HTC VIVE today announced VIVE Flow, a compact, lightweight immersive glasses device that transports its wearers wherever they want or need to be - anytime, anywhere. "With VIVE Flow, HTC is taking technology in a new direction, focusing not on what we do, but on how we feel. Maintaining our wellness has come to the forefront in the last few years, with so many millions feeling stressed every day, so it has never been more important to take time out to calm our minds, and VIVE Flow provides the perfect opportunity to escape our four walls and immerse ourselves in our ideal ambience," said Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC. "Meditation, gentle stretches, brain training, streaming our favorite shows or even meeting friends or coworkers in VR with VIVE Sync can all be enhanced by a device light and compact enough to fit in our pocket. VIVE Flow represents the next evolution of technology, as we take a more holistic view of how we can make life better."

"Relaxation means different things to different people," said Nanea Reeves, CEO of leading XR wellness service TRIPP. "It's important to find your own version of zen, whether that means meditating, watching videos, or playing games. The fact that HTC gets it, that we can use VR in these ways that can benefit peoples' emotional and mental well-being is something that I personally am very excited about as is our entire team at TRIPP."

Marvell today announced the expansion of its industry-leading 5 nm data infrastructure platform with the launch of the industry's first 5 nm 50G PAM4 device for the carrier market, the Prestera DX 7321 Ethernet switch. The new switch builds on the success of the Prestera carrier-optimized portfolio and is ideal for 5G fronthaul and edge connectivity. In concert with this, Marvell's 5 nm OCTEON 10 DPU family, incorporating industry-leading hardware accelerators, is now sampling. By utilizing the industry's leading advanced process geometry, the Marvell Prestera switch and OCTEON DPU deliver 50% lower power than existing offerings, enabling new infrastructure solutions for next-generation carrier edge networks and RAN deployment models.

With the addition of the 5 nm Prestera device, the expanded carrier-optimized switch portfolio now comprises four cutting-edge Ethernet switches that scale port speeds from 1 Gbps to 400 Gbps with aggregate bandwidths ranging from 200 Gbps to 1.6 Tbps. The newest offering enhances Marvell's 5G solutions for Open RAN, vRAN and traditional RAN architectures, with Class D precision time protocol (PTP), which provides more timing headroom to enable larger cell coverage radius. The switch device incorporates integrated MACsec security and advanced telemetry to facilitate network visibility and automation.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today unveiled plans for continuous process technology migration to 3- and 2-nanometer (nm) based on the company's Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor structure at its 5th annual Samsung Foundry Forum (SFF) 2021. With a theme of "Adding One More Dimension," the multi-day virtual event is expected to draw over 2,000 global customers and partners. At this year's event, Samsung will share its vision to bolster its leadership in the rapidly evolving foundry market by taking each respective part of foundry business to the next level: process technology, manufacturing operations, and foundry services.

"We will increase our overall production capacity and lead the most advanced technologies while taking silicon scaling a step further and continuing technological innovation by application," said Dr. Siyoung Choi, President and Head of Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics. "Amid further digitalization prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, our customers and partners will discover the limitless potential of silicon implementation for delivering the right technology at the right time."

There's no secret that Taiwan has been looking at expanding its chip production to other nations, with TSMC having agreed to build a plant in Arizona, while also discussing the subject with the EU. Now it looks like a deal is being worked out with India to build further chip plants there, although it's not clear who the intended manufacturer will be, as TSMC isn't mentioned in the report by Bloomberg.

However, the piece mentions 5G devices and components for electric cars, which suggests that it might not be a cutting edge node we're looking at here, but rather something a bit more conservative like 28 or 14 nm. India would make sense in many ways, but the obvious concern once again is water supply, although so far no exact location has been mentioned for the placement of the fab.

AAEON, an industry leader in embedded solutions, introduces the BOXER-6643-TGU compact industrial system. With rugged construction, the system delivers the performance and innovative technologies of the 11th Generation Intel Core U processors (formerly Tiger Lake) to applications in tough environments, providing wide operating temperature range and 5G support, to power embedded controller and Industrial IoT (IIoT) gateway applications.

The BOXER-6643-TGU is powered by the 11th Generation Intel Core U processors, delivering greater performance over previous generations, with innovative Intel technologies ensuring more accurate, secure data processing. With up to 64 GB of memory, the system allows users to utilize the full extent of the system's processing capabilities, and with the Intel Iris Xe embedded graphics, users can leverage more powerful GPU processing to power AI and Edge Computing industrial applications. With dual HDMI ports, the system can also support 4K high definition video on two monitors, perfect for powering digital signage.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that four of its System LSI products received product carbon footprint label certification from the Carbon Trust, the first of Samsung's logic chips to do so. Having received the semiconductor industry's first carbon footprint accreditation for memory chips from the Carbon Trust in 2019, Samsung has now broadened its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) spectrum with this global recognition of 'eco-friendly' logic chips. Samsung also grabbed the industry's first triple Carbon Trust Standard for Carbon, Water and Waste in June 2021.

The Carbon Trust is an independent and expert partner of organizations around the world that advises businesses on their opportunities in a sustainable, low carbon world. The Carbon Trust also measures and certifies the environmental footprint of organizations, supply chains and products. Of the various certification categories of the Carbon Trust, Samsung's System LSI products received the CO2 Measured product carbon footprint label. The label certifies the chip's carbon footprint, which informs consumers of the impact that the product and its manufacturing process have on the environment. Receiving the CO₂ Measured label is a critical first step for carbon reduction, since it verifies the current carbon emissions of the product with globally recognized specifications (PAS 2050), which Samsung can use as a benchmark to measure future carbon reductions.

Despite the intensifying COVID-19 pandemic that swept Taiwan in 2Q21, the domestic OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) industry remained largely intact, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Global sales of large-sized TVs were brisk thanks to major sporting events such as the Tokyo Olympics and UEFA Euro 2020. Likewise, the proliferation of WFH and distance learning applications propelled the demand for IT products, while the automotive semiconductor and data center markets also showed upward trajectories. Taking into account the above factors, OSAT companies raised their quotes in response, resulting in a 26.4% YoY increase in the top 10 OSAT companies' revenue to US$7.88 billion for 2Q21.

TrendForce indicates that, in light of the ongoing global chip shortage and the growing production capacities of foundries/IDMs in the upstream semiconductor supply chain, OSAT companies gradually increased their CAPEX and expanded their fabs and equipment in order to meet the persistently growing client demand. However, the OSAT industry still faces an uncertain future in 2H21 due to the Delta variant's global surge and the health crisis taking place in Southeast Asia, home to a significant number of OSAT facilities.

The panic buying of chips persisted in 2Q21 owing to factors such as post-pandemic demand, industry-wide shift to 5G telecom technology, geopolitical tensions, and chronic chip shortages, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Chip demand from ODMs/OEMs remained high, as they were unable to meet shipment targets for various end-products due to the shortage of foundry capacities. In addition, wafers inputted in 1Q21 underwent a price hike and were subsequently outputted in 2Q21. Foundry revenue for the quarter reached US$24.407 billion, representing a 6.2% QoQ increase and yet another record high for the eighth consecutive quarter since 3Q19.

ASUS earlier today teased its upcoming premium home networking product, the ZenWiFi PRO router. Designed in a vertical, cuboidal body with an acrylic top that shows off its MU-MIMO antennas, the ZenWiFi PRO is designed to be space-saving on your desk, while not compromising on range or bandwidth. As an ASUS Zen product, it's likely to be high on the aesthetics, with its matte black body that resembles a skyscraper. The "penthouse" (if you can call it that), features the antennas resembling pillars, as well as an RGB-illuminated ASUS logo that probably serves other functions. The teaser already reveals that the router is designed for 6 GHz Wi-Fi 6E. It's also possible that ASUS throws in goodies such as 2.5 GbE wired LAN and WAN ports, USB 3.x type-C and type-A ports to plug in the next crop of 5G dongles, DAS, and much more. It also wouldn't surprise us if ASUS designs mesh repeaters with the same design scheme as optional accessories, or part of whole-home mesh kits.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported record revenue for the second quarter ended August 1, 2021, of $6.51 billion, up 68 percent from a year earlier and up 15 percent from the previous quarter, with record revenue from the company's Gaming, Data Center and Professional Visualization platforms. GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.94, up 276 percent from a year ago and up 24 percent from the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1.04, up 89 percent from a year ago and up 14 percent from the previous quarter.

"NVIDIA's pioneering work in accelerated computing continues to advance graphics, scientific computing and AI," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "Enabled by the NVIDIA platform, developers are creating the most impactful technologies of our time - from natural language understanding and recommender systems, to autonomous vehicles and logistic centers, to digital biology and climate science, to metaverse worlds that obey the laws of physics.

MediaTek today announced the new Dimensity 920 and Dimensity 810 chipsets, the latest additions to its Dimensity 5G family. This debut gives smartphone makers the ability to provide boosted performance, brilliant imaging and smarter displays to their customers.

Designed for powerful 5G smartphones, the Dimensity 920 balances performance, power and cost to provide an incredible mobile experience. Built using the 6nm high-performance manufacturing node, it supports intelligent displays and hardware-based 4K HDR video capture, while also offering a 9% boost in gaming performance compared to its predecessor, the Dimensity 900.

Qualcomm is trying to get into the PC space with their mobile Snapdragon chips, which offer great battery and decent performance. However, so far only Apple managed to get the right formula for developing custom low-power, high-performance chips. It is exactly Apple's M1 processor in question that Qualcomm intends to mimic. According to the recent interview with Qualcomm's new CEO Cristiano Amon, we are informed that Qualcomm plans to produce laptop chips that would directly compete with Apple's. That means that, despite the ecosystem differences of Apple M1 (macOS) and Qualcomm Snapdragon (Windows-on-Arm), the company wants to deliver equal if not better performance and great battery life.

With the recent acquisition of Nuvia, Qualcomm has a team of very talented engineers to back up its claims. The company also recently hired some of the developers behind Apple's M1 chip. The company notes that it will be using only the best solutions for its upcoming SoC, which will include a 5G modem. Mr. Amon has also noted the following:

We needed to have the leading performance for a battery-powered device. If Arm, which we've had a relationship with for years, eventually develops a CPU that's better than what we can build ourselves, then we always have the option to license from Arm.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF ), the global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing, today announced it is expanding its global manufacturing footprint with the construction of a new fab on its Singapore campus. In partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board and with co-investments from committed customers, GF's more than US $4B (S$5B) investment will play an integral role in meeting the growing demand for the company's industry-leading manufacturing technologies and services to enable companies worldwide to develop and scale their business.

In a virtual groundbreaking ceremony, Singapore Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S. Iswaran and Mubadala Investment Company Managing Director and Group CEO H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, were joined by: UAE Ambassador to Singapore H.E. Jamal Abdulla Al Suwaidi; Singapore Ambassador to the UAE H.E. Kamal R Vaswani; Singapore Economic Development Board Managing Director Chng Kai Fong; GF Board Chairman Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi; along with GF executives including CEO Tom Caulfield; CFO David Reeder; SVP and Head of Global Operations KC Ang; SVP of Global Sales Juan Cordovez; VP of Human Resource for APAC and International Fabs Janice Lee; and VP of Technology Development in Singapore Dr. Soh Yun Siah.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF ), the global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing, and GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. (GWC), one of the top silicon wafer manufacturers in the world, today announced an $800 million agreement to add 300 mm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer manufacturing and expand existing 200 mm SOI wafer production at GWC's MEMC facility in O'Fallon, Missouri.

The silicon wafers produced by GWC are key input materials for semiconductors and an integral part of GF's supply chain. The wafers are used in GF's multi-billion dollar manufacturing facilities, or fabs, where they are used to manufacture the computer chips that are pervasive and vital to the global economy. Today's announcement expands GF's domestic silicon wafer supply from the United States.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today unveiled the Galaxy Book Go and Galaxy Book Go 5G, new additions to the Galaxy Book lineup, powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon compute platforms. The Galaxy Book Go series provides more choices at accessible prices to consumers looking to achieve more anytime, anywhere.

"PCs continue to enable our digital lives, helping us connect to our friends and family, work remotely, and find outlets for creativity and relaxation," said Woncheol Chai, SVP and Head of Experience Planning Team, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. "The Galaxy Book Go series is built for today's mobile-first users, who expect seamless communication, sustained productivity, and immersive entertainment—all in one device. With the new addition to the Galaxy Book, Samsung offers wider options to our consumers to choose a device that best fits their needs."

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, speaking at the company's 2021 Computex Opening Keynote address stated that the explosive demand for chips caused by recent inflections of technology, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in demand outstripping supply by such extent, that it could "still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address the shortages."

Gelsinger detailed how the world of information technology is at its biggest crossroads ever, with the emergence of Cloud, 5G, AI, and smarter edge computing changing the way people work, learn, and interact. This has caused a huge growth in the demand for semiconductors straining technology supply chains around the world. Gelsinger stated that his company is working with partners across the technology ecosystem to increase output to meet demand. He detailed how Intel has nearly doubled its own chip wafer manufacturing capacity over the past four years. "But while the industry has taken steps to address near-term constraints, it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address chip shortages of foundry capacity, substrate, and components.

Today at Computex 2021, Intel announced two new additions to the lineup of 11th Gen Intel Core processors. These new processors, combined with Intel's co-engineering work with independent software vendors (ISVs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), continue Intel's leadership in mobile compute—delivering the world's best processors for thin-and-light Windows-based laptops. Intel also introduced its first 5G product for the next generation of PC experiences, Intel 5G Solution 5000, following the previously announced collaboration with MediaTek and Fibocom.

"We've taken the world's best processor for thin-and-light Windows laptops and made the experience even better with the addition of our two new 11th Gen Intel Core processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics. In addition, we know real-world performance and connectivity are vital to our partners and the people who rely on PCs every day, so we're continuing that momentum with more platform capabilities and choice in the market with the launch of our first 5G product for PCs: the Intel 5G Solution 5000," said Chris Walker, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Mobility Client Platforms.

Owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, not only did LED revenue experience a downward trajectory, but this decline also reached a magnitude rarely seen in recent years, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. However, as vaccinations begin taking place in 1H21, the LED market's long-stifled demand is expected to rebound from rock bottom. Hence, global LED market revenue will likely undergo a corresponding recovery this year as well, with a forecasted US$16.53 billion, an 8.1% increase YoY, in 2021. Most of this increase can be attributed to four major categories, including automotive LED, Mini/Micro LED, video wall LED, and UV/IR LED.

MediaTek today announced the new Dimensity 900 5G chipset, the latest addition to its Dimensity 5G family. The Dimensity 900 chipset, built on the 6nm high-performance manufacturing node, supports Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, ultra-fast FHD+ 120Hz displays and a 108MP main camera for an all-around incredible experience. "Dimensity 900 brings a suite of connectivity, display and 4K HDR visual enhancements to high-tier 5G smartphones and gives brands great design flexibility for their 5G portfolios," said Dr. JC Hsu, Corporate VP and GM of MediaTek's Wireless Communications Business Unit. "The chipset's support for 5G and Wi-Fi 6 ensures users get the most of out their devices with super-fast and reliable connectivity."

The Dimensity 900 chipset is integrated with a 5G New Radio (NR) sub-6GHz modem with carrier aggregation and support for bandwidth up to 120 MHz. The chipset is equipped with an 8-core central processing unit (CPU) consisting of two Arm Cortex-A78 processors with a clock speed of up to 2.4 GHz and six Arm Cortex-A55 cores operating at up to 2.00 GHz. Dimensity 900 supports flagship LPDDR5 memory and UFS 3.1 storage, and can adapt to a 120 Hz screen refresh rate, bringing excellent performance improvements and a seamless experience to 5G mobile devices.

IBASE Technology Inc. (TPEx: 8050), IBASE, a leading provider of industrial motherboards and embedded systems, launches its latest 3.5" SBC IB953 powered by 11th Gen Intel Core processors (codenamed Tiger Lake). Measuring 146 x 102 mm in a compact footprint, the single board computer offers impressive I/O and computing performance, making it an ideal platform for a broad range of demanding applications in factory automation, machine vision, healthcare, as well as retail environments.

The IB953 features a 5G compatible M.2 3052 socket and the latest 11th Gen. Intel Core and Celeron processors built on 10 nm SuperFin process, delivering up to 25% faster performance and greater AI acceleration. With the Intel Core i7-1185G7 (IBASE model IB953AF-I7) comes the new Iris Xe (Xe-LP) graphics architecture supporting 96 EUs (Execution Units) which equals 768 cores and runs at 1.35 GHz, an increase of 250 MHz over the previous 11-gen graphics to provide up to twice the performance and improved power efficiency. The graphics engine's hardware acceleration can drive up to four simultaneous 4K HDR displays (via 2x DisplayPort + eDP and LVDS).

As the global economy enters the post-pandemic era, technologies including 5G, WiFi6/6E, and HPC (high-performance computing) have been advancing rapidly, in turn bringing about a fundamental, structural change in the semiconductor industry as well, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. While the demand for certain devices such as notebook computers and TVs underwent a sharp uptick due to the onset of the stay-at-home economy, this demand will return to pre-pandemic levels once the pandemic has been brought under control as a result of the global vaccination drive. Nevertheless, the worldwide shift to next-gen telecommunication standards has brought about a replacement demand for telecom and networking devices, and this demand will continue to propel the semiconductor industry, resulting in high capacity utilization rates across the major foundries. As certain foundries continue to expand their production capacities this year, TrendForce expects total foundry revenue to reach a historical high of US$94.6 billion this year, an 11% growth YoY.

NVIDIA today announced the NVIDIA BlueField -3 DPU, its next-generation data processing unit, to deliver the most powerful software-defined networking, storage and cybersecurity acceleration capabilities available for data centers.

The first DPU built for AI and accelerated computing, BlueField-3 lets every enterprise deliver applications at any scale with industry-leading performance and data center security. It is optimized for multi-tenant, cloud-native environments, offering software-defined, hardware-accelerated networking, storage, security and management services at data-center scale.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the latest addition to its 7-series portfolio, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 780G 5G Mobile Platform. Snapdragon 780G is designed to deliver powerful AI performance and brilliant camera capture backed by the Qualcomm Spectra 570 triple ISP and 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine, allowing users to capture, enhance, and share their favorite moments seamlessly. This platform enables a selection of premium-tier features for the first time in the 7-series, making next generation experiences more broadly accessible.

"Since introducing the Snapdragon 7-series three years ago, more than 350 devices have launched based on 7-series mobile platforms. Today, we are continuing this momentum by introducing the Snapdragon 780G 5G Mobile Platform," said Kedar Kondap, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Snapdragon 780G was designed to bring in-demand, premium experiences to more users around the world."

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 1H20 seemed at first poised to devastate the IC design industry. However, as WFH and distance education became the norm, TrendForce finds that the demand for notebook computers and networking products also spiked in response, in turn driving manufacturers to massively ramp up their procurement activities for components. Fabless IC design companies that supply such components therefore benefitted greatly from manufacturers' procurement demand, and the IC design industry underwent tremendous growth in 2020. In particular, the top three IC design companies (Qualcomm, Broadcom, and Nvidia) all posted YoY increases in their revenues, with Nvidia registering the most impressive growth, at a staggering 52.2% increase YoY, the highest among the top 10 companies.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., has completed its acquisition of the world-class CPU and technology design company, NUVIA for $1.4 billion before working capital and other adjustments.

"The world-class NUVIA team enhances our CPU roadmap, extending Qualcomm's leading technology position with the Windows, Android and Chrome ecosystems," said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO-Elect, Qualcomm Incorporated. "The broad support of this acquisition from across industries validates the opportunity we have to provide differentiated products with leading CPU performance and power efficiency, as on-demand computing increases in the 5G era."