Recently, it was reported that Huawei filed a patent infringement lawsuit against MediaTek in a Chinese local court. According to a report from TechNews, in response, MediaTek and its subsidiaries, HFI Innovation and MTK Wireless, have initiated countermeasures by filing a lawsuit against Huawei in a UK court, accusing Huawei of patent infringement.

MediaTek has stated that the case against Huawei is now in the judicial process and has declined to comment further. On the other hand, Huawei has not publicly responded to the matter.

A report from Chinese media outlet YiCai further cited sources, revealing that the dispute between MediaTek and Huawei over patent fees has been continuing for two to three years, yet the two parties are still unable to reach an agreement due to pricing issues.

On July 18, a report from Nikkei indicated that Huawei had filed a patent infringement lawsuit against MediaTek in a Chinese local court, drawing industry attention. On July 19, MediaTek issued an announcement stating that the lawsuit has no significant impact on the company, that it has entered the judicial process, and that the company will not comment further.

Industry sources cited by TechNews further suggest that Huawei’s lawsuit against MediaTek for patent infringement likely involves 5G (and possibly 4G, 3G, etc.) cellular network mobile communication technology. Reportedly, the reason for the lawsuit is that Huawei proposed a corresponding fee to MediaTek based on terminal patent licensing prices, but MediaTek considered the price too high, leading to the impasse.

Notably, both Huawei and MediaTek hold a large number of related patents. As of the end of 2022, Huawei possessed over 120,000 validly authorized patents worldwide. According to another report from YiCai, it owns 20% of the world’s 5G and Wi-Fi 6 patents, 10% of 4G patents, and 15% of NB-IoT and LTE-M patents.

As for MediaTek, it held over 13,000 patents globally by the end of 2022, with 1,200 patents granted in that year alone. These figures only include granted patents, excluding pending applications. Additionally, MediaTek ranks first among Taiwanese companies in the number of global patents for 5G, Wi-Fi, and HEVC/VVC technologies.

Industry sources cited by the Commercial Times also note that in recent years, China’s technological capabilities have significantly improved, and companies have been actively applying for patents domestically and internationally. With the support of the Chinese government, they have also started to frequently engage in patent litigation. Last year, Chinese courts received 5,062 technical intellectual property and monopoly cases.

Read more

• [News] U.S. Department of Commerce Introduces New Regulations to Restrict China from Training AI Using U.S. Cloud Services
• [News] New Focus in the US-China Tech War! Can China Overtake with Silicon Photonics?

(Photo credit: MediaTek)

Earlier on July 10^th, in the Galaxy Unpack 2024 event in Paris, Samsung introduced its AI smartphone Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6, along with the “Google Gemini” app installed in the models. However, according to the reports by Reuters and Business Korea, these two tech giants may be facing the investigation of the European Union (EU) antitrust regulators, on whether the collaboration might impede market access for other AI developers or limit competition.

It has been a while since the two tech heavyweight started to team up on AI. Samsung’s first AI phone, Galaxy S24, released earlier this year, has featured its self-developed AI, Gauss, as well as Google’s Gemini Nano.

The EU has ramped up its market monitoring efforts following the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in March, focusing on major global tech companies. The DMA identifies seven companies—Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Booking and ByteDance —as ‘gatekeepers’ and imposes specific regulations on them to ensure fair competition in the digital market, Business Korea noted.

Now the spotlight has been shifted to the AI sector. According to Reuters, EU antitrust regulators are inquiring whether Google’s multi-year generative AI deal with Samsung hampers rival chatbots on Samsung smartphones. The report noted that last month, the European Commission announced it would send requests for information to understand the impact of the deal, which involves Samsung embedding Google’s Gemini Nano in its Galaxy S24 series smartphones.

According to the Reuters report, regulators are investigating if the pre-installation of Gemini Nano limits the functionality of other chatbots and applications on Samsung smartphones. The EU also asked companies whether they had attempted to enter into pre-installation agreements with Samsung for their chatbots and, if so, requested explanations for any failures. Respondents are required to complete the urvey by this week.

If anti-competitive practices are confirmed, an antitrust investigation against Google and Samsung could be initiated, Reuters stated.

According to Business Korea, after the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event, TM Roh, President of Samsung Electronics (Head of MX Business Division), addressed regulatory risks during a press conference, saying the company is having various discussions internally and externally regarding EU regulations.

Roh also emphasized Samsung’s commitment to data security, stating that sensitive information is processed on-device (without connecting to external servers), making it inaccessible even to the company,” and highlighted the company’s approach to giving consumers the choice of using AI functions on-device or via the cloud.

Read more

• [News] NVIDIA Faces Potential Antitrust Charges in France, U.S. and EU Close Behind
• [News] Samsung Rumored to Mass-Produce HBM4 with 4nm Process

(Photo credit: Samsung)

Huawei’s Consumer Business CEO, Richard Yu, has publicly revealed plans for Huawei’s next-generation tri-folding phone for the first time. He stated that this product, widely considered challenging to achieve in the industry, is finally about to be launched after five years of development.

According to a report from the Chinese technology website ” Chinaz,” the tri-folding phone features an innovative inside-out folding mechanism and a dual-hinge design, with the screen size expected to reach approximately 10 inches.

Richard Yu pointed out that this new design will not only revolutionize the way phones are used but also broaden their use cases. When fully unfolded, the phone can rival a tablet, meeting basic office needs such as text and spreadsheet processing.

The latest industry news cited by the report further suggests that Huawei’s tri-folding phone will be unveiled in September, set to compete with Apple’s iPhone 16 series. Although the price of Huawei’s tri-folding phone is expected to be very high, potentially starting at nearly CNY 20,000, significantly surpassing the price of an iPhone, it showcases Huawei’s top-tier domestic technology and innovation in China.

However, despite the relatively noticeable growth in shipment volumes, the base number of foldable phones is very low, and the overall market size remains small.

Compared to the traditional smartphone market, which easily reaches sales volumes of over one billion units, TrendForce previously estimated that the shipments of foldable phones are expected to reach 17.8 million units in 2024, making up only 1.5% of the smartphone market. Despite high repair rates and costs, market penetration is projected to climb to 4.8% by 2028.

Read more

• [News] Apple Reportedly Joins the Foldable Phone Market, Setting Stage for Three-Way Competition
• [News] Huawei Issues Rush Orders for Crucial Components, Focusing on CIS for Foldable Phones

(Photo credit: Huawei)

According to a report from Commercial Times, Apple is said to have informed its suppliers and partners that it is confident in boosting sales of the upcoming iPhone 16, set to be released in the second half of this year, through the addition of AI features. Reportedly, the goal is to increase iPhone 16 shipments by approximately 10% compared to the iPhone 15, reaching 90 million units in the second half of this year.

Apple showcased its advancements in AI at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, including the introduction of the generative AI large model Apple Intelligence, AI upgrades for Siri, and collaboration with OpenAI. Apple is expected to launch Apple Intelligence in the U.S. market this fall, with full functionality projected to be available in the spring of next year.

Per sources cited by Bloomberg, Apple did not perform well in the second half of last year, particularly facing challenges in its third-largest market, China. Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro, equipped with a domestically manufactured 7nm processor, has gained favor among local consumers.

The same report from Bloomberg indicated that after a turbulent 2023, Apple is relying on AI services to boost demand for its new products. Data cited by Bloomberg shows that in the second half of last year, iPhone 15 shipments were approximately 81 million units.

Furthermore, for the first quarter this year, TrendForce reported that Apple also faced a decline in sales in the Chinese market, resulting in a drop in annual production to 47.9 million units. This decline prompted several adjustments within the component supply chain, although production plans for processor chips remained unchanged. TrendForce posits that the second quarter falls within a product iteration gap for Apple, and production is expected to decrease by approximately 10%. 

Read more

• Q1 Smartphone Production Increases Due to Low Base Last Year, Expected to Decline 5–10% in Q2, Says TrendForce
• [News] Apple’s AI Push on iPhone 16 in China Faces Obstacles in Finding Local Partners

(Photo credit: Apple)

On July 8, Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun announced on Weibo that the new generation Xiaomi smartphone smart factory in Changping, Beijing, has officially started operations. According to a report from Economic Daily News, the factory has a total investment of CNY 2.4 billion (roughly USD 330 million) and a construction area of 81,000 square meters, with an annual production capacity of 10 million flagship smartphones. Lei Jun also revealed that the upcoming Xiaomi MIX Fold 4/Flip foldable phones, set to be released this month, will be manufactured at this facility.

This year, Xiaomi has completed two smart factories: the Changping smartphone factory and the Yizhuang automobile factory.

In fact, information about Xiaomi’s new folding phone, the MIX Fold 4, has recently been leaked on Chinese internet platforms. Digital bloggers previously revealed that this phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

Reportedly,  this factory is said to be Xiaomi’s first large-scale self-owned smartphone factory. Its launch marks a crucial milestone in Xiaomi’s smart manufacturing journey.

According to the report, the factory boasts a 96.8% self-developed packaging equipment rate, 100% self-developed factory software rate, and holds over 500 patents. It focuses on producing flagship smartphones and operates 24/7, with a daily production capacity of up to 30,000 smartphones.

For the smartphone production in the first quarter of 2024, TrendForce reports that the global top six manufacturers by production market share were Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO, Transsion, and Vivo. Together, these companies accounted for nearly 80% of the market share.

Xiaomi (including Xiaomi, Redmi, and Poco) has moved past last year’s high inventory issues, achieving a total production of 41.1 million units in the first quarter and ranking third globally in market share.

Xiaomi Group Partner and President Lu Weibing revealed that the Changping factory is Xiaomi’s first truly smart factory. Key verifications for the Xiaomi 14 Gulf Blue Limited Edition and the craftsmanship of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra were all carried out here.

On the other hand, per another report from Securities Times, Xiaomi’s automobile factory in Yizhuang, Beijing, started dual-shift production in June, with monthly deliveries exceeding 10,000 vehicles.

Read more

• [News] MediaTek and Xiaomi Opened a Joint Lab, the First Product with Stellar Performance Unveiled
• [News] China’s Xiaomi and Unisoc Claim Domestic 4nm Mobile Processors Coming Soon

(Photo credit: Xiaomi)