1. With a touch screen Apple is developing an ARM Mac or iOS computer;
May 26 news, there were rumors that Apple is developing a new product line, the project code-named 'Star'. However, the most critical point is that this product line will mainly focus on the iOS and macOS equipment line technology Fusion, and equipped with a touch screen. The rumors originated in the foreign media 9to5Mac, according to the media, the 'Star (Star)' project first prototype not only has the same touch screen as the iOS device, but also has a SIM card slot, built-in GPS , compass and waterproof housing and so on.
9to5Mac insists that this device exists because Apple's supplier Pegatron produced a small batch of 'N84' prototype devices in January this year and shipped it to Apple's headquarters.
However, the 9to5Mac message did not cite any reliable sources. There were few details about the 'Star' project provided, so it was difficult to determine if such a device really existed. Even if it existed, it was impossible to define this as a What kind of equipment is it? How do you say? In this news, there is no mention of the screen size, processor design and appearance of the 'Star' project equipment. Most importantly, it is not entirely clear whether the device has a keyboard. .
Of course, combined with previously popular rumors and various wishful analysis, normal speculation will certainly say that the 'Star' device is either an ARM-based MacBook or an ARM-based laptop running iOS. Before Apple's official confirmation, whether or not there are facts, how to guess unpublished products are not excessive.
9to5Mac believes that this 'Star' project device should also be based on EFI type boot, just like Apple's current Intel-based Mac computer, but the processor is replaced with ARM platform, but the device does not run macOS operation. The system, on the contrary, is a 'derivative' of the iOS system, because Apple has not done any touch optimization on macOS.
Finally, 9to5Mac concludes that the hardware product codenamed 'Star' will not be the next generation of iPads that are waterproof, but Apple's new device family, which is different from the existing iOS and macOS product lines.
As we all know, it has long been rumored that Apple's Mac product line will abandon Intel processors in the future and will be fully converted to ARM chips. It is rumored that this matter will happen as soon as 2020. Because Apple has purchased PA Semi since 2008. After the chip design team, the ambition for self-developed chips is growing. It is only a matter of time to customize the Mac chips.
Regardless of the actual situation, time will tell us the answer. But it is certain that if you smoothly transition from the x86 architecture to the ARM architecture, this will inevitably be a long and complicated process. Does Apple choose to follow this path, and whether it will find another way? It is not clear. Lei Fengwang
Mini LED demand will soar in the second half of 2.2018;
According to related data, Mini LED applications will soar in the second half of 2018, and LED epitaxial wafers and chip maker Epistar will also start selling in the third quarter or fourth quarter of 2018 for smartphone backlight illumination and ultra-fine pixels. Pitch monitor Mini LED.
Epistar also revealed that it is currently testing the application of LCD-backlit Mini LED chips, but due to the lack of appropriate local dimming driver ICs, its development is not yet mature.
It is estimated that between 2017 and 2023, the annual average compound growth rate of the LED industry will reach 8%, mainly due to the growth of Mini LED and MicroLED. The global Mini LED and MicroLED module will also reach US$4 billion in output value, including Mini LED and The output value of the MicroLED chip will be up to 400 million U.S. dollars.
Epistar expects the Mini LED to account for 30-40% of its total capacity by 2020, and plans to start production of MicroLED by 2020.
As Chinese manufacturers gradually increase new production capacity since the end of 2017, there is a trend of oversupply in LED chips. The demand for LED backlighting will bottom out in the second quarter of 2018 and then rebound in the next quarter.
Due to the strong demand from local government outdoor LED lighting projects in China, Epistar has fully utilized AlGaInP LED chip production capacity and plans to expand its production capacity by 25%. Currently, the revenue ratio of AlGaInP LED has risen to 40%.
At the same time, Epistar is testing VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) diodes for 3D sensors and may begin small-scale trial production in the fourth quarter.
Epistar expects future business growth will come from filament bulbs, lamps, outdoor and commercial lighting, plant growth lighting, automotive exterior and interior lighting, infrared LED sensing, ultra-fine pixel pitch displays, and applications such as Mini LED and MicroLED. OFweek Semiconductor Lighting Network
3. Excessive panel size? Hit global LCD plant
Huaxing Optoelectronics' world's first 11-generation panel plant was moved into the main equipment this week and it is scheduled to be put into operation next year. It will sign a second 11th-generation plant. The Ultravision 10th Five-Year-Generation Plant is also scheduled to be put into operation next year, resulting in large-scale production. Suspicion of oversupply of panel overcapacity will also pose serious challenges to the future operating performance of global panel makers.
Following the commencement of BOE’s first global production facility in Beijing in Hefei this year, the first Shenzhen Eleventh Generation Plant (T6) of Huaxing Optoelectronics also announced the completion of the first exposure equipment move-in at the end of this year. Light up the first panel, put into production in 2009.
It is worth noting that Huaxing Optoelectronics signed a contract with the Shenzhen Municipal Government and announced that it will build a second 11th-generation plant (T7). The company also plans to start production in 2019 with the addition of the Ultravision and Guangzhou 10.5-year-old plants. The continuous production of the ultra-large panel plants of 65 and 75 years and over 10 to 5 years will bring about excessive pressure on the global LCD panel production capacity after 2019.
According to Li Yaqin, deputy general manager of the mainland market research group, the T7 will be the sixth line of the 10th Five-Year Plan to determine the investment in the world. The first five are the 10th and 5th generation lines of BOE Hefei, and the 10th and 5th generation of BOE Wuhan. Line, Super Vision 堺 Guangzhou 10th Five-Year Line, Huaxing Photoelectric T6 Factory, Lejin Display Paju Tenth and Five-Year Line.
With the Tenth Five-Year/Eleventh Generation line, the panel production capacity will continue to increase in the coming years. Qunzhi Group predicts that the global production capacity for the Tenth Five-Year/Eleventh Generation Line in 2002 will reach 64 million square meters annually. It is equivalent to 5 to 60% of the world's 8.5-year line capacity. And these capacities are rapidly growing from 2018 to 2021.
The rapid expansion of production at the mainland panel plant may result in excess panel production capacity. Li Yaqin said that once the supply is too fast, it will cause oversupply in the short term, and not only the profit of the panel maker, but also the upstream and downstream manufacturers. Lee.
Although the cost of television brand factories can be reduced, this will not be conducive to healthy development of the market. Panel suppliers upstream will also face downward pressure on prices. The global panel leader Le Jinyin displays a net loss of 98.0 billion after tax in the first quarter. In terms of the Korean Won, this is the first time in six years, which also reflects the panel's excess capacity, which has affected the profitability of panel makers. The profit performance of AUO and Innolux in the first quarter was better than market expectations. Efforts to operational performance.
According to Xie Qinyi, general manager of IHS display department research, due to continuous new production capacity in the mainland, disrupting supply and demand in the market, the panel will face an oversupply situation for three years starting this year. The operating pressure of global panel makers will increase in the second quarter and may occur. Loss. United Daily