18
Source: Global TMT 2024-04-17 12:31 Tianjin Daily
Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Tuesday after visiting Vietnam, where he met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. He also plans to open an academy for Apple developers in Bali. "We talked about the aspirations of the country's manufacturing sector, which is something we will consider," Cook said. Apple does not have a manufacturing plant in Indonesia but has established four Apple Developer Academies.
Apple is actively negotiating with two Indian giants, Murugappa Group and Tata Group's Titan Company, aiming to assemble and produce iPhone camera module sub-components. Apple is expected to finalize and announce this important partnership within five to six months. As one of the core components of the iPhone, the camera module has been a challenge for Apple in India. Although Apple has successfully assembled several iPhone models in India, it has been unable to find a local supplier for camera modules.
According to the latest report from DSCC, a supply chain consulting firm specializing in screens, shipments of OLED smartphones increased by 41% in the second half of 2023 compared to the first half of the year. As a result, the annual shipments of OLED smartphones achieved a year-on-year growth of 12%. Among them, Apple led the market in 2023 with a 36% share of OLED smartphone shipments and a significant 56% share of OLED smartphone revenue. It is estimated that in 2024, as brands seek lower-cost suppliers, the average selling price of OLED panels will further decline.
Huawei has confirmed that its new imaging flagship model will be named the Pura series, with the new model most likely being the Pura 70 series. Yu Chengdong stated, "Pura 70 can be seen as P70, and there will be good news in a couple of days." Channel sources indicate that Huawei will offer four models: Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, Pura 70 Pro+, and Pura 70 Art. Currently, offline distribution has begun, with all models offering 12GB of memory. The Pura 70 demo unit has not yet arrived, and the specific time for it to be put on shelves is still unclear. Both stores and shops are waiting for official channel announcements. Some store staff said, "We can currently accept blind bookings, but the specific time of listing and arrival is uncertain."
Ralf Groene, a heavyweight figure in Microsoft's hardware design field and the head of the Surface design team, has announced his retirement. Groene played a significant role in Microsoft's journey, being one of the main drivers of the Microsoft Surface computer series. His design philosophy, which began with the launch of the first-generation Surface RT tablet in 2012, has become one of the hallmark features of the entire Surface series of devices.
Samsung Electronics, once a giant in the electronics industry thanks to its leader's decision-making ability and diligent corporate culture, can now only look at Apple and TSMC from behind. Samsung's stagnation seems to reflect the current state of the Korean economy. In the competition for promotion, directors are pursuing short-term results, lacking a culture that allows frontline technicians to settle down and challenge research and development. Samsung has also suffered from "big company disease." Some technicians have given up on such a Samsung and switched to competitor SK Hynix. Samsung is filled with elites who are too afraid of failure, and there has been a huge shake-up within Samsung due to misjudgments about the AI boom. The once-dominant memory king is no longer calm.
Samsung Electronics will produce the latest generation of semiconductors in the United States two years ahead of its competitor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), further advancing President Biden's efforts to bring advanced chip production to the US. The South Korean chipmaker will produce 2-nanometer microchips at a new wafer fabrication plant it is building in Taylor, Texas. This will be part of a $40 billion investment that includes microprocessor manufacturing, advanced chip packaging, and research and development work.
Samsung announced that it has developed its first LPDDR5X DRAM supporting up to 10.7 Gigabits per second (Gbps), utilizing 12-nanometer (nm) class process technology to achieve the smallest chip size among Samsung's existing LPDDRs. Compared to Samsung's previous generation products, the 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X not only improves performance by more than 25% and capacity by more than 30% but also expands the single-package capacity of mobile DRAM to 32GB. The 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X is an ideal solution for future edge artificial intelligence and will begin mass production in the second half of this year.
AMD has released a series of new chips for artificial intelligence personal computers to expand its share in the lucrative AI PC market. Its latest Ryzen PRO 8040 series is designed for commercial notebooks and mobile workstations, while the AMD Ryzen PRO 8000 series is a desktop processor for enterprise users. Among them, the Ryzen PRO 8000 series is the world's first commercial desktop AI platform. These chips are expected to be launched on HP and Lenovo platforms starting in the second quarter of 2024.
Kioxia Holdings plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as early as October, despite some executives hoping to restart merger negotiations with Western Digital. The NAND flash memory pioneer is prioritizing a separate listing to take advantage of the soaring chip-related stocks in Japan. Kioxia may reconsider a deal with Western Digital after the IPO. Last year, merger negotiations between Kioxia and Western Digital fell through, partly due to opposition from SK Hynix, an indirect shareholder of Kioxia, which stated that the deal undervalued its stake.
According to data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Amazon's Prime subscription service reached a new high of 180 million US shoppers in March, an increase of 8% compared to the same period last year. US consumers pay Amazon an annual Prime subscription fee of 140or15 per month, which includes shipping discounts and advertising-supported Prime video streaming services. The company has been tracking Amazon members since 2014.
Video game developer Take-Two Interactive Software will lay off about 5% of its staff and cancel several games in development, aiming to save about $165 million per year. The plan, which has been approved by the board of directors, also requires seeking "efficiency" across the business and improving profit margins. As of March 2023, it had 11,580 full-time employees worldwide. Based on this calculation, the layoffs will affect about 580 employees.
Shares of Trump's social media company have cooled, and his unexpected windfall of more than 3billionevaporatedinthefirstthreeweeksoftrading.TruthSocial′ssharepricehasdroppedbyabout609 billion. On Monday, the stock closed down 18% to 26.61,withamarketcapitalizationofabout3.6 billion. Truth Social plans to launch a live TV streaming platform in phases, with the first phase being the launch of Truth Social's Content Delivery Network (CDN) for streaming live TV on Android, iOS, and web applications.
British telecom giant Vodafone has appointed Marika Auramo as CEO of Vodafone Business, effective July 1. Before joining Vodafone, she served as Chief Commerce Officer for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at SAP.
Compal Electronics has officially announced its list of director nominees for the upcoming board election at this year's shareholder meeting. A total of 15 director candidates have been nominated, and the current chairman, Hsu Sheng-Hsiung, is not included in the list. In response, the company stated, "Compal Electronics will officially launch its succession plan," and the new chairman is expected to be elected after the board election at the regular shareholders' meeting on May 31.
Exyte, a leading global company in the design, engineering, and delivery of high-tech facilities, has announced plans to acquire Kinetics Group, a leading global provider of installation services, equipment, and technical facility management. Exyte and investment firm Quadriga Capital have reached an acquisition agreement, with transaction details and purchase price remaining confidential. Kinetics focuses on providing solutions for the biopharmaceutical and semiconductor industries and achieved revenues of over 500 million euros in 2023. Through the acquisition of Kinetics, Exyte will expand into the field of technical facility management. Kinetics will be integrated into Exyte's Technology and Services (T&S) business unit. The acquisition is pending regulatory approval.