Samsung is ramping-up manufacturing volumes on seven separate OLED production lines dedicated to panels for the iPhone 8, according to a Korean report. While the panels are described as ‘flexible,’ this simply refers to the type of screen needed for an edge-to-edge display.
The report says that full-scale production will begin later this month, with output capacity increasing by 700% …
Apple managed to achieve a little year-on-year growth in iPhone sales in its most recent quarter, but market intelligence data from Strategy Analytics, Canalys and TrendForce show that the company looks set to be overtaken by Chinese brand Huawei …
It was reported earlier this month that Apple was close to striking a deal where it would make a large upfront investment in LG’s OLED production lines in return for output being exclusively devoted to iPhone screens.
A fresh report today supports this, and claims to have more detailed information on the as-yet-unannounced arrangement …
With Samsung yesterday reported to be gearing up to win back some of Apple’s A-series chip production from next year, TSMC is today said to be boosting its own plans to make processors for the 2018 iPhone.
TSMC last year became Apple’s sole supplier of its A-series, in large part due to its lead in ever-smaller chips. The iPhone 8 is expected to use a 10nm process, meanwhile the Taiwanese chipmaker is offering a 7nm process for next year’s iPhone …
A report out of Korea says that Samsung – dropped by Apple as a supplier for iPhone processor chips last year – will once more share production with TSMC from next year.
Apple used to split its A-series chip production between Samsung and TSMC, until switching exclusively to the Taiwanese company for the iPhone 7. TSMC kept its exclusive contract for the upcoming iPhone 8, but Samsung has reportedly succeeded in winning orders for the 2018 iPhone thanks to two factors …
Former Apple creative director Hugh Dubberly has suggested that Apple is in danger of being left behind by Samsung now that the company is in the post Steve Jobs era.
Samsung has forecast that its Q2 profits will easily set an all-time record for the company. While sales of its flagship S8 smartphone will play some role, the bulk of these profits are expected to come from chip and display panels – with Apple its largest single customer …
Competition appears to be heating up in the voice-based intelligent speaker market, with Samsung the latest company said to be planning its own version.
Samsung is said to be building the world’s largest OLED production plant as it seeks to meet future demand for displays for the iPhone 8 and beyond. The report comes after the company reportedly shared its plans with manufacturers of production equipment needed for the plant.
However, while Samsung is believed to be the sole supplier of displays for the iPhone 8, there is no guarantee that it will retain this position for subsequent OLED models …
Samsung has revamped the website for its Smart Switch app, designed to make it easy to transfer data and settings to Galaxy devices from competitor phones – including iPhones …
The latest Kantar data shows that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus remained the top-selling phones in the USA for the three-month period ending in April, with a combined market share of 20.1%. Total iPhone share grew 5.8 points year-on-year to hit 36.5%.
Samsung didn’t fare so well, though there was also some mixed news for Apple …
Curved widescreen monitors are all the thing these days, and Samsung has just upped the stakes with a mega 49-inch wide HDR model aimed primarily at gamers. The company says that it’s the world’s largest widescreen monitor.
The Samsung CHG90 is the top end of a trio of new models just announced by the company: 27-, 32- and 49-inch QLED screens – which are LCD panels lit by LEDs …
Apple is currently engaged in a high-profile legal battle with Qualcomm centered on patent royalties. Apple struck first back in January and has since expand its lawsuit to additional countries, while Qualcomm has officially hit back with a countersuit.
While the Federal Trade Commission had originally stated that Qualcomm had monopolistic like qualities, the trade group this week has yet again slammed the chip maker…
iPhone shipments fell by 15% year-on-year in China during the first quarter of the year according to Counterpoint Research data. Apple saw its market share in the country fall from 12.3% in Q1 2016 to 10.1% Q1 2017.
The main reason for the fall at a time when smartphone sales in China are still growing was far stronger competition from local brands …
A report out of Korea claims that Samsung will not only be manufacturing the OLED screens for the iPhone 8, but also playing a key role in the supply chain management for related components.
Samsung Display, the display-making unit of Samsung Electronics, is the only panel maker globally that mass-produces OLED panels for smartphones. Its market share stands at a whopping 95 percent currently. Because Apple is still less experienced in OLED, the display maker is said to be playing a key role in the overall supply chain management that consists of its own key parts suppliers …
Toshiba NAND chip in the 2016 12-inch MacBook (iFixit)
Following earlier confusion about whether Apple or Foxconn was bidding for a stake in Toshiba’s chip-making division, it appears that the answer could be ‘both.’ Reuters cites a report by public broadcaster NHK that Apple would be making its own bid alongside the existing Foxconn one.
Apple is considering teaming up with its supplier Foxconn to bid for Toshiba’s semiconductor business, public broadcaster NHK said on Friday […] Apple is considering investing at least several billion dollars to take a stake of more than 20 percent.
If the deal went through, it could be bad news for Samsung – but there are a couple of hurdles to be overcome before agreement could be reached …
Trendforce data seen by us suggests that Samsung overtook Apple in Q1 smartphone sales even before the company’s new flagship Galaxy S8 landed in stores in Q2. Most of the gains made by the company were, however, thanks to lower-end devices.
Samsung’s sales results for its high-end smartphones fell short of expectations in the first quarter as consumers’ confidence in the brand had yet to fully recover from the recall of Galaxy Note 7. Nevertheless, Samsung continued to do very well in the mid-range and low-end segments of the market. The economically priced, high-performing Galaxy J series sustained Samsung’s shipments and contributed significantly to the expansion of the brand’s overall smartphone production volume. Samsung was the only brand that saw positive growth in production volume during the off season of the first quarter.
Trendforce also predicts that Samsung and other Android manufacturers will already start to see weak sales in Q2 as consumers wait for the iPhone 8 …
Today was an exciting day over at 9to5Google as Samsung unveiled a suite of new features coming to their new Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices. What made today’s announcements uncanny was just how many features Samsung unveiled in their new Galaxy S8 that we’ve already heard reported for the upcoming iPhone 8. The Galaxy S8 may not be iPhone fans want today, but it surely prepares them for what we may be seeing later this year.
The back-and-forth patent lawsuits between Apple and Nokia could be about to get more interesting. Nokia is seeking access to documents from Samsung’s patent battles with Apple to assist its own case.
Apple sued Nokia last year, claiming that the company had deliberately excluded some patents from an agreement between the two companies, subsequently transferring five of them to a patent troll which unsuccessfully tried to extort $100M from the Cupertino company. Apple seemingly filed the lawsuit in an attempt to head off any further such attempts …
IHS Markit released its latest data today comparing shipments of 350 smartphones by model last year, and within finds that iPhone 6s topped the list as the most popular, beating out newer iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models and all the Android devices on the market.
The Apple Watch has notably caused smartwatch efforts by other companies to fail, and a new profile from Fast Company details the impact Apple had on Samsung’s efforts in the category. The report explains that it all started back in 2011, when it was first rumored that Apple had an interest in developing a smartwatch.
Latest iPhone 8 design concept
This fall Apple is expected to introduce three new iPhone models: iterative iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus updates, and a third model with a new design and screen size. According to a new report today, however, the so-called premium iPhone 8 model may only be visually more advanced rather than functionally.
Samsung’s chip business has been increasingly left out in the cold by Apple as the company has favored Taiwanese rival TSMC for the A-series processors used it its iPhones and iPads. TSMC won all of Apple’s business for the A-series chips used in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7, and is reported to be the exclusive supplier for the 10nm A11 chip destined for the iPhone 8.
But it seems Samsung hasn’t yet given up hope of winning future business from Apple. Korea’s ET News reports that the company is accelerating plans for 7nm chips in the hopes that these might be used for next year’s iPhones …