Intel Completes Sale of Smartphone Modem Business to Apple:
(Source) In the beginning of this month, Intel announced that it sold the majority of its smartphone modem business to Apple for $1B USD. As per their sales terms, Intel can still develop modems for non-smartphone applications, like PCs and autonomous vehicles. Most importantly, this transaction will allow Intel to focus on the development of technology for its 5G networks.
Apple Asks Chinese Suppliers to Double AirPods Production:
(Source) Despite the current US-China trade war, Apple has increased its business in China. Apple asked two of their Chinese suppliers to double production of their wireless earbuds, AirPods. This increase in production was necessary to meet the demands for this holiday season. One of the two suppliers, Luxshare Precision, has bumped their monthly AirPods Pro to 2 million units. These recent increases have not only been positive for Apple but also for the suppliers. The stocks of both Chinese suppliers rose with the announcement of the influx in production, with Luxshare Precision’s stock rising 34%.
Tariff Reprieve Granted for Consumer Electronics:
(Source) The electronic and tech industries have been majorly impacted by the current U.S.-China tariff war throughout this year. However, the Trump administration’s decision to delay the imposition of 15% duties on over $150B USD Chinese goods has created a short-term tariff reprieve. This delay might result in a boost of holiday-related consumer sales but likely insignificant considering the 25% tariffs on the other $250B USD worth of Chinese imports are still standing. Though the initial panic over tariffs has mostly subsided since their arrival in 2018, the U.S.-China trade war continues to take a toll on the electronics industry. Many U.S.- based manufacturers have reported that booking new business contracts for this upcoming year has been challenging.
ZF to set up third research and development centre in China:
(Source) While most companies are moving their businesses out of China, ZF is doing the opposite. The German automotive parts manufacturer just established a third R&D center in Guangzhou, Southern China. ZF will be investing an estimated $90M EUR into developing the center. ZF’s two other R&D centers in China, both located in Shanghai, focus efforts on the development of chassis technology as well as passive and active safety technology. This new center will focus on future automotive technologies, such as automated driving and e-mobility.
Notice of Closure of Saitama Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.’s (Formerly: TOKO, INC.) Production Subsidiaries:
(Source) By the end of this year, Saitama Murata Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Murata, will have terminated manufacturing at its production subsidiaries Hua Jiuh Technology and Shantou S.E.Z Huajian Electronics. Formerly TOKO Group, the Saitama Murata Manufacturing Group has been negatively impacted by the diversification needs in major markers, increased foregin competition and acceleration in the development cycle over the past few years. As a result, Saitama has decided to shut down the two production subsidiaries.The impact on the Company’s performance this fiscal year due to the closing of these production subsidiaries is negligible.
USI's looking to accelerate expansion - acquires Asteelflash:
(Source) USI, a prominent EMS based in Shanghai, formally announced its intention to acquire Asteelflash, a French multinational electronics contract manufacturing company, this month. If USI’s equity acquisition agreement with Asteelflash’s shareholders goes through, USI will acquire 100% equity of Asteelflash for $450M USD. Out of the total amount, 90% of it will be paid in cash and the remainder will be paid in shares. Asteelflash currently has over 6,000 employees across 18 facilities. If acquired, they will become a vitally important subsidiary of USI. This acquisition would not only benefit USI, it would also help Asteelflash grow. If backed up by USI, Asteelflash would be able to gain more opportunities and accelerate its business expansion.
Worldwide Wearables Market to Top 300 Million Units in 2019 and Nearly 500 Million Units in 2023, Says IDC:
(Source) People are crazy about wearable tech and there’s data to back that claim. In the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) recent Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker forecast, it was reported that the global market for wearables shipped approximately 305 million units this year. That figure represents a 71% increase of wearable devices shipped from 2018 to 2019. It is projected that total volumes will increase by almost 200 units (from 305.2M to 489.1M). This growth will result in a 22.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
New Product Releases:
1. Microchip-EERAM Memory Solutions:
Microchip has launched a new family of Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) EERAM memory products. This family introduces four SPI densities, ranging from 64 Kb to 1Mb. It can retain data at power loss and reduce memory costs. They are more cost effective than other NVRAM alternatives currently on the market, offering up to a 25% cost savings.
2. ST Micro- STMicroelectronics Launches STM8 Nucleo-32 Boards:
STMicroelectronics has put out an affordable and easy-to-use STM8 Nucleo-32 Boards. These new development boards are compact and are conveniently controlled and powered via USB connection. The NUCLEO-8S207K8 is the first available STM8 Nucleo-32 board. It contains a 32-pin STM8S207K8 MCU, multiple capture-compare channels and 12 high-current outputs.
3. KEMET- New Surface Mount Safety Certified Ceramic Capacitors:
KEMET’s new ceramic capacitors offer smaller form factors save space without compromising performance by offering higher capacitance. The new range of surface mount device (SMD) MLCCs are safety certified with intended use in space constrained mains powered applications.
4.Kioxia- Kioxia Develops New “Twin BiCS FLASH”:
Kioxia’s new Twin BiCS FLASH is the world’s first three-dimensional semicircular split-gate flash memory cell structure. The Twin BiCS FLASH uses specially designed semicircular Floating Gate (FG) cells and achieves better program slope and a larger program/erase window at a smaller cell size in comparison to conventional circular charge trap (CT) cells. This new memory cell structure utilizes novel split-gate technology to boost bit density.
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