Taiwan-based lens maker Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) is guardedly optimistic about 2025 sales, expecting wider penetration for its periscope lenses in smartphones and other applications, and better order momentum from Chinese smartphone brand customers, according to the company.

Benefiting from the continuous increase in market penetration of LED backlit keyboard modules, electronic components manufacturer Chicony Electronics reported continued revenue growth in the third quarter of 2024. Although the product mix slightly impacted the gross margin, which declined marginally compared to the previous quarter, it remained above 20%.

Apple plans to launch the iPhone 17 series in 2025, featuring low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED panels across all models. LTPO is a low-power panel technology currently supplied to Apple by Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD).

Samsung Electronics (Samsung) has released its financial report for the third quarter of 2024, revealing a 14.5% year-over-year decline in operating profit for its Mobile Experience (MX) division. While revenue from new products such as smartphones, tablets, and wearables contributed to growth, rising costs and inflation have dampened demand recovery, leading to decreased profitability.

The era of advanced process inflation has arrived, with the price of 3nm processes continuing to rise. Key system-on-chip (SoC) components such as Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite and MediaTek's Dimensity are seeing significant price increases, leaving downstream smartphone manufacturers in distress, lamenting that the inflation from "advanced processes" is causing smartphone prices to rise instead of fall, making business increasingly difficult.

Arm has stated that it is adequately prepared for the court hearing scheduled for December, as the dispute between Qualcomm and Arm continues to develop. In response, Qualcomm maintains that Arm's assertion to terminate the contract is wholly unfounded. Both companies have adopted a firm stance and have not demonstrated any indications of reconciliation.

Qualcomm's newly unveiled mobile application processor (AP), the Snapdragon 8 Elite, demonstrates significant performance improvements over its predecessor and reportedly surpasses the A18 Pro chipset in Apple's iPhone 16 Pro. This advancement is expected to strengthen Samsung Electronics' Galaxy series smartphones in the premium market while further challenging Samsung's AP business.

After meeting with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Apple CEO Tim Cook continued his visit to China led by COO Jeff Williams. They visited key local suppliers including Lens Technology, Luxshare, and Bozhon, showcasing Apple's ongoing commitment to the Chinese supply chain.

At the 2024 vivo Developer Conference, Vivo unveiled a new AI strategy, introducing a new 3 billion parameter terminal large model called 3B. This model enables features like call summaries, document outlines, intent understanding, and local knowledge graphs to operate effectively on terminals.

Various companies are attempting more innovations in chip design for 2024. An observer in the integrated circuit (IC) design industry noted that while Apple and the Android camp have different structural configurations, there is one commonality: significant expansions in memory configuration, particularly with upgrades to CPU cache in the Android camp.

Apple's sales growth in China has slowed in 2024, falling behind previous years' trends. Huawei, having re-entered the flagship market with its Mate 60 series in 2023, is now reportedly delaying its next product launch until November 2024, weakening its initial momentum.

Largan Precision, a leading smartphone lens manufacturer reportedly in the Apple iPhone supply chain, has expressed caution about market prospects for the fourth quarter of 2024, disclosing that customers are scaling back orders.

The outlook for Apple's iPhone and competitors' smartphones may be mixed, but Largan Precision, a leading phone camera lens supplier, remains conservative about the overall market.

This year's Hon Hai Tech Day (HHTD24) not only showcased Foxconn's latest technological developments and plans to partners, investment institutions, and the media, but it was also open to the general public for the first time. Noteworthy technology and applications have been summarized as follows.

Samsung Electronics is currently grappling with the choice of application processors (AP) for its Galaxy S25 series, but time is running out to make the final decision.

OmniVision and other Chinese CMOS image sensor (CIS) makers have expanded their foothold in the premium smartphone-use camera segment, mounting strong challenges for market leader Sony, according to industry sources.

MediaTek has officially launched its Dimensity 9400 chipset, with the overall CPU structure roughly on par with previously leaked information. The 9400 is equipped with one Arm Cortex-X925 core with a peak frequency of 3.62GHz, three Cortex-X4 cores reaching up to 3.3GHz, and four Cortex-A720 cores with a maximum frequency of 2.4GHz.

As general DRAM prices decline, recent forecasts indicate a divergence in the DRAM expansion strategies of Samsung Electronics (Samsung) and SK Hynix for 2025. Samsung plans on reducing its expansion scale, while SK Hynix plans to actively expand its high bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity.

Apple's launch of the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset followed by Meta's introduction of its AR smart glasses prototype Orion has reignited interest in the field. As a result, the industry is gauging what Google's direction in the AR/VR space may be going forward to ride the renewed momentum.

Jarllytec, a specialist in bearings and hinge technology, expects a significant increase in orders for foldable smartphone models from its Chinese clients starting in October. This surge is projected to contribute to Jarllytec's revenue growth, with monthly gains potentially reaching high single digits. Furthermore, non-smartphone foldable devices from these clients are expected to launch in the second half of the fourth quarter of 2024, which could lead to additional month-over-month revenue increases, potentially achieving double-digit growth compared to the third quarter.

According to recent foreign media tests, the charging speed of Apple's iPhone 16 Pro can be up to 20% faster than the previous generation when paired with a suitable charger.

At Meta Connect 2024, Meta unveiled its new Orion AR glasses and the latest Ray-Ban smart glasses, showcasing innovative technologies. The company emphasized that Apple's Vision Pro may be heading in the wrong direction.

A Chinese venture capital heavyweight Datong Chen has been appointed to the board of directors of China-based IC design company Unisoc. Chen, chairman of Investment Committee, Hua Capital Management, co-founded OmniVision in 1995, and Spreadtrum (now Unisoc) in 2001. Meanwhile, Unisoc has also stepped up its shipments of handset application processors (AP), with its market share now said to be on a par with Apple's.

Unisoc, a leading Chinese chip design company, has secured CNY4 billion (US$548 million) in equity financing, primarily through state-backed platforms including Pudong Venture Capital, Guotai Junan Securities, and Haitong Securities. This critical funding aims to accelerate research and development in 5G and IoT technologies, bolstering Unisoc's domestic market presence while enhancing its competitive edge globally.

Before 2020, almost all smartphones incorporated LTPS technology for their AMOLED panels. However, many manufacturers are turning to LTPO, especially now that generative AI (GenAI) integration is gaining popularity.