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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• [News] Taiwanese AI Server Supply Chain to Benefit from Apple’s Potential Collaboration with Baidu and Alibaba
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(Photo credit: Apple)

TSMC is set to offer a new round of its CyberShuttle prototyping service in September. According to sources cited in a report from Commercial Times, it’s revealed that, as per usual practice, there are two opportunities each year, in March and September, for customers to submit their projects. It is indicated that the highlight this time is expected to be the 2nm process, providing leading companies with an opportunity to gain an edge.

TSMC’s 2nm technology is progressing smoothly, with the new Hsinchu Baoshan plant on track for mass production next year. Previously, there were rumors indicating that Apple is considering adopting 2nm chips in 2025, with the iPhone 17 series potentially being among the first devices to use them.

Reportedly, both TSMC’s N2P and A16 technologies are expected to enter mass production in the second half of 2026, offering improvements in power efficiency and chip density.

ASIC companies are eagerly participating in CyberShuttle this time, even though customer intentions for the first 2nm tape-out are still unconfirmed. However, this technology will likely maintain TSMC’s leadership in advanced processes, securing its future technological advantage.

CyberShuttle, also known as MPW (Multi-Project Wafer), refers to the process of placing chips from different customers onto the same test wafer. This approach not only allows for the shared cost of photomasks but also enables rapid chip prototyping and verification, enhancing customers’ cost efficiency and operational effectiveness.

Based on TSMC’s official information, the CyberShuttle prototyping service significantly reduces NRE costs by covering the widest technology range (from 0.5um to 7nm) and the most frequent launch schedule (up to 10 shuttles per month), all through the Foundry segment’s most convenient on-line registration system.)

TSMC’s CyberShuttle prototyping service also validate the sub-circuit functionality and process compatibility of IP, standard cell libraries and I/Os, reducing prototype costs by up to 90%. TSMC states that their current CyberShuttle service covers the broadest range of technologies and can offer up to 10 shuttles per month.

TSMC’s 2nm technology is expected to make its debut in September, offering opportunities for test chips.

Per the report from Commercial Times, IC design companies have pointed out that, unlike the familiar FinFET (Fin Field-Effect Transistor) structure, the industry is transitioning to the Gate-All-Around FET (GAAFET) structure, making it crucial for the market to quickly adapt.

This also allows IC design companies to provide related products to end customers, demonstrating their 2nm design capabilities.

ASIC companies have also revealed that, based on CyberShuttle data, the number of advanced process projects below 7nm is relatively small, with mature processes still dominating.

This suggests that future competition will likely focus on a few leading companies. Those who miss the first wave of 2nm technology may fall behind their competitors by up to six months, making securing a spot on the Shuttle even more critical.

Read more

• [News] TSMC Reportedly to Raise 3nm & 5nm Prices Soon, Looking to Maintain Long-Term Profit Margins 
• [News] Apple Not Adopting TSMC 2nm for iPhone 17? A19 Pro Chip Rumored to Use N3P Process

(Photo credit: TSMC)

The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index slightly increased in August, reaching 103.3, as reported by the Conference Board on August 27.  This marks a small rise of 1.4 from the previous month.

Both the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index improved in August, indicating that consumers remain optimistic for business activity. However, recent increases in the unemployment rate have dampened consumer optimism regarding the labor market, leading to a more pessimistic outlook for future labor conditions.

While overall consumer confidence rose, confidence among those with incomes below $25K declined, whereas those with incomes above $100K showed the highest levels of confidence. This is consistent with the findings from the University of Michigan’s July consumer sentiment survey, which highlighted that lower-income individuals feel the impact of inflation more acutely, contributing to their decreased confidence in economic prospects.

Additionally, consumer expectations for the stock market have shifted, with more people now believing that stock prices will decline over the next year, likely reflecting concerns over the recent rise in unemployment. Interestingly, consumers have not altered their expectations regarding the likelihood of a potential economic recession.

Read more at Datatrack

AI chip NVIDIA provided financial guidance for the third quarter, estimating its quarterly revenue to reach USD 32.5 billion, with a fluctuation of plus or minus 2%. The figure, though beats market expectations in general, still falls short of the market’s most optimistic forecast of USD 37.9 billion, sparking concerns that its explosive growth is waning.

On the other hand, regarding whether NVIDIA’s next-gen AI chip, Blackwell, faces delay, the tech giant notes that it shipped samples this quarter, and has made an adjustment to the product to make it more efficient to manufacture, according to a report by CNBC.

Citing CFO Colette Kress, the report states that in the fourth quarter, “we expect to ship several billion dollars in Blackwell revenue.”

Q3 Guidance Somehow Fails to Impress the Market

According to NVIDIA’s guidance, the adjusted gross margin in the third quarter is expected to be 75%, with a fluctuation of plus or minus 50 basis points, slightly below the market expectation of 75.5%. The company’s gross margin for the second quarter was 75.7%, with an average expectation of 75.8%.

This quarter’s outlook, though being solid, somehow fails to impress the market. The AI chip manufacturer has been a major beneficiary as companies rush to upgrade their data centers to handle AI software, and its sales forecast has become a barometer of this AI surge.

A report by the Economic Daily raises concerns that though the company has had several consecutive quarters of outstanding performance, most of its growth comes from a small number of customers. For instance, about 40% of its revenue comes from large data center operators, such as Google and Meta.

Although these tech giants have been investing heavily on AI, there are concerns that the scale of the infrastructure being built may exceed current demand, which could lead to a bubble.

Blackwell Update: Obstacles Removed?

There were concerns that there might be design issues with Blackwell, which might cause the shipment to delay. According to the report by the Economic Daily, NVIDIA admitted that it has encountered difficulties in the production process, but stated that they are implementing reforms to improve yield rates.

A report by Wccftech states that NVIDIA has confirmed that it has “implemented a change” to the Blackwell GPU mask produced at TSMC using the 4NP process node, which is expected to further enhance production yield. As this change is not a significant architectural redesign, the product remains on schedule for the ramp to start in the fourth quarter and continuing into FY2026.

According to Wccftech, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang reiterates that “Hopper demand remains strong, and the anticipation for Blackwell is incredible.” CFO Colette Kress further states that in the fourth quarter, “we expect to ship several billion dollars in Blackwell revenue.”

Q2 Performance Still Beats Market Expectations

In the second quarter, which ended on July 28, NVIDIA’s revenue was USD 30.04 billion, surpassing the market expectation of USD 28.7 billion. The annual growth rate for this quarter was 122%, marking the third consecutive quarter with a growth rate exceeding 200%. Net income for the quarter more than doubled from USD 6.18 billion, or 25 cents per share, a year ago to USD 16.6 billion, or 67 cents per share. Adjusted earnings per share were 68 cents, beating the market expectation of 64 cents.

It is worth noting that NVIDIA’s data center business revenue in the second quarter increased significantly by 154% YoY to $USD 26.3 billion, accounting for 88% of total sales. Its gaming revenue also grew 16% year over year to USD 2.9 billion, exceeding the expected USD 2.7 billion, which the company attributes to an increase in shipments of PC gaming cards and game console SoCs, reportedly chips for Nintendo’s game consoles.

The company also announced the approval of a USD 50 billion share buyback program.

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(Photo credit: NVIDIA)

Recently, “Black Myth: Wukong” created by Chinese team was released and quickly became a smash hit among game players worldwide with its stunning graphics, rich gameplay, and unique storyline.

Behind this game lies the application of several cutting-edge technologies, including virtual reality and artificial intelligence. These technologies are supported by the underlying hardware, enabling the game to deliver realistic and breathtaking visual effects while ensuring smooth gameplay and responsiveness. Notably, GPU and memory devices represent two key components in this process.

• High-Performance GPU to Meet Game Demands

“Black Myth: Wukong” features high-definition visuals and complex effects, supporting ray tracing technology that simulates real-world light behavior to provide more realistic lighting and shadow effects. This requires high-performance GPU to offer powerful graphics processing capabilities, which thus ensures a smooth gaming experience.

NVIDIA provided significant technical support for “Black Myth: Wukong.” Its RTX 40 series GPU supports full panoramic ray tracing and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) 3 technology, delivering smoother and higher-quality game visuals.

NVIDIA showcased “Black Myth: Wukong” at Gamescom, the world’s largest gaming convention, highlighting the game’s performance at the highest visual settings. NVIDIA also announced that “Black Myth: Wukong” is now part of the GeForce Now cloud gaming service, allowing subscribers to play the game without lengthy download times.

Additionally, Colorful collaborated with NVIDIA to launch a special edition “iGame GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Advanced Black Myth: Wukong” graphics card, based on Colorful’s iGame GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Advanced OC model.

This card features deep customization in appearance, 16GB of large memory, a powerful cooling system, and DLSS 3 technology. With local AI computing power of up to 836 TOPS, it can accelerate creative work even further.

Other manufacturers like GALAX, MSI, and Gigabyte have also recently rolled out custom or co-branded graphics cards based on the RTX 40 series for “Black Myth: Wukong.”

• SSD is in vogue

In light of the official PC specifications, “Black Myth: Wukong” requires a minimum of 16GB RAM and at least 130GB of memory space for the game’s main files, updates, and potential temporary files or cache data.

Compared to HDD (hard disk drives), SSD (solid-state drives) offers faster read/write speeds, lower latency, and greater durability, making them more suitable for large-scale games.

SSD can significantly reduce waiting times during game startup, scene loading, and resource switching, enabling them to become a sought after in the market. And this is why “Black Myth: Wukong” recommends PC setups equipped with SSD.

Recently, Chinese memory brand ZhiTai collaborated with “Black Myth: Wukong” to launch a co-branded version of the TiPlus7100 solid-state drive.

TiPlus7100 “Black Myth: Wukong” edition solid-state drive features an aesthetic design rooted in Eastern culture, which is equipped with high-quality original NAND and Yangtze Memory’s Xtacking® technology architecture.

It offers read speeds of up to 7000MB/s and comes in 1TB and 2TB capacities. The HMB mechanism and SLC Cache intelligent cache design ensure a stutter-free gaming experience. With its M.2 2280 single-sided PCB design, this co-branded edition can meet expansion needs for PS5, laptops, desktops, and more.

In addition to ZhiTai, other manufacturers like UNIC Memory, SCY, and YXSC have also showcased their products recently, which meet the configuration requirements for “Black Myth: Wukong” and offer excellent gaming experiences.

UNIC Memory’s new Chinese-inspired brand UniWhen announced that its MoYunZangJing series uses original memory and offers various frequencies ranging from 6400 to 8000 MT/s.

It supports Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO dual-platform overclocking techniques, with capacities of 16GB2 and 24GB2, matching the demands for multi-tasking and running multiple games simultaneously.

SCY revealed that its DDR5 UDIMM RGB gaming edition memory, along with the S7000, S7000 Pro, and C7000 series SSD, can provide a buff for “Black Myth: Wukong” players.

The DDR5 UDIMM RGB gaming edition offers up to 32GB (16GBx2) to avoid lag or disconnection during intense gameplay. The S7000 series offers sequential read/write speeds of up to 7400MB/s and 6600MB/s, with up to 4TB of storage.

The S7000 Pro series reaches sequential read/write speeds of 7100MB/s and 6400MB/s, with storage options from 512GB to 4TB. The C7000 series offers sequential read/write speeds of 7000MB/s and 6100MB/s, with up to 2TB of storage, designed for handheld consoles and Steam gaming devices.

At elexcon Shenzhen International Electronics Exhibition 2024, YXSC Semiconductor demonstrated the performance of its consumer-grade PCIe SSD from the F800E/F series running “Black Myth: Wukong.” The F800E/F series features 3D TLC NAND chips, with capacities ranging from 128GB to 2048GB, and adopts the M.2 standard form factor.

Read more

• [News] “Black Myth: Wukong” Sparks Trend, Boosts Demand for Memory and Graphics Cards
• [News] Intel Unveils Two New GPUs, Manufactured on TSMC’s 4nm Process while Reportedly Targeting NVIDIA RTX 40 Series

(Photo credit: Stram)