Why manufacturing chips in US may make smartphones more expensive

Interesting information I gleaned from this article is the cost of latest flagship smartphones from Apple, Samsung and Google:

According to the article, analysts think that the price of smartphones could rise about $100 if the phone’s parts were all made in the US. However, phone manufacturers won’t be passing the additional costs on to consumers. A reference to Apple’s hefty margins suggest that Apple can absorb chip price increases and hold iPhone wholesale price hikes to about 2%. It bags the question: “Why would Apple give up its hefty margin to buy chips made in US?”

Source: Why manufacturing chips in US may make smartphones more expensive

Despite Short-Term Cyclical Downturn, Global Semiconductor Market’s Long-Term Outlook is Strong – Semiconductor Industry Association

It is encouraging to see that the long-term outlook of the semiconductor industry remains strong despite short-term cyclical downturn. The key here is that investments will continue to grow and demands from automotive, data storage and wireless connectivity sectors will drive the growth.

It looks like the CHIPS Act will help encourage companies to invest in ecosystem development in the US thus bringing in more jobs in the US. According to the article from SIA (check out the link below), the semiconductor industry will support 2.1 million jobs in the US economy by the end of the decade. I certainly hope that emerging technologies and innovations in speech recognition, Internet of Things, Wifi and 6G connectivity will drive increasing demand for semiconductors. The future is bright if we can grow interests in STEM education and careers and that we will train enough engineers to support the industry in the coming years.

Despite Short-Term Cyclical Downturn, Global Semiconductor Market’s Long-Term Outlook is Strong – Semiconductor Industry Association

Reading Journey

Tee’s books on Goodreads

Tee Lim’s favorite books »
Share book reviews and ratings with Tee, and even join a book club on Goodreads.

Now that the pandemic is almost over, I started reflecting on the changes in my life. The biggest being, I haven’t had the chance to travel the world and to visit customers. I did travel on a few occasions but nothing like what I have done while working as a marketing director.

As I have no more commute and no more travels, I needed to find something to do with all the extra time on my hands. In a typical year, I would read maybe 10 -15 books, so I decided to get myself a really nice ebook reader and start to read everyday. This has proven to be a blessing in many ways. I found that by reading, I can sort of travel to different places and learn a lot about historical events. I guess through reading, I get to view the world in a different light. I get to feel different emotions and I get to learn new things. That is the gift that this pandemic has given me. I hope to continue my reading while looking for work.

Qualcomm and NXP: What happens next?

Qualcomm’s failure to acquire NXP turned out to be a good thing for shareholders. It’s $10 billion buyback in the form of a modified Dutch auction expires on August 27 unless the company chooses to extend it.

This is just the first step towards a $30 billion buyback program authorized by Qualcomm’s board. The overall program will complete by end of next year, so there are many different transactions that could take place from now till then.

With a consensus of $65.90, Qualcomm’s current offer looks like a good deal. It also gives share holders an opportunity to cash out. It’s relationship with Apple and loss of business to Intel seems inevitable.

What will Qualcomm do without NXP? How it is going to penetrate other market segments like automotive and industrial on its own? How about the future of its mobile business?

 

 

HomePod: Apple’s Smart Speaker Differs From Amazon And Google With Focus On Sound Quality

Is it too late for Apple to jump in to the voice powered computing market? With a starting price of $349, it costs more than twice the Google Home and almost $169 more expensive than the Amazon Echo.

Several key questions come into mind. Will the HomePod do more than Google Home or Amazon Echo? Can it justify the premium with better audio quality or better user experience?

What is most interesting is the 6-microphone array built into the HomePod. Apple claims that it can pick up voice commands from across the room. Is it significantly better than the Amazon Echo with 6 microphones? What about the A8 processor that comes with the HomePod? It should be powerful enough to perform real-time acoustic modeling, audio beam forming and echo cancellation. Question is, will Siri be improved to match the intelligent assistants offered by Google or Amazon? Will the HomePod support other streaming audio services such as Spotify and Pandora?

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the HomePod is its tight integration with Apple music streaming service. This will certainly attract Apple users with strong ties to its platforms. Will users wait patiently for 6 months before they can get their hands on the HomePod?

The market for voice activated smart speakers will certainly be more crowded. As competition heats up, it will drive innovation and increase adoption. I guess I am on the fence on whether to wait for the HomePod or go with the Amazon Echo. What about you?

 

 

Source: HomePod: Apple’s Smart Speaker Differs From Amazon And Google With Focus On Sound Quality

Apple iPad in Steep Decline as New Tablet Surfaces | Fortune.com

Source: Apple iPad in Steep Decline as New Tablet Surfaces | Fortune.com

It is interesting to see the decline of Apple’s iPad business. Total worldwide tablet shipment has also fallen significantly last year. In the first quarter of 2016, only 52.9 million tablets were shipped worldwide. That is down more than 20% compared to the same period in 2015.

Is this the end of tablets? I am not so sure. I think the replacement cycle of tablets may just be longer than most people expect. My 3 year old Nexus tablet from Asus still runs well, though I decided to upgrade to an iPad Air a couple of months ago. Would I upgrade to a two-in-one hybrid notebook with touchscreen? I doubt so, I am still very much a laptop and tablet user. I develop web sites and do all my accounting work on laptops and use my tablet for web browsing, casual gaming and occasionally for streaming video. Would I embrace a two-in-one for both types of work? At this time, I don’t think so. Time will tell if the two-in-ones will become mainstream 🙂

 

New iPod Touch’s A8 CPU running at 1.1GHz, includes 1GB of RAM | Ars Technica

New iPod Touch’s A8 CPU running at 1.1GHz, includes 1GB of RAM | Ars Technica.

Apple’s 5th generation iPod Touch is certainly a very nice upgrade since it has been 3 years since the last update. The CPU has been upgraded from A5 to A8 and it should represent a significant improvement in the overall speed of the ipod Touch.

The most interesting part about the new ipod is that Apple has chosen to slow down the A8’s to 1.1 GHz to keep the ipod cool and running longer. Why not ship with an A7?

Anyway, I wonder if this new Ipod Touch will entice consumers to pay $299 for the 32 GB model?

Microsoft Announces Windows 10

Microsoft Announces Windows 10 | EE Times.

Microsoft claims that Windows 10 will make Windows 7 and Windows 8 users immediately productive. I suspect, Microsoft had enough complaints with WIndows 8 that they decided to skip Windows 9 and just call the new OS Windows 10. They have to defend the new OS even before users get their hands on it. Maybe they are starting to realize that users don’t want to deal with changes in the UI and would stick to what they are familiar with. Windows 10 will still include a Start menu which they so desparately wanted to get rid of.

The idea that Microsoft is going to have one single platform for PCs, tablets, smartphones and Internet of Things is really quite a stretch. Seems like they want to unify the user experience across various platforms, which have dramatically different usage models and applications. They are just thinking about making it easy for Microsoft and not the users. They feel that users like to look at Windows UI on their phones, which I think is quite the opposite. I for one would like a different experience and user interface on my mobile device. I just can’t imagine having the same uninspiring experience on my mobile devices to be quite honest. The problems with Microsoft Windows and the enormous amount of time wasted to restart and to deal with unresponsive apps are the reasons users don’t embrace Windows phones. Now, why would people be inclined to buy a Windows phone so that they could torture themselves when everything is from the same old Microsoft?

If Microsoft could fully understand why consumers are not buying Surface tablets or Windows Phones, they might do a better job with their OS. Creating a single platform to ease development is inward looking. On the surface, it benefits consumers, but I don’t believe it is focusing on creating the best user experience. Tailoring experience for each device is not the same as starting with the users in mind and creating a usable and enjoyable experience that meets their needs. Sorry, I hope you get the idea that we don’t want one size fits all, we prefer to alternatives optimized for mobile users in mind.

 

China’s SMIC and Qualcomm 28-nm Deal

The collaboration between China’s SMIC and Qualcomm to manufacture 28-nm wafers in China is a big win for the Chinese foundry. Qualcomm is offering support to SMIC so that it could manufacture Snapdragon processors on 28-nm nodes.

SMIC is not new to Qualcomm as it has previously supported Qualcomm on power management, wireless and connectivity products at various process nodes. This strategic move brings the two companies closer, and allows SMIC to manufacture 3DIC as well as RF front-end ICs in addition to the Snapdragon products.

The supply constraints of 28 nm process at TSMC is sending companies like Mediatek and Qualcomm scrambling to secure capacities at SMIC, UMC and Globalfoundries.

In addition to the collaboration with SMIC, Qualcomm is also working with Samsung and Globalfoundries on 14 nm process, which is scheduled to go into production in early 2015.

On the acquisition front, Qualcomm is also making acquistions critical to its success in the future. It announced acquisition of WIlocity to acquire 60 GHz technology (IEEE802.11ad) also known as WiGig. Looks like Qualcomm is eyeing the60 GHz Gigabit WIFI market and to get a head-start against rivals.

The surprising aerodynamics behind the Brazuca World Cup football

The surprising aerodynamics behind the Brazuca World Cup football.

Normally, I wouldn’t be writing about aerodynamics or soccer, but this one is an exception. I find it fascinating to learn about what goes on into the making ofthe new Brazuca football used at the World Cup this year. In contrast to the Jabulani which has been known to behave erratically due to an effect known as knuckling, the Brazuca limited knuckling speed to only 30 mph.

Not sure how the players and goal keepers are responding to the Brazuca at the World cup. I read about more goals being scored in the group stage matches during this world cup. Could the Brazuca has something to do with it?