Google is set to follow the lead of industry giants like Apple and Samsung by manufacturing its Pixel 8 series smartphones in India, with plans to supply the market starting in 2024.

“Today we see an even greater opportunity to make Pixel smartphones available to more people in India, and are very excited to announce our plan to manufacture Pixel smartphones in India. We intend to start with the Pixel 8, and will partner with international and domestic manufacturers to produce Pixel smartphones locally. We expect these devices to start to roll out in 2024, joining India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,” said Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services at Google, emphasizing the significant opportunity for Google in serving Indian consumers with Pixel phones.

However, Google has not disclosed specific production quantities or the proportion of Pixel phones that will be manufactured in India, nor have they revealed information about their manufacturing partners’ factory locations.

According to insiders, India’s largest contract manufacturing company, Dixon Technologies, and Foxconn’s Indian subsidiary are among the competitors in this effort to produce Pixel phones.

Under the policies promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has attracted increased investments from Apple. This year, Apple has not only opened two Apple-owned stores in India but has also moved more of its iPhone production from China to India. The recently launched iPhone 15 is the first iPhone manufactured in India.

A majority of Samsung smartphones sold in India are produced at Samsung’s Noida facility, the largest smartphone manufacturing plant globally, which manufactures the Galaxy A and M series. With the introduction of the Galaxy S23 series earlier this year, Samsung has also confirmed that the Galaxy S23 series for the Indian market will be produced locally. In addition to Apple and Samsung, Chinese Android smartphone manufacturers have also established partnerships with local Indian manufacturers.

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(Photo credit: Pixabay)

As the leading global supplier of NAND memory, Samsung is embarking on an ambitious journey to enhance its V-NAND technology, also known as 3D NAND. Early in this week, Samsung has officially declared its commitment to commence mass production of the 9th generation V-NAND memory, featuring an astonishing 300+ layers, by 2024. This achievement will establish a new industry record for the highest number of active layers, solidifying Samsung’s industry leadership.

In a blog post on Samsung Electronics, Jung-Bae Lee, President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business, stated, “The ninth-generation V-NAND is well under way for mass production early next year with the industry’s highest layer count based on a double-stack structure.”

Samsung was diligently working on the 9th generation V-NAND back in August this year, preserving the double-stacked technology they first introduced in 2020. Not only is Samsung confirming the trajectory of their next-gen non-volatile memory technology, but it also surpasses competitors by boasting more active layers. It’s been disclosed that SK Hynix’s upcoming 3D NAND will have 321 active layers, Samsung is set to surpass this number.

Jung-Bae Lee further elaborated, “Samsung is also working on the next generation of value-creating technologies, including a new structure that maximizes V-NAND’s input/output (I/O) speed.”

While precise performance details of Samsung’s 9th generation V-NAND remain undisclosed, it will power their upcoming SSDs. In the near future, it is anticipated that Samsung will introduce retail SSDs with the PCIe Gen5 interface, in line with the Samsung 990 Pro series.

Regarding long-term technological advancement, Samsung is committed to minimizing interference between units, reducing device dimensions, and maximizing the count of vertical layers. These innovative strides are clearing the path for Samsung to achieve the industry’s most compact unit size. These endeavors will propel Samsung toward their ambitious goal of developing over 1,000 layers of 3D NAND and distinctive memory solutions, ensuring the continued relevance of their products for data centers, personal computers, and a wide range of applications.

(Image: Samsung)

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• Memory Spot Price Updates: DRAM and NAND Flash Prices Soaring at Relatively High Levels
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The world’s largest automaker, Toyota (TM-US), announced on Thursday, the 19th, that its North American division has reached an agreement with Tesla (TSLA-US). Starting in 2025, Toyota’s electric vehicles will adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS).

Prior to Toyota’s announcement, companies like Ford, General Motors, and BMW had already joined the Tesla NACS alliance, providing customers with access to Tesla’s extensive Supercharger network.

In 2025, Toyota will integrate the NACS interface into specific Toyota and Lexus BEVs, including a new three-row electric SUV produced at Toyota’s Kentucky plant.

Vehicle owners can connect to Tesla’s widespread North American charging infrastructure, comprising over 84,000 charging stations, including Level 2 and DC fast chargers, using Toyota and Lexus apps.

Owners or lessees of Toyota and Lexus vehicles using the Combined Charging System (CCS) specification will have the option to purchase NACS charging connectors starting in 2025.

Notably, we have anticipated that by 2026, the global tally of public charging stations will soar to 16 million, marking an impressive threefold increase from 2023 figures. As this unfolds, the global ownership of NEVs—which includes both PHEVs and BEVs—will surge to 96 million.

Amid increased U.S. restrictions on China’s semiconductor industry, Chinese chip equipment manufacturers are witnessing a notable uptick in domestic orders. Over the first eight months of this year, Chinese chip equipment managed to capture nearly half of all orders. This serves as a compelling sign that the fears expressed by companies such as NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel about losing ground to domestic rivals in the Chinese market are materializing.

On October 17th, the Biden administration tightened chip export rules, barring American companies, including NVIDIA, from selling AI chips to China. At the same time, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) placed 13 Chinese GPU firms on its Entity List, further unsettling global semiconductor and AI supply chains. Ironically, these moves could expedite China’s domestic AI chip industry’s advancement amid the pressure.

Huatai Securities’ analysis reveals that Chinese chip foundries have been winning an increasing number of bids for machinery equipment this year. In the first eight months of this year, they secured 47.25% of these bids, with the percentage soaring to 62% in August. In comparison, during March and April, the rate was only 36.3%. This trend reflects a turning point for China’s chip equipment industry and showcases its rapid transition towards self-sufficiency.

As per Reuters, insiders disclosed that prior to the U.S. export bans, China’s advanced chip foundries rarely utilized domestic equipment, reserving it for expanding production. Yet, in reaction to the ongoing restrictions, they’ve proactively started testing homegrown equipment on all foreign devices and plan to fully replace foreign gear with domestic alternatives. This transition has greatly boosted local firms such as AMEC and NAURA.

Analysts observe that China’s local equipment makers have notably enhanced their production capacity, especially in wet etching and cleaning, positioning them for global competition with U.S. counterparts. What’s more, the quality of Chinese-made equipment has surpassed expectations, often advancing by up to two years. The substantial revenue growth in the sector attests to China’s remarkable progress in the semiconductor equipment industry.

Nonetheless, photolithography equipment remains a field where China’s domestic equipment struggles to break through due to its demanding requirements for optical and process precision. China has faced challenges in procuring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines crucial for manufacturing cutting-edge chips. The situation is further complicated by the joint efforts of the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, and other allies to restrict the export of advanced deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines to China.
(Image: AMEC)

Infineon, Hyundai, and Kia announced on October 18 that they have signed a multi-year agreement for the supply of SiC (Silicon Carbide) and Si (Silicon) power semiconductor modules and chips.

Under this agreement, Infineon will supply SiC and Si power components to Hyundai and Kia until 2030, and in return, Hyundai and Kia will support Infineon’s production capacity and reserves.

The demand for SiC power devices has surged with the growing popularity of new energy vehicles, and as a prominent industry leader, Infineon has embarked on numerous collaborations this year.

• Infineon and Resonac

In January, Infineon declared a new multi-year supply and cooperation agreement with Resonac Co., Ltd. (formerly Showa Denko K.K.). According to this agreement, Resonac will provide Infineon with SiC materials for producing SiC semiconductor components, including 6-inch and 8-inch wafers. Initially focused on 6-inch wafers, Resonac will later supply 8-inch SiC wafers to support Infineon’s transition to 8-inch wafers. As part of the agreement, Infineon will also provide Resonac with SiC material technology-related intellectual property.

• Infineon and TanKeBlue, SICC

In May, Infineon signed long-term agreements with TanKeBlue and SICC to ensure a more competitive and substantial supply of silicon carbide materials. These two suppliers will primarily provide Infineon with 6-inch silicon carbide substrates and offer 8-inch silicon carbide materials, aiding Infineon in transitioning to 8-inch SiC wafers. The agreements also encompass silicon carbide ingots, as Infineon had previously invested nearly 1 billion RMB in acquiring a laser-based wafer technology enterprise, aiming to enhance the utilization of silicon carbide substrates and device cost competitiveness.

Notably, both TanKeBlue and SICC will account for a double-digit percentage of Infineon’s long-term demand volume.

• Infineon and Foxconn

In the same month, according to the Foxconn’s official website, Infineon and Foxconn have signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish a long-term partnership in the field of electric vehicles. Under this agreement, the two companies will focus on the adoption of silicon carbide technology in high-power applications for electric vehicles, such as traction inverters, on-board chargers, and DC converters. They also plan to jointly establish a system application center in Taiwan to expand their collaboration further.

• Infineon and Schweizer Electronic

Additionally, Infineon is collaborating with Schweizer Electronic to develop an innovative solution aimed at directly embedding Infineon’s 1200V CoolSiC™ chips into PCB boards. This move seeks to significantly enhance the driving range of electric vehicles while reducing the overall system cost.

• Infineon and Infypower

In September, Infineon announced a partnership with Shenzhen Infypower (INFY) to provide the industry-leading 1200V CoolSiC™ MOSFET power semiconductor devices, boosting the efficiency of electric vehicle charging stations.

In line with their goal of capturing a 30% share of the global SiC market by 2030, Infineon revealed plans to invest up to 5 billion euros over the next five years to construct the world’s largest 8-inch SiC power semiconductor facility in Malaysia.

(Photo credit: Infineon)