At the WWDC 23 in June this year, Apple introduced its first headset, Vision Pro. The device is set to be available for purchase as early as next year, with a price tag of USD 3,499.

According to the report citing sources by Mark Gurman, Apple has accelerated the production of the MR headset “Vision Pro” in China in recent weeks, suggesting preparations for a potential launch in February next year.

Reportedly, insiders have revealed that in the past few weeks, Apple has been in full production mode for the Vision Pro in China. The goal is to have the customer-facing business department ready by the end of January, allowing the product to debut in Apple’s retail stores in February.

Additionally, Apple has been rumored to have sent an email to software developers lately, encouraging them to use the latest tools to test their applications and submit software for feedback, indicating preparations for the Vision Pro’s imminent release.

The report highlights that the Vision Pro is Apple’s most intricate product to date. Due to its customized components, it requires assembly and packaging at the sales point, necessitating a sales strategy and equipment different from those used in the past.

As per a report by the Financial Times in May of this year, Apple initially aimed for annual sales of 3 million units for the Vision Pro, but later reduced the target to 1 million units. In July, there were further reports that due to the complex design of the Vision Pro and issues with the display yield, Apple lowered the target shipment volume from 1 million units to 400,000 units.

Considering factors such as pricing and the absence of certain essential features, TrendForce has previously anticipated a modest shipment volume of approximately 200,000 to 400,000 units for Apple Vision Pro in 2024.

The market’s response will heavily depend on the subsequent introduction of consumer-oriented Apple Vision models and the ability of Apple to offer enticing everyday functionalities that will drive the rapid growth of the AR market as a whole.

TrendForce also notes that the Apple Vision Pro boasts cutting-edge hardware specifications and innovative design. However, a substantial price tag of USD 3,499 and the requirement for an external power source to operate for a mere two hours pose challenges to consumer adoption.

Currently, the Apple Vision Pro lacks sufficient applications for mainstream users, making it more attractive to developers and enterprise customers who can capitalize on its innovative features to create diverse applications. Consequently, the higher price point of the product is justified.

Read more

• Apple Vision Pro Estimated to Ship 200,000 Units in 2024, Concerns around Price and Battery Life Linger, Says TrendForce
• [News] Apple Could Introduce Micro LED into Vision Pro, Replacing Existing Micro OLED Technology

(Photo credit: Apple)

Following TSMC’s first plant built in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture, Samsung has also chosen Yokohama as the location for its new facility in Japan.

According to Japanese media NHK’s report, South Korean Samsung Electronics has decided the establishment of a new semiconductor research and development center in Yokohama, Japan. with a total investment of JPY 40 billion (approximately USD 278 million).

The Japanese government is set to provide half of the total subsidy for this investment. The project is expected to commence next year and will focus on the research and development of advanced packaging.

Additionally, Samsung plans to hire around 100 local engineers in Japan and is cautiously evaluating the possibility of collaboration with Japanese research organizations.

NHK, citing sources, reported that Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio plans to announce this expanded investment in Japan soon.

Given the continuous competition between China and the United States in the semiconductor sector, the calls for strengthening the domestic semiconductor supply chain in Japan have grown louder.

Consequently, the Japanese government has been encouraging foreign chipmakers to establish a presence in Japan, aiming to reinforce domestic supply chains.

As of May this year, Kishida Fumio met with seven semiconductor giants, including Intel, Samsung, Micron, and TSMC. The meeting demonstrated a commitment to revitalize Japan’s semiconductor industry. At that time, rumors about Japan providing subsidies to Samsung already existed, sparking market discussions.

(Photo credit: Samsung)

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has discussed around Intel’s process status, comparisons with TSMC in a recent interview. According to Barron’s report, Gelsinger mentioned in the interview that Intel’s 18A process and TSMC’s N2 process seem comparable, with no significant advantage for either of them.

However, Gelsinger claimed that, ‘But the backside power delivery, everybody says Intel, score.’ He further stated, ‘it gives better area efficiency for silicon, which means lower cost. It gives better power delivery, which means higher performance.’

Gelsinger mentioned that good transistor and great power delivery make 18A a little bit ahead of N2. Besides, TSMC has given a very high-cost envelope, where Intel can fit underneath to be margin accretive.

In fact, not only TSMC and Intel, but also including Samsung, the three semiconductor manufacturing giants are actively positioning themselves in the increasingly competitive field of advanced process technology.

At the recent IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), Intel, TSMC, and Samsung each showcased their CFET (Complementary FET) transistor solutions. The stacked CFET transistor architecture involves stacking two types of transistor -nFETs and pFETs- together, aiming to replace Gate-All-Around (GAA) and become the next-generation transistor design for doubling density.

As reported by IEEE Spectrum, Intel was the first foundry to showcase the CFET solution, publicly unveiling an early version back in 2020. During the conference, Intel introduced one of the simplest circuits manufactured with CFET, focusing on improvements for an inverter.

The CMOS inverter sends the same input voltage to the gates of two-transistor stacked together, generating an output that is logically opposite to the input, and the inverter is completed on a single fin.

Intel also improved the CFET stack’s electrical characteristics by increasing the number of nanosheets per device from two to three, decreasing the separation between the two devices from 50 nm to 30 nm.

According to the current progress, experts, as indicated by IEEE Spectrum, anticipate that the commercialization of CFET technology on a large scale will likely take another 7 to 10 years from now. Before reaching that stage, there are still many preparatory tasks that need to be completed.

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(Photo credit: Intel)

According to a report by TechNews, TSMC’s Arizona-based Fab21, currently in the intensive equipment installation phase, has initiated the construction of a small-scale trial production line. With a small amount of equipment expected from multiple supply chain by the end of 2023, industry sources suggest that Fab21 is planning to commence trial production in the first quarter of 2024.

The reason behind TSMC’s anticipated trial production in the first quarter of 2024 stems from orders from its U.S. clients. Market reports indicate that among Fab21’s U.S. clients, in addition to major players like , NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has not ruled out placing orders with Fab21. Furthermore, there are indications that Intel, planning to outsource core computing to TSMC’s N3B process, is likely to place orders to Fab21 in the near future.

However, due to cost considerations, despite the commencement of a small-scale trial production line, the initial capacity increase for Fab21’s 4-nanometer process will not accelerate. This situation is expected to persist into the subsequent second phase of the 3-nanometer production line.

Looking back at TSMC’s progress in Arizona, the company announced the construction of the 12-inch wafer Fab21 in Arizona back in 2020, anticipating the commencement of formal equipment installation in the first quarter of 2024 and official mass production before the end of 2024. The initial phase of Fab21 will produce on the 5-nanometer process, with a monthly production capacity of 20,000 wafers.

TSMC later upgraded the initial processs from 5-nanometer to 4-nanometer. However, due to a shortage of skilled installation workers in the region, TSMC postponed the mass production start date to 2025.

In addition, the second phase of the project is currently slated for mass production in 2026, introducing the 3-nanometer process. The total investment for both phases amounts to $40 billion.

Industry sources also acknowledge that Fab21’s manufacturing costs are high, and its capacity cannot compete with TSMC’s fab in Taiwan, making U.S. client orders primarily a response to U.S. government requirements, with the majority of production still centered in Taiwan.

(Image: TSMC)

Micron Technology, the U.S. memory giant, has surpassed Wall Street expectations in its projected revenue for the current quarter (December-February). The main factor contributing to this success is the robust demand from data centers, offsetting the sluggish recovery in the PC and smartphone markets.

According to Micron’ released fiscal report for their first quarter (from August to November, 2023) on December 20th, Micron’s revenue rose from USD 4.01 billion in the same period last year to USD 4.73 billion.

Looking ahead to the current quarter (Q2), Micron anticipates revenue reaching USD 5.3 billion ± USD 200 million and diluted loss per share reaching USD 0.28 ± USD 0.07, which are better than market’s consensus.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra noted that strong execution and pricing strategies contributed to Q1 financial results surpassing expectations. He further stated that, ‘Demand for AI servers has been strong as data center infrastructure operators shift budgets from traditional servers to more content-rich AI servers.’

Mehrotra indicated that Micron is in the final stages of qualifying HBM3e to be used in NVIDIA’s next generation Grace Hopper GH200 and H200 platforms. 

Micron now predicts that PC sales are expected to grow by a low to mid-single-digit percentage in calendar 2024, after two years of double-digit percentage PC unit volume declines. There is also hope for smartphone unit shipments to grow modestly in 2024.

For the HBM market, TrendForce’s latest research indicates that NVIDIA plans to diversify its HBM suppliers for more robust and efficient supply chain management. Samsung’s HBM3 (24GB) is anticipated to complete verification with NVIDIA by December this year.

The progress of HBM3e, as outlined in the timeline below, shows that Micron provided its 8hi (24GB) samples to NVIDIA by the end of July, SK hynix in mid-August, and Samsung in early October.

Given the intricacy of the HBM verification process—estimated to take two quarters—TrendForce expects that some manufacturers might learn preliminary HBM3e results by the end of 2023. However, it’s generally anticipated that major manufacturers including Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron will have definite results by 1Q24. Notably, the outcomes will influence NVIDIA’s procurement decisions for 2024, as final evaluations are still underway.

Read more

• Manufacturers Anticipate Completion of NVIDIA’s HBM3e Verification by 1Q24; HBM4 Expected to Launch in 2026, Says TrendForce
• [News] Memory Giants Samsung & Micron Actively Embrace DDR5 and HBM as Favorable Choices

(Photo credit: Micron)