As per a report from Bloomberg citing sources, Finnish telecommunications company Nokia is said to be having discussions on potential options for selling its mobile network business, of which is estimated to be valued at around USD 10 billion.

The sources cited in the report indicated that Nokia has been discussing various options for handling its mobile network assets with advisors. Its mobile network division has been facing tough competition from larger rivals like Huawei in recent years. Possible scenarios under consideration by Nokia include partial or full sale, spin-off, or merger with a competitor.

Sources further reveal that Samsung has shown preliminary interest in acquiring part of Nokia’s mobile network assets to expand its presence in radio networks, which connect user phones to telecommunications infrastructure. Additionally, any asset sale by a competitor naturally attracts interest from rivals.

Regarding the rumor, a Samsung representative declined to comment, while a Nokia spokesperson stated that the company is committed to the success of its mobile network business, which holds high strategic importance for the company.

In a statement released after publication, Nokia stated to Bloomberg that it has “nothing to announce” and mentioned that there is “no related insider project.”

Nokia, which was once the world’s top mobile phone supplier, eventually sold its mobile phone business after losing market share to Apple and Samsung. Since then, the company has shifted its focus to producing equipment for communication networks, including the hardware that transmits signals for mobile devices.

During the early phase of the 5G upgrade, demand from telecom service providers in the mobile communications market was strong.

However, this demand has begun to decline, reportedly due to delays in network upgrades, especially in Europe. This further suggests that Nokia may need to seek new business opportunities to reduce its reliance on the telecom network deployment market.

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(Photo credit: Nokia)

According to a report from the China Business Network, Huawei, seems to have overcome the pressure of U.S. sanctions, as it posted strong financial results in the first half of 2024 on August 29.

The report shows that Huawei’s revenue for the first half of the year reached CNY 417.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 34.3%. The net profit was CNY 55.1 billion, up 18.2% year-on-year, marking the best performance for this period in the company’s history.

It is further reported that Huawei’s revenue for the first half of the year has already surpassed the CNY 401.3 billion recorded in the first half of 2019, second only to the CNY 454 billion in the first half of 2020.

This is also the first time in history that Huawei’s net profit for the same period has exceeded CNY 50 billion, higher than the CNY 46.6 billion recorded in the first half of last year. The net profit margin for the first half of this year reached 13.2%.

Huawei’s rotating chairman, Xu Zhijun (Eric Xu), stated that the group’s overall operating performance met expectations.

He then pointed out that Huawei will continue to implement its high-quality strategy, continuously optimize its industrial portfolio, strengthen development resilience, and build a prosperous business ecosystem, providing more competitive products and solutions for its customers.

Currently, Huawei divides its business into five segments: ICT Infrastructure Business, Consumer Business, Cloud Computing Business, Digital Power Business, and Intelligent Automotive Solution Business.

Huawei did not disclose the revenue details for each business segment. However, according to last year’s annual report, the consumer business remains the main revenue driver, while Huawei Cloud has shown the fastest growth.

On the other hand, according to a recent report released by Seres, the new company under Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solution Business – Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co Ltd – achieved revenue of CNY 10.43 billion in the first half of 2024, a tenfold increase compared to the same period last year. The company’s net profit reached CNY 2.231 billion, with a net profit margin of 21.38%.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)

According to a report from Nikkei on August 29, Apple is said to be betting that its first iPhone with Apple Intelligence will be a hit. Thus, the tech giant has requested suppliers to provide components for approximately 88 to 90 million iPhones, over 10% more than the initial component orders of 80 million units for new iPhones in 2023.

Reportedly, some component suppliers have received orders for more than 90 million iPhones. However, they also noted that Apple’s initial orders are typically larger, with adjustments made based on actual sales performance after the launch.

An industry source cited in the report expressed caution regarding Apple’s strong order volume, noting that geopolitical factors are likely to pose significant challenges for iPhone sales in China.

The report cited multiple sources, noting that Apple suppliers are generally cautious,  and forecasting that iPhone shipments for the year will likely be flat, due to the high comparison base from 2023.

In late 2022, COVID-19 has caused disruptions in Zhengzhou, China, the world’s largest iPhone manufacturing hub, resulting in the delay in iPhone shipments to the first half of 2023.

On the other hand, it is still unclear how Apple Intelligence will operate in China, as Apple has yet to finalize agreements with any Chinese AI companies.

While OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, is available in countries like the United States, it is not accessible in China. To introduce similar AI functionalities, Apple will likely need to collaborate with Chinese AI companies.

A previous report from Economic Daily News once indicated that Apple has been in discussions with Baidu, Alibaba Group, and Beijing-based startup Baichuan AI, but no agreements have been confirmed yet.

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(Photo credit: Apple)

According to a report from wccftech,  previous claims about Xiaomi abandoning the development of its smartphone processor due to high costs were incorrect. Instead, Xiaomi is expected to release its custom solution in the first half of 2025, with its performance rumored to be equivalent to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which was released two years ago. The chip is said to be manufactured with TSMC’s 4nm process.

The chip, as per wccftech citing sources, will be produced using TSMC’s N4P process,  which is a generation behind the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400. However, as the shipment volume might be not as high, it is reasonable that Xiaomi might not need to opt for the most advanced manufacturing process.

Although TSMC has already introduced its 3nm process and is advancing towards 2nm, its 4nm N4P process is still competitive, as both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 are produced with N4P.

The sources also indicate that the performance of Xiaomi’s in-house chip is similar to that of Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s, while the 5G modem chip will be supplied by another Chinese company, Unisoc. Xiaomi’s move towards developing its own smartphone chips is expected to its reduce reliance on Qualcomm and MediaTek.

Shanghai-based fabless chip firm Unisoc, is specialized in areas including 2G/3G/4G/5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, TV FM, satellite communications and other related technologies, according to its website.

Per a previous report from wccftech, Qualcomm executives had hinted that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be more expensive than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and they may also charge partners for the 5G modem chip. By developing its own chips, Xiaomi can gain valuable experience and gradually reduce its dependence on Qualcomm.

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(Photo credit: Xiaomi)

China’s debut AAA game, Black Myth: Wukong, has achieved remarkable success just four days post-launch. The game has sold over 10 million copies on Steam alone, with peak simultaneous online players reaching 3 million. Priced around NT$1,280 per copy, its total sales revenue has hit NT$12.8 billion (approximately USD$400 million).

According to the Commercial Times, the game’s detailed graphics and cinema-quality 3D scenes have driven gamers to upgrade their memory and graphics cards, boosting related hardware sales.

Industry sources cited by the Commercial Times predict that this surge in China’s self-developed gaming trend will enhance demand for memory and graphics card upgrades. Companies such as ADATA, Kingston, and Teamgroup, as well as Gigabyte, ASUS, and MSI, are expected to see a corresponding increase in sales performance.

Black Myth: Wukong, based on the famous “Journey to the West” IP, has topped Steam’s charts with over 1.75 million simultaneous online players since its August 20 release. Developed by GameScience, a company that had faced near-bankruptcy twice in its six years of operation, the game gained prominence after Tencent’s investment.

Players cited by Commercial Times have noted that the game’s high-resolution graphics require at least 32GB of RAM to run smoothly, with many standard laptops and PCs, typically equipped with 16GB, being unable to support it. Graphics card upgrades are crucial, with minimum specifications costing over NT$10,000 (approximately USD$314). The high price of NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 card raises questions about whether players will invest heavily in upgrades.

The Black Myth: Wukong phenomenon has sparked extensive discussion. Amid a mobile game-dominated market, the resurgence of interest in standalone games signifies that China’s game production standards are now rivaling those of Japan and Korea, with international gamers and bloggers actively engaging in conversations about the title.

(Photo credit: Stram)