Industry sources cited by Reuters have revealed that Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, is slowing down the production of its high-end Mate 60 series smartphone due to surging demand in the AI chip market and production constraints. Instead, the company has decided to prioritize the production of AI chips from its Ascend series, diverging from the Kirin chips used in the Mate 60 series.

According to a report by Reuters on January 5th, Huawei is utilizing a plant to simultaneously produce chips from the Ascend series and the Kirin series. The current plan is to prioritize the production of Ascend chips over Kirin chips, although the exact starting date for this arrangement has not been disclosed.

On the other hand, the production volume of Huawei’s Mate 60 series, launched in August last year, has been hampered by low chip yields. Reportedly, Huawei is actively working to improve chip yields, and it is hoped that the mentioned production adjustment will be a short-term measure.

It’s worth noting that many Huawei products have recently been affected by production bottlenecks. The computation components for Huawei’s assisted driving system have encountered production issues due to shortages of components.

This has led to delays in the delivery of flagship models from Changan Automobile, Chery Automobile, and Seres. Changan Automobile and Chery Automobile have already filed complaints and are currently in negotiations with Huawei.

Reports have indicated that since 2019, the U.S. government has imposed sanctions on Huawei, citing national security concerns, thereby cutting off Huawei’s access to advanced chip manufacturing equipment and technology and weakening its smartphone division. In response, Huawei denies posing any security risks and is actively working to rebuild its business.

In addition, Bloomberg previously reported that the Chinese government has also been directly investing to assist Huawei in building its chip supply chain since 2019, creating an exclusive supply chain for Huawei in response to the tighten restrictions.

In October 2023, the U.S. further strengthened restrictions on the export of advanced chips and chip manufacturing equipment to China, building upon previous limitations. This move forced Chinese customers to turn to domestic alternatives. Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip is considered the most competitive non-NVIDIA chip available in the Chinese market.

Huawei has maintained a low profile regarding its chip manufacturing capabilities and objectives. There is limited public information about its progress or how it successfully produces advanced chips.

In August 2023, during U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s visit to China, Huawei launched the Mate 60 series, garnering significant market attention.

(Photo credit: Huawei)

In a bid to enhance its foundry capabilities, Samsung is earnestly integrating hybrid bonding technology. According to industry sources, Applied Materials and Besi Semiconductor are establishing equipment for hybrid bonding at the Cheonan Campus, slated for use in next-generation packaging solutions like X-Cube and SAINT.

According to a report from South Korean media outlet The Elec, industry sources have indicated that Applied Materials and Besi Semiconductor are installing hybrid bonding equipment at Samsung’s Cheonan Campus, a key site for advanced packaging production. Officials from the South Korean industry also mentioned that a production line is currently under construction, with the equipment intended for non-memory packaging.

Compared to existing bonding methods, hybrid bonding enhances I/O and wiring lengths. Samsung’s latest investment is expected to strengthen its advanced packaging capabilities, introducing the X-Cube utilizing hybrid bonding technology.

Industry sources cited by the report have suggested that hybrid bonding could also be applied to Samsung’s SAINT (Samsung Advanced Interconnect Technology) platform, which the company began introducing this year. The platform includes three types of 3D stacking technologies: SAINT S, SAINT L, and SAINT D.

SAINT S involves vertically stacking SRAM on logic chips such as CPUs. SAINT L involves stacking logic chips on top of other logic chips or application processors (APs). SAINT D entails vertical stacking of DRAM with logic chips like CPUs and GPUs.

TSMC, the leading semiconductor foundry, also offers hybrid bonding in its System on Integrated Chip (SoIC) for 3D packaging services, which is similarly provided by Applied Materials and Besi Semiconductor. Intel has also applied hybrid bonding technology in its 3D packaging technology, Foveros Direct, which was commercialized last year.

Reportedly, industry sources anticipate that Samsung’s investment in hybrid bonding facilities is poised to attract major clients such as NVIDIA and AMD. This is because the demand for hybrid bonding among fabless customers is steadily increasing.

(Photo credit: Samsung)

TrendForce has released the latest panel quotations for early February. Due to the effective production control strategies implemented by panel manufacturers, there is an expectation of gradually stimulating panel demand. It is anticipated that TV panel prices will return to an upward trend in February. Details are as follows:

• TV

From the perspective of panel suppliers, with the reduction in working days and the Lunar New Year holiday in February, it is expected that the average utilization rate will fall below 60%. Coupled with the relatively low TV panel inventory in the supply chain, the production control strategies of panel manufacturers have been effective. There is an anticipation of gradually stimulating the recovery of TV panel demand.

Meanwhile, the upstream supply issues with polarizing film materials have exacerbated, and it is expected that TV panel prices will return to an upward trend in February. Currently, it is expected that 32-inch, 43-inch, and 50-inch panels will increase by 1 USD, 55-inch by 2 USD, and 65-inch and 75-inch by 3 USD in February.

• Monitor

Although monitor panel demand is in the off-season, due to panel production cuts, unstable conditions in the shipping industry, and supply issues with polarizing film materials, some customers are observed to be willing to increase orders to mitigate potential risks. Additionally, with the established upward trend in TV panel prices in February, panel manufacturers are more confident, and it is expected that open-cell panels will increase by 0.1 to 0.2 USD. Panel module prices, however, are expected to remain overall stable.

• Notebook

Notebook panel demand is still in the off-season in the first quarter, and with sluggish demand, brand customers continue to request panel manufacturers to maintain the trend of price reductions. Different panel manufacturers respond differently to this pressure. Newer entrants are actively seeking to expand market share, leading to a more aggressive pricing strategy, putting pressure on existing panel manufacturers. In this competitive situation, notebook panel prices are not easily expected to see a comprehensive stabilization. In February, only TN models are expected to maintain a stable trend, while FHD IPS models are expected to decrease by 0.1 USD, and 16:10 models are expected to decrease by 0.2 to 0.3 USD.

India’s Tata Group is reportedly in discussions with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Pegatron to establish a joint venture, with the intention of co-managing the Apple iPhone assembly plant currently under construction in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The partnership is anticipated to hasten the growth of iPhone production capacity in India.

According to Reuters citing industry sources, Tata, having acquired an iPhone assembly plant in the southern state of Karnataka from the Taiwanese company Wistron in 2023, has officially become part of the iPhone supply chain in India.

On the other hand, the new facility in the city of Hosur, Tamil Nadu, will be Tata’s second iPhone assembly plant in India, featuring 20 production lines, as disclosed by sources cited by Reuters.

Amid rumors that Tata Group in India is deeply engaged in discussions with Pegatron to form a strategic alliance and establish a joint venture, Pegatron did not to respond to market speculations.

Currently, approximately 10% of Apple’s iPhone production capacity in India comes from Pegatron, with the vast majority of capacity originating from Foxconn’s iPhone assembly plant located in Karnataka.

Furthermore, Foxconn has the highest share in Apple’s current new iPhone assembly. Among the four iPhone 15 series models, only certain models like iPhone15 and iPhone15 plus are produced by Tata Group in India.

An industry source has reportedly stated, “Tata cannot build everything from scratch,” He indicated that after Tata establishes a joint venture with Taiwanese firm Pegatron, Pegatron will provide technical and engineering support.

In recent years, Pegatron has been consistently expanding its global footprint, with expansions ongoing in Taiwan, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and other locations.

Regarding its operations in India, Pegatron announced in late October 2023 that it had invested approximately NTD 300 million (roughly USD 9.56 million) to secure leasing rights for factory premises in Tamil Nadu.

In January of this year, the Indian subsidiary announced signing a construction general contracting project to commence electromechanical engineering construction for a new plant, totaling approximately NTD 510 million (roughly USD 16.26 million). According to industry sources, Pegatron’s Indian facilities primarily focus on smartphone production at present.

(Photo credit: Apple)

“Foldable Phones” have emerged as the new epitome of high-end flagship smartphones. However, whether it’s in the form of vertical or horizontal folding, it may no longer meet the needs of some users.

Recently, industry sources cited by TechNews has suggested that Chinese smartphone brand Huawei is planning to launch a triple-fold foldable phone this year. This move is expected to make smartphones unfolded more akin to the size and functionality of tablet computers.

As for the folding form, it might be in a Z-shaped (or S-shaped) manner. The screen size after folding would be similar to that of a regular smartphone, approximately 6.4 inches. It is rumored that Huawei’s Z-fold phone’s panel supplier could be BOE.

However, the design of the triple-fold phone may not be limited to just the Z-fold type; it could also be designed in a G-fold manner.

What is the G-fold type? It means both hinges fold inward. Nonetheless, such a design would necessitate adding a cover screen, which would increase the overall weight and thickness. Additionally, to cover the folded panel, the folding radius of the other side’s hinge must be enlarged.

As for the Z-fold (or S-fold) design, while it allows for the use of the outer folded panel as a cover screen, thus saving weight, the simultaneous presence of both inward and outward folding poses significant challenges to the panel’s layer stacking design and the mechanism’s design.

However, some people may wonder, “Are foldable phones really selling well?” In fact, according to TrendForce’s data,  for the shipment numbers last year, the existing shipment volume of foldable phones still falls short of expectations, reaching only 15.7 million units, failing to surpass the 16 million mark.

The sales performance of the leading brand in foldable phones, Samsung Electronics, was also not as good as expected, remaining at around 10.5 million units. The sales situation of other Chinese brands also did not meet expectations.

While foldable phones have indeed become the new symbol of high-end flagship smartphones, the fact is that the design patterns have become quite fixed. For consumers who are always looking for something new, these phones have lost their novelty and breakthrough points.

Therefore, brands have begun to contemplate the future of foldable phones with new designs and are considering abandoning certain design patterns to achieve better profitability.

For instance, OPPO and vivo are expected to abandon upright foldable phone models within this year, opting to retain only the left-right folding models (Fold).

The main reason behind this decision is that the pricing of upright foldable phones is lower, and although there might be a chance of higher shipment volumes compared to the Fold models, the profit margins are not significant.

Now that the demand for foldable phones has started to plateau, it is anticipated that the demand for foldable phones this year will only reach 17.7 million units, a 12.3% year-on-year increase.

In the face of sluggish end-user demand, why are smartphone brands still considering launching new types of foldable phones? This relates to the notion of “technological showcase.” Huawei’s triple-fold phone design takes into account technological capabilities, yield rates, and other factors.

Initially, the scale may not be too large, but the technological demonstration aspect remains potent. Huawei is anticipated to position itself as a technological leader, exerting pressure on other smartphone brands to a certain extent.

However, brands are not only contemplating “folding” smartphone designs. Some brands have also begun considering rollable and pull-up designs, aiming to inject new vitality into the smartphone market.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)