During last year’s WWDC conference, Apple unveiled its first-ever head-mounted display product, the Vision Pro. At that time, the official statement mentioned a scheduled market release in early 2024, prompting speculation about the precise launch date of Vision Pro.

According to Chinese media outlet “Wall Street” citing information from supply chain sources, Vision Pro is expected to be launched in the United States on January 27. However, some media outlets have suggested that the mentioned “January 27” is likely in China time, translating to January 26 in U.S. time, as Apple rarely introduces new products on Saturdays.

However, Bloomberg Chief Correspondent Mark Gurman pointed out that Apple has experience launching new products on Saturdays, citing the initial iPad release. Gurman acknowledged that January 26 is indeed a date heard recently from several Chinese supply chain sources.

Regardless of the official release date for Vision Pro, current rumors align with the earlier predictions of TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who anticipated Vision Pro to hit shelves at the end of January or early February.

Additionally, Gurman reiterated on his own X platform that Apple plans to launch the retail version of Vision Pro in February.

(Image: Apple)

Recent revelations from South Korean source yeux1122 indicate that LG Display (LGD) holds a higher share than Samsung Display in the supply of OLED screens for Apple’s new iPad Pro.

The leak suggests that LGD is planning to commence mass production of OLED screens for Apple’s iPad Pro in February 2024, with an estimated annual output ranging from 6.2 to 6.5 million screens.

Currently, Apple’s iPad Pro series products utilize LCD and mini-LED display screens. However, it is anticipated that in 2024, Apple will introduce an OLED version of the iPad Pro.

The leak also indicates that LGD has taken the lead by deploying a two-stack tandem structure and excelling in the supply of organic material devices compared to the Samsung camp.

On the other hand, Samsung faced several yield-related challenges during the supply process, but most of these issues have now been officially resolved. The initial estimate suggests that Samsung will supply around 4 million screens to Apple.

In fact, according to other industry sources, Apple already began discussions with two major suppliers, Samsung and LGD, regarding the OLED version supply for the iPad approximately 2-3 years ago, and set LGD’s supply volume to be larger than that of Samsung.

For the upcoming OLED iPad Pro models, the screen sizes are expected to slightly increase to 11 inches and 13 inches, with Wi-Fi and 5G models having the codenames J717, J718, J720, and J721.

Another rumor has previously revealed that the next iPad Pro, which is set to come out in 2024 as per the report, may support MagSafe wireless charging. The prototype has a glass Apple logo on the back, while the rest of the back remains aluminum. This design allows power to be transmitted through the glass logo without affecting the durability of the iPad.

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(Photo credit: Apple)

In 2019, the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei and over 70 of its subsidiaries, restricting China’s advancement in advanced chip development.

However, in August 2023, Huawei unexpectedly launched its new flagship smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro, featuring its self-developed 5G chip, hinting at Huawei’s breakthrough in the U.S. 5G chip restriction.

The release of this new smartphone swiftly dominated the high-end smartphone market in China, with Apple being the primary target. As Huawei plans to expand the market share of its high-end flagship series in 2024, targeting the domestic market in China, the product is poised for direct competition with Apple.

The performance of Apple’s smartphones in the Chinese market next year will be a focal point of industry attention.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)

Chinese iPhone assembly contractor Luxshare Precision is set to officially acquire the controlling stake of Pegaglobe (Kunshan), the iPhone assembly plant under Pegatron. This series of acquisitions will provide Luxshare with a stronger competitive advantage against Foxconn. Concurrently, Luxshare is reinforcing its component layout to enhance its capability to expand iPhone orders.

Following the acquisition of Wistron’s Jiangsu and Kunshan plant, Luxshare has now secured the controlling stake of Pegaglobe (Kunshan), a subsidiary of Pegatron. This marks another acquisition of China’s plants involved in manufacturing iPhone for Taiwanese companies.

According to UDN citing from industry insiders,  Luxshare’s acquisition of Pegaglobe (Kunshan) is likely to have received Apple’s approval. Luxshare has consecutively broken the pattern of iPhones being solely manufactured by Taiwanese companies, suggesting that Luxshare has the opportunity to reshape the landscape of iPhone manufacturing in the future.

Having acquired iPhone manufacturing plants in China from Wistron and Pegatron, Luxshare not only gains more market share in manufacturing but also expands its presence in the upstream iPhone component supply chain. This ongoing integration of upstream components enhances Luxshare’s capability to secure more iPhone orders.

In the past three years, Luxshare has been consistently acquiring iPhone-related supply chain entities. In July 2020, Luxshare’s subsidiary, Lizhen Precision (Jiangsu), acquired Wistron Investment (Jiangsu) and Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (Kunshan) for RMB 3.3 billion (approximately USD 467 million), marking the beginning of Luxshare’s acquisition of plants involved in iPhones assembly for Taiwanese companies.

Recently, Luxshare finalized an agreement with the global provider of connectivity and power solutions – Qorvo. Luxshare will acquire Qorvo’s testing and packaging facilities in Beijing and Dezhou, with the transaction expected to be completed in the first half of next year. This move is seen as Luxshare’s effort to build a more comprehensive iPhone component supply chain.

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(Photo credit: Luxshare)

Sony’s gaming console, the PlayStation 5, is showing robust sales momentum. According to Reuters, a senior games executive stated that the cumulative sales of PS5 have surpassed 50 million units, and this year’s “Black Friday” sales performance has also set an all-time record.

The entertainment giant is now counting on the PS5 to continue its strong performance during the year-end shopping season, aiming to achieve the record-breaking goal of 25 million units sold by the end of this fiscal year in March.

Eric Lempel, Senior Vice President for Global Marketing, Sales, and Business Operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment stated as follows, “Given the momentum we’ve had in November and a lot of what we’re seeing in December, just in general we’re feeling very good about sales overall.”

Lempel further indicated in an interview that, “We’ve done some good promotions this year. I will say we’ve done fewer promotions at this stage of the lifecycle than we ever have in the history of the company.”

Despite recent discussions in the gaming industry focusing on the future of gaming consoles due to advancements in cloud technology, freeing games from reliance on bulky hardware, current gaming consoles continue to attract players.

In the initial release phase, the PS5 faced challenges due to disruptions in the supply chain, impacting sales. Nevertheless, this issue has since eased, and the positive reception of the game “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2,” launched on October 20th, is contributing to the increased momentum in the sales of this gaming console.

In the coming months, key games like “The Last of Us Part II Remake” and the timed exclusive “Final Fantasy VII: Remake” will be sequentially released on the PlayStation platform in January and February.

As for Sony’s competitor, Nintendo’s Switch console, despite being on the market for several years, has maintained strong sales this year, driven by the release of new games such as “The Legend of Zelda” series.

(Photo credit: Sony)