The economic downturn keeps pushing the PC and related manufacturing markets down, following slumps in demand stemming from increased cost of living, the veritable arms race to technological products during COVID-19, and manufacturer's efforts to increase output to provide enough product to meet said demand. But all that goes up must eventually come down, and now South Korean manufacturers are facing the result of months of decreased consumption, with stock levels increasing ahead of actual product uptake (stocks have reached 67.3% of produced goods and factory shipments have declined 20.4%). This has now led to a 1.7% decline in August's output when compared to the same period last year - the first time the South Korean industry has seen negative growth since 2018.

Samsung and Kioxia both have announced a reduction in production output in the months to come, which should give distribution enough time to clear some of the accumulated inventory. The scales of production typically occur in cycles - ones with excess manufacturing against demand, and other times where the reverse happens. It seems we're now in the descending part of the spectrum, with prices - especially of NAND - being expected to drop in the coming months. It will take a while until the manufacturing reduction makes itself felt in the overall IC pricing landscape. Micron too has announced it's slowing down the production ramp-up of its 232-layer 3D NAND so as not to contribute in excess towards an already over-saturated market.

According to the latest TrendForce research, shipments of gaming monitors are in decline for the first time since the product category was launched to market, with 2022 estimates lowered to 20.5 million units, a 10% drop YoY. The primary reasons for this downgrade are intensifying inflation in Europe and spiking interest rates in North America which have upset and displaced demand for consumer electronics products. In addition, delays in launching high-end graphics cards has also led some e-sports consumers to consider postponing purchases.

According to TrendForce, judging from the market share of flat and curved gaming monitors, curved gaming surfaces accounted for approximately 41% of the market in 2021. In 2022, this share will increase to 44% and is expected to have a chance to reach 46% in 2023. In addition to an increased supply of curved monitor panels and their high price-performance ratio, growth in the market share of Ultra-Wide products is also one of the reasons for the rise of curved products.

According to TrendForce research, due to steady weakening of overall demand for consumer electronics, inventory pressure has increased among downstream distributors and brands. Although there are still sporadic shortages of specific components, the curtain has officially fallen on a two-year wave of shortages in general, and brands have gradually suspended stocking in response to changes in market conditions. However, stable demand for automotive and industrial equipment is key to supporting the ongoing growth of foundry output value. At the same time, since the creation of a marginal amount of new capacity in 2Q22 led to growth in wafer shipments and a price hike for certain wafers, this drove output value among top ten foundries to reach US$33.20 billion in 2Q22. Quarterly growth fell to 3.9% on a weakening consumer market.

A prelude to inventory correction was officially revealed in 3Q22. In addition to intensifying severity in the initial wave of order slashing for LDDI/TDDI, and TV SoC, diminishing order volume also extended to non-Apple smartphone APs and peripheral IC PMIC, CIS, and consumer electronics PMICs, and mid-to-low-end MCUs, posing a challenge for foundry capacity utilization. However, the launch of the new iPhone in 3Q22 is expected to prop up a certain amount of stocking momentum for the sluggish market. Therefore, top ten foundry revenue in 3Q22 is expected to maintain a growth trend driven by high-priced processes and quarterly growth rate is expected to be slightly higher than in 2Q22.

HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, today announced the acquisition of CAARESYS, an Israel-based company founded in 2017 that develops vehicle passenger monitoring systems powered by contactless, low-emission radar. CAARESYS has successfully partnered with leading OEMs and provides a mass production solution for cabin monitoring including vital signs sensing, passenger localization and Child Presence Detection (CPD).

The in-cabin radar sensor and algorithm solution from CAARESYS will strengthen HARMAN's automotive product offerings, building on the company's strong consumer-centric Digital Cockpit and ADAS solutions. With CAARESYS' contactless vital signs sensing and real-time insights from that information, HARMAN can now offer new levels of in-vehicle safety, comfort, and well-being in its growing product line.

Samsung Electronics will unveil the Odyssey OLED G8 (Model Name: G85SB)—another premium addition to the Odyssey lineup—at IFA 2022 in Berlin, Germany, further reinforcing the Odyssey's industry-leading position. The Odyssey OLED G8 is the company's first OLED gaming monitor and will be available in an ultra-thin, 34-inch form factor, delivering brilliant brightness on an OLED panel partnered with Quantum Dot Technology and packed full of premium gaming features including an incredibly low 0.1 ms response time and 175 Hz refresh rate.

The new 34-inch Odyssey OLED G8 is built to an ultra-slim thickness of 3.9 mm at its thinnest part—the slimmest in its product category—and finished with a sleek, metal frame. The monitor requires no backlighting, while delivering true RGB and true black for maximum color accuracy and brightness—all without a color filter. The lighting is controlled in pixels which can be expressed in black with a near-infinite contrast ratio.

According to TrendForce research, material supply improvement and spiking demand for enterprise SSDs from North American hyperscale data center and enterprise clients in 2Q22 coupled with the Kioxia contamination incident in 1Q22 prompted customers to ramp up procurement to avoid future supply shortages. Manufacturers also give priority to meeting the needs of server customers due to the high pricing of enterprise SSD. In the second quarter, overall revenue of the enterprise SSD market increased by 31.3% to US$7.32 billion.

As the market leader, Samsung has grown its enterprise SSD revenue to US$3.26 billion with the recovery of enterprise SSD procurement. Especially in the second quarter, when orders for other consumer products continued to decline, enterprise SSD became the company's outlet for reducing production capacity. At present, Samsung has been continuously investing in the development of next-generation transmission specification products such as the CXL 2.0 product released at the Flash Summit in early August, in order to maintain a leading position in the market.

Basemark launched today its second GPUScore graphics benchmark, called The Expedition. The Expedition targets high-end smartphones and other mobile devices running on Android or iOS. It utilizes the latest mobile GPU technologies, like Variable Rate Shading on supporting devices. As for graphics APIs, The Expedition supports Vulkan and Metal. The Expedition uses state-of-the-art rendering algorithms, similar to ones seen in the latest mobile games. Every run of GPUScore: The Expedition runs exactly the same content regardless of hardware and operating system. This combination makes the test results truly comparable with high accuracy and reliability.

The difference in graphics performance between desktops and mobile devices is getting narrower, as consumers want smartphones and other mobile devices with superior graphics performance. Consequently, graphics processors used in handheld devices are rapidly evolving. This raises the importance of new graphics performance benchmarks that test the latest devices correctly. Relevant measurements give the consumers an accurate understanding of the graphics performance, which is a major selling point.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced the 990 PRO, the company's high-performance NVMe SSD based on PCIe 4.0. Delivering lightning-fast speeds and superior power efficiency, the new SSD is optimized for graphically demanding games and other intensive tasks including 3D rendering, 4K video editing and data analysis.

"With continuing innovations in gaming, 4K and 8K technology as well as AI-driven applications, consumers' need for high-performance storage is growing exponentially," said KyuYoung Lee, Vice President of the Memory Brand Product Biz Team at Samsung Electronics. "The 990 PRO provides an optimal balance of speed, power efficiency and reliability, making it an ideal choice for avid gamers and creative professionals seeking uninterrupted work and play."

Samsung Electronics today broke ground for a new semiconductor research and development complex in Giheung, Korea, aiming to extend its leadership in state-of-the-art semiconductor technology. Samsung Electronics plans to invest about KRW 20 trillion by 2028 for the complex in an area covering about 109,000 square meters within its Giheung campus. The new facility will lead advanced research on next-generation devices and processes for memory and system semiconductors, as well as development of innovative new technologies based on a long-term roadmap.

Today's groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, President and CEO Kye Hyun Kyung, President of the Memory Business Jung-Bae Lee, President of the Foundry Business Siyoung Choi and President of the S.LSI Business Yong-In Park, along with more than 100 employees.

Samsung Electronics today announced the global launch of Odyssey Ark, the world's first 55-inch 1000R curved gaming screen, adding a completely new form factor to the industry-leading Odyssey lineup. The huge display delivers a 165 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time (GtG), plus an all new Cockpit Mode and an exclusive controller, the Ark Dial—offering the ultimate window into the world of gaming with unparalleled immersion.

"We are excited to unveil this totally unique, next-generation gaming screen, the Odyssey Ark. This 55-inch 1000R curved gaming screen brings together premium, cinematic picture quality, immersive surround sound and an incredibly flexible interface which gamers increasingly demand," said Hyesung Ha, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "The gaming community craves new experiences and Odyssey Ark delivers access to a new world of gaming that will raise standards across the entire industry." The groundbreaking Odyssey Ark is built to deliver incredible cinematic experiences, superior gaming performance and an interface that offers completely optimized flexibility. Originally unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, the Odyssey Ark was recognized as a CES Innovation Award Honoree.

The upcoming Samsung 990 PRO flagship consumer SSD has recently been listed as PCIe 5.0 compliant by PCI-SIG with the entry also confirming the drive's name and M.2 interface. The upgrade to PCIe 5.0 from 4.0 doubles the available bandwidth for the card with Samsung's existing enterprise PCIe 5.0 drives reaching speeds of 13,000 MB/s significantly above the 7000 MB/s of the best PCIe 4.0 drives. The latest Intel Alder Lake systems can support PCIe 5.0 drives on select motherboards with AMD support set to arrive with the launch of Ryzen 7000 and X670/B650 motherboards. Samsung is expected to release at least 1 TB and 2 TB variants of the drive however other details such as the exact length of the card and the controller used are currently unknown.

capabilities, and FlexCam experiences
Samsung Electronics today announced the next generation of groundbreaking foldable smartphones: Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4. Both devices feature customizable form factors, tailored experiences and upgraded performance. Now in its fourth generation, Galaxy Z series continues to break from convention to deliver new, impactful interactions that enhance everyday life.

"Samsung Galaxy foldables are built on the foundation of our openness philosophy, enabling new possibilities with complete customization both inside and out. Created in collaboration with our world-class partners, the next foldable devices offer unparalleled mobile experiences that meet the needs of our most dynamic users," said Dr. TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "Through our unwavering focus and industry leadership, excitement for the foldables continues to grow. We've successfully transformed this category from a radical project to a mainstream device lineup enjoyed by millions worldwide."

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today unveiled an array of next-generation memory and storage technologies during Flash Memory Summit 2022, held at the Santa Clara (California) Convention Center, Aug. 2-4. In a keynote titled "Memory Innovations Navigating the Big Data Era," Samsung spotlighted four areas of technological advancement driving the big data market—data movement, data storage, data processing and data management—and revealed its leading-edge memory solutions addressing each field.

To maximize data center efficiency in an increasingly data-driven world, Samsung introduced a next-generation storage technology, "Petabyte Storage." The new solution will allow a single server unit to pack more than one petabyte of storage, enabling server manufacturers to sharply increase their storage capacity within the same floor space with a minimal number of servers. High server utilization will also help to lower power consumption.

Samsung prepares regulatory filing for its next-generation 990 PRO flagship client-segment SSD. The M.2 NVMe drive will leverage PCI-Express Gen 5. It remains to be seen if the drive will be an "all-Samsung" solution (in-house controller + NAND flash + DRAM cache); or if it will use some of the first crop of third-party Gen 5 controllers; although the former seems more likely. At least two capacities are known so far—1 TB and 2 TB. Samsung will be gunning to compete with flagship Gen 5 M.2 SSDs powered by next-generation Phison and Silicon Motion controllers that will be combined with 3D NAND flash chips with over 144 layers. The drive succeeds the current 980 PRO, the company's flagship Gen 4 SSD.

The Chinese technology giant, SMIC, has managed to advance its semiconductor manufacturing technology and shipped the first 7 nm silicon manufactured on China's soil. According to analyst firm TechInsights, who examined the 7 nm Bitcoin mining SoC made for MinerVa firm, there are doubts that SMIC 7 nm process is somewhat similar to TSMC's 7 nm process. Despite having no access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing tools, and US restrictions placed around it, SMIC has managed to produce what resembles an almost perfect 7 nm node. This could lead to a true 7 nm logic and memory bitcells sometimes in the future, as the node advances in SMIC's labs.

Having done an in-depth die analysis, the TechInsights report indicates that TSMC, Intel, and Samsung have a more advanced 7 nm node and are two nodes ahead of the Chinese SMIC. The results are not great regarding the economics and yield of this SMIC 7 nm process. While we have no specific data, the report indicates that the actual working chips made with older DUV tools are not perfect. This is not a problem for the Chinese market as it seeks independence from Western companies and technology. However, introducing a China-made 7 nm chip is more critical as it shows that the country can manufacture advanced nodes with restrictions and sanctions in place. The MinerVa SoC die and the PCB that houses those chips are pictured below.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has successfully developed a second generation of its pioneering SmartSSD. The new proprietary computational storage incorporates data processing functionality within a high-performance SSD. Unlike existing SSDs, Samsung's SmartSSD can process data directly, thereby minimizing data transfers between the CPU, GPU and RAM. This technology can avoid the bottlenecks that often occur when moving data between storage devices and CPUs, resulting in markedly improved system performance and much higher energy efficiency.

The SmartSSD is playing an increasingly important role, especially with the growth of next-generation technologies such as AI, machine learning and 5G/6G, which require large amounts of data processing. Leveraging software and intellectual property (IP) developed by customers, along with in-built Arm cores, Samsung's second-generation SmartSSD enables much more efficient data processing. Compared to conventional data center solid-state drives, processing time for scan-heavy database queries can be slashed by over 50%, energy consumption by up to 70% and CPU utilization by up to 97%.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has begun sampling the industry's first 16-gigabit (Gb) Graphics Double Data Rate 6 (GDDR6) DRAM featuring 24-gigabit-per-second (Gbps) processing speeds. Built on Samsung's third-generation 10-nanometer-class (1z) process using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology, the new memory is designed to significantly advance the graphics performance for next-generation graphics cards (Video Graphics Arrays), laptops and game consoles, as well as artificial intelligence-based applications and high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

"The explosion of data now being driven by AI and the metaverse is pushing the need for greater graphics capabilities that can process massive data sets simultaneously, at extremely high speeds," said Daniel Lee, executive vice president of the Memory Product Planning Team at Samsung Electronics. "With our industry-first 24 Gbps GDDR6 now sampling, we look forward to validating the graphics DRAM on next-generation GPU platforms to bring it to market in time to meet an onslaught of new demand."

Samsung Foundry will engage Ansys' industry-leading electromagnetic (EM) simulation tools to develop ultramodern designs, including 5G/6G, on the most advanced chips, nodes, and process technologies. Ansys' simulation solutions will deliver a comprehensive EM-aware design flow with greater capacity, speed, and integration capabilities for Samsung's most advanced semiconductor technology, accelerating on-chip design cycle times to boost high-speed connectivity while helping to reduce design error and risk.

Samsung designers will leverage Ansys' EM design tools, Ansys RaptorX, Ansys VeloceRF, and Ansys Exalto, to help reduce time to market by two to three weeks on smaller designs and up to two months for complex designs. With automation capabilities that optimize calculations and modeling, coupled with larger capacity, Ansys' software will allow the Samsung team to design at faster speeds with higher fidelity.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in semiconductor technology, today announced that it has started initial production of its 3-nanometer (nm) process node applying Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor architecture. Multi-Bridge-Channel FET (MBCFET), Samsung's GAA technology implemented for the first time ever, defies the performance limitations of FinFET, improving power efficiency by reducing the supply voltage level, while also enhancing performance by increasing drive current capability. Samsung is starting the first application of the nanosheet transistor with semiconductor chips for high performance, low power computing application and plans to expand to mobile processors.

"Samsung has grown rapidly as we continue to demonstrate leadership in applying next-generation technologies to manufacturing, such as foundry industry's first High-K Metal Gate, FinFET, as well as EUV. We seek to continue this leadership with the world's first 3 nm process with the MBCFET," said Dr. Siyoung Choi, President and Head of Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics. "We will continue active innovation in competitive technology development and build processes that help expedite achieving maturity of technology."

Hsinchu, Taiwan-based global semiconductor silicon wafer company, GlobalWafers, announced today that it plans to build a state-of-the-art 300-millimeter silicon wafer factory in Sherman, Texas, which is the first of its kind in the USA over twenty (20) years. Construction is expected to commence later this year. This 300-millimeter greenfield investment is consistent with the Company's announcement on February 6th of this year of brownfield and greenfield expansions totaling NTD 100 bn. This new Texas investment could also support as many as 1,500 jobs with production volumes ultimately reaching 1.2 mn wafers per month after multiple stages of equipment installation, in alignment with market demand.

300-millimeter silicon wafers are the starting material for all advanced semiconductor fabrication sites (or fabs), including recently announced United States (US) expansions by GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung, Texas Instruments and TSMC. Most of these wafers are currently manufactured in Asia, forcing the US semiconductor industry to highly rely on imported silicon wafers. This investment will represent the first new silicon wafer facility in the US in over two decades and close a critical semiconductor supply chain gap.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced the 200MP ISOCELL HP3, the image sensor with the industry's smallest 0.56-micrometer (μm)-pixels. "Samsung has continuously led the image sensor market trend through its technology leadership in high resolution sensors with the smallest pixels," said JoonSeo Yim, executive vice president of sensor business team at Samsung Electronics. "With our latest and upgraded 0.56μm 200MP ISOCELL HP3, Samsung will push on to deliver epic resolutions beyond professional levels for smartphone camera users."

Since its first 108MP image sensor roll-out in 2019, Samsung has been leading the trend of next-generation, ultra-high-resolution camera development. Through the steady launch of new image sensors and advancements in performance, the company is once again forging ahead with the 0.56μm 200MP ISOCELL HP3. The ISOCELL HP3, with a 12 percent smaller pixel size than the predecessor's 0.64μm, packs 200 million pixels in a 1/1.4" optical format, which is the diameter of the area that is captured through the camera lens. This means that the ISOCELL HP3 can enable an approximately 20 percent reduction in camera module surface area, allowing smartphone manufacturers to keep their premium devices slim.

According to TrendForce research, although demand for consumer electronics remains weak, structural growth demand in the semiconductor industry including for servers, high-performance computing, automotive, and industrial equipment has not flagged, becoming a key driver for medium and long term foundry growth. At the same time, due to robust wafer production at higher pricing in 1Q22, quarterly output value hit a new high for the 11th consecutive quarter, reaching US$31.96 billion, 8.2% QoQ, marginally less than the previous quarter. In terms of ranking, the biggest change is Nexchip surpassed Tower at the ninth position.

TSMC's across the board wafer hikes in 4Q21 on batches primarily produced in 1Q22 coupled with sustained strong demand for high-performance computing and better foreign currency exchange rates pushed TSMC's 1Q22 revenue to $17.53 billion, up 11.3% QoQ. Quarterly revenue growth by node was generally around 10% and the 7/6 nm and 16/12 nm processes posted the highest growth rate due to small expansions in production. The only instance of revenue decline came at the 5/4 nm process due to Apple's iPhone 13 entering the off season for production stocking.

Samsung Electronics today announced the global launch of ViewFinity S8, a high resolution monitor specialized for creative professionals including content creators, graphic designers and more. ViewFinity, a portmanteau of "View" and "Infinity" is the new name for Samsung's high resolution monitor lineup, meaning 'The Value of Infinite Viewing Experience', and showcases Samsung's ambition to establish a new benchmark for high resolution monitors.

"ViewFinity is the summation of Samsung's goal to deliver the most precise and functional monitors to businesses who require pinpoint accuracy and consistency throughout their work," said Hyesung Ha, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "We are proud to offer this monitor to designers, artists and professionals who will use our technology to create new ideas and experiences that realize their full potential."

With the course of the COVID-19 pandemic constantly changing, China is sticking with its "Dynamic Zero-COVID Policy" and has been slow to lift the lockdown on its cities that have been recently affected by the outbreaks of the disease. Hence, the manufacturing industries of the major Chinese cities are facing delays in the resumption of normal operation, and a production gap has emerged in 2Q22. For the electronics ODMs, this production gap will be difficult to bridge in 2H22. Additionally, the ongoing global inflation is keeping prices of goods at a very high level, and this trend will dampen the peak-season demand surge during the second half of the year. The effect of the inflationary pressure has been especially noticeable in the demand for consumer electronics such as smartphones, notebook computers, and tablet computers. This, in turn, is also impacting the MLCC market in terms of demand and inventory. Currently, the general inventory level has risen above 90 days for MLCCs of all sizes. Therefore, TrendForce forecasts that prices of consumer-spec MLCCs will fall further by 3-6% on average in 2H22.

On the other hand, demand remains fairly strong in application segments such as high-performance computing solutions (which include servers), networking equipment, industrial automation solutions, and energy storage systems. Furthermore, IDMs in the semiconductor industry will be adjusting the allocation of production capacity as the market for consumer electronics continues to experience a slowdown in 2H22. As a result, the undersupply situation for certain ICs will ease. Moreover, demand will be propped up in the high-end segment of the MLCC market and other application segments (e.g., automotive electronics and industrial equipment). All in all, thanks to the demand related to automotive electronics, servers, networking equipment, etc., TrendForce forecasts that the annual total MLCC shipments will increase by 2% YoY to around 2.58 trillion pieces for 2022.

Samsung Electronics, today announced that Xbox is joining Samsung Gaming Hub, a new game streaming discovery platform available on 2022 Samsung Smart TVs including Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED 4K, QLEDs and 2022 Smart Monitor Series. Samsung Gaming Hub will become the world's first Smart TV platform to include the Xbox app on Smart TVs. With this partnership, Samsung Gaming Hub users are now able to stream over 100 high quality games, through the Xbox app, including blockbuster titles like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. Moreover, they can play new games on day one of release from Xbox Game Studios and enjoy iconic franchises from Bethesda Softworks and more.

Powered by Tizen, Samsung Gaming Hub is a new game streaming discovery platform bridging hardware and software for a better player experience on 2022 Samsung Smart TVs, enabling gamers to instantly access the games they love from industry-leading content partners. In addition to the Xbox app offering hundreds of their favorite games via Xbox Game Pass, gamers can also look forward to an amazing gaming experience with minimized latency and amazing visual graphics thanks to advanced motion enhancements and game-play performance technology across Samsung's 2022 Smart TV lineup and 2022 Smart Monitor Series.