For Qualcomm, whose revenue is highly dependent on mobile phone business, it is an inevitable choice to realize the transformation based on diversified business. On the one hand, the growth of smartphone demand is slowing down. IDC data shows that the total global smartphone shipments declined for the first time in 2017. Chip makers such as SK Hynix expect smartphone demand growth to stagnate. On the other hand, Apple, Huawei and other mobile phone manufacturers have made their own research on chips to reduce their dependence on the supply chain. Qualcomm must attack the enterprise in the Internet of Things, smart cars and other sub-sectors and adjacent industries.
Mobile phone is not the only straw, seeking business diversification
It is understood that in FY2017, Qualcomm's non-mobile phone business revenue exceeded $3 billion, an increase of more than 75% compared to 2015. Qualcomm CEO Morenkov expects that by 2020, cars, mobile computing, Internet of Things and security will be adjacent. The industry will bring Qualcomm's $77 billion in revenue.
If 4G solves the problem of 'network of people', the focus of 5G is 'Internet of Things'. According to statistics, in 2025, the number of device ports worldwide will increase from 20 billion in 2017 to 70 billion, with an average of 5,000 new minutes added. Qualcomm introduced mobile SoC, SoC, LTE SoC, SoC and Bluetooth SoC series products, with voice interaction, sensors based on different requirements for cost and performance in smart phones, smart homes, smart cities and other scenarios. Processing, camera image processing and other software solutions. Brian Modoff, executive vice president of Qualcomm Strategy and Corporate M&A, said the Internet of Things will be Qualcomm's second largest market opportunity with a potential market of $43 billion.
In the Internet of Things market, the first major outlet is the intelligent networked car. At present, Qualcomm has 15 years of development history and numerous product portfolios in the automotive field. Intel’s responsible person once told reporters that the intelligent network car is a mobile data center. The data volume of a driverless car is around 4TB. In 2017, Intel acquired the vision system company Mobileye, and quickly entered the car market through Mobileye's vision processor and partners. Qualcomm also proposed the world's largest in 2016. The acquisition of automotive semiconductor supplier NXP, but the transaction was not successful. Compared with Intel's focus on machine vision and AI algorithm, Qualcomm is more focused on the layout of car networking, car-to-vehicle interconnection and other technical solutions. At the CES show at the beginning of the year, Qualcomm said that its processors and 4G modems have been adopted by Honda, Jaguar, BYD and other car companies, and another 12 companies have used the Snapdragon autopilot platform for the development of in-vehicle entertainment systems. Qualcomm’s orders for autopilots reach 30. One hundred million U.S. dollars.
Server chip is another area of Qualcomm's exploration. Qualcomm launched the Centriq2400 processor series based on Samsung's 10nm FinFET process in 2017, which is regarded as an important attempt by the ARM camp to enter the server market. However, Intel's dominance in the server market is difficult to shake, the industry It was once rumored that Qualcomm had withdrawn from the server market. In this regard, Amon said that Qualcomm is considering integrating the data center related work into the joint venture company Huaxintong, and will not stop research and development of the data center business.
Compared to the Internet of Things, smart cars, data centers, 'Tomorrow Star' VR / AR technology evolution and market size is still in its infancy. But VR has increased the requirements for processors, computing power, low latency, high-definition display, involving Chip, network, display, tracking, audio, interactive and other links, with good connectivity to smart phones, also fits Qualcomm's strategic layout of mobile processors and 5G technology. 'Tomorrow Star' XR will become the next A generation of mobile computing platforms?
As early as 2015, Qualcomm mentioned the next generation of virtual reality applications in the configuration parameters of the Snapdragon 820, and integrated this 3D graphics, 4K decoding and display, inertial sensors, visual inertial ranging and other technical capabilities of mobile processing The device is regarded as 'the most basic threshold for providing VR experience'. The Snapdragon 835 further integrates the VIO system that tracks the head 6DOF movement, and launches the VR SDK based on the Snapdragon mobile platform. The Snapdragon 845 launched one year later is the first Support for inside-out 6DOF positioning and real-time location and map construction (SLAM) mobile processor. At the press conference before the Augmented Reality World Expo, Qualcomm launched the world's first XR-specific platform Snapdragon XR1, supporting 3DOF, 6DOF header Tracking, 4K resolution and 3D sound.
Hugo Swart, Senior Director of Product Management at Qualcomm, told reporters that Qualcomm's XR (VR+AR) strategy includes chips, VR SDK, HMD Accelerator Program, and key ecosystem partners. Currently, the Opteron chip has been applied to 20 MR or In the VR helmet, more than 20 helmets are being developed based on the Snapdragon chip.
While the market share of mobile VR chips remains absolutely leading, Qualcomm has repeatedly mentioned VR in the layout of 5G technology. Peter Carson, senior director of marketing at Qualcomm, once pointed out to reporters that 5G ultra-low latency will support VR terminals and the cloud. The close combination. The edge terminal with greatly improved computing performance will undertake positioning tracking and partial rendering work, and complete rendering tasks together with the cloud to enhance the immersive VR experience.
'Only when the terminal test supports powerful computing performance, and then uses the rich content of the cloud, and at the same time put the processing in the cloud and the terminal, that is, distribute the rendering task on the cloud and the terminal, so as to bring more real in the mobile environment. The VR experience. 'Peter Carson said. He believes that the future XR technology will be extended to more areas, such as medical health, security applications and educational interaction.
Hugo Swart is optimistic about XR as the next generation mobile computing platform. From now on, the popularity of VR still needs 3 to 5 years of incubation. At the software level, VR lacks explosive applications that enhance user perception and consumer willingness; Level, the resolution, delay, and comfort of mainstream VR machines are difficult to meet the needs of long-term use. What level of products can OEMs develop based on the Snapdragon platform? Can Qualcomm's VR layout be cashed into business revenue? , remains to be seen.
Moreover, Qualcomm is not at the forefront of VR. Microsoft has announced that Hybrid Reality will be one of the company's four core businesses in the future, and announced that it will use its own AI chips for the next generation of Hololens. After Intel acquired Israel's VR startup Replay Technologies, Constantly accelerating the layout in the AR/VR field, demonstrating its True View technology at this year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Mobile World Congress. Apple's self-developed GPU A11 optimizes AR functions and immersive 3D games. To support the development of ARKit for augmented reality platform. With the advent of the 5G era, the vertical integration of VR and the horizontal expansion of AR will bring more broad market space and more intense competition to leading enterprises. Can Qualcomm be in VR? /AR market maintains a dominant position after the outbreak, whether VR/AR can become a powerful engine for non-mobile phone business, has yet to be tested by the market.