VIA Technologies, Inc. today announced the launch of the VIA SOM-9X35 Starter Kit to accelerate time-to-market for retail, commercial, and industrial Edge AI devices. Featuring a flexible high-performance platform powered by the quad-core MediaTek i350 processor, the starter kit comes with a 7" LCD panel and touch panel display, a 13MP HD camera module, and dual speakers and microphone to provide a tightly integrated package for jumpstarting device development. Dual-band 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.0, and optional 4G support provide the seamless connectivity required for myriad use cases.

"As AI moves increasingly to the edge, the demand for powerful and affordable edge devices with the power and flexibility to run intelligent vision applications such as facial, object, gesture, and motion recognition is rising at an exponential rate," commented Richard Brown, VP of International Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "By combining the core compute, video, and display components in a single package, the VIA SOM-9X35 Starter Kit enables our customers to jumpstart the development of innovative devices to take advantage of these burgeoning market opportunities."

Exponential demand growth for remote and unmanned terminals in smart home, logistics, manufacturing and other end-user applications has driven iterative updates in Wi-Fi technology. Among the current generations of technologies, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) is mainstream while Wi-Fi 6 and 6E (802.11ax) are at promotional stages, according to TrendForce's investigations. In order to meet the connection requirements of industry concepts such as the Metaverse, many major manufacturers have trained their focus on the faster and more stable next generation 802.11be Wi-Fi standard amendment, commonly known as Wi-Fi 7. Considering technical characteristics, maturity, and product certification status, Wi-Fi 6 and 6E are expected to surpass Wi-Fi 5 to become mainstream technology in 2022, with global market share expected to reach 58%.

With adoption of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 growing steadily, Wi-Fi Alliance is evolving Wi-Fi 6 certification to meet increasing demands from today's Wi-Fi use cases. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 is now available, bringing new features that support increasing device and traffic density to deliver greater performance and power management with Wi-Fi devices and applications. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 adds support for uplink multi-user multiple input, multiple output (multi-user MIMO) to deliver smoother streaming services and video conferencing, faster uploads, and more reliable gaming. Additionally, three power management features improve Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 power efficiency, benefitting enterprise, industrial, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. New features apply across all bands supported by Wi-Fi 6 - 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz - bringing capacity, efficiency, coverage and performance benefits to residential, enterprise, and large public networks. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 delivers the best experience with advanced applications, while providing strong WPA3 security and promoting interoperability between Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices.

"Wi-Fi delivers advanced capabilities that have driven tremendous global innovation, paving the way for massive growth in Wi-Fi applications that users rely on every day," said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 furthers Wi-Fi's evolution to address today's market needs, and supports more high-performance Wi-Fi scenarios with greater capacity, efficiency, and reliability."

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers (Hong Kong Stock Code: 1337), announced its collaboration with leading watch manufacturer, Fossil, to launch a limited-edition smartwatch: the Razer X Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch. The co-branded wearable leverages Fossil's most innovative smartwatch platform to date, the highly anticipated Fossil Gen 6. It also features three exclusive Razer watch faces including Analog, Text, and Chroma, as well as two stylish interchangeable straps. The Razer X Fossil Gen 6 will be launching globally this month for $329 USD in a limited quantity of just 1,337 units.

The Gen 6 is the first smartwatch powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ Platform—providing users upgrades in speed and performance, including faster application load time, highly responsive user experiences, and more efficient power consumption. With an overall 30% increased performance* and running Wear OS by Google, the smartwatch does way more, way faster to give gamers a fashionable cutting edge. The Razer X Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch also boasts top wellness features as a nod to both brands' commitments to wellness and comes only a few months after the launch of Razer's dedicated wellness initiative for gamers, Champions Start From Within.

Factors such as the rising popularity of topics related to the metaverse and UGC (user-generated content), as well as the rapid increase in AR/VR device shipment, will likely result in the creation of a growing body of virtual reality content in the market, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. TrendForce expects annual global virtual reality content revenue to grow at a 40% CAGR from US$2.16 billion in 2021 to US$8.31 billion in 2025.

TrendForce further indicates that gaming/entertainment, videos, and social interactions comprise the primary categories of virtual reality content. Incidentally, as the construction of the virtual world and the development of virtual reality content are unlikely to be accomplished by only a handful of companies alone, companies in this space will therefore place an increasing emphasis on UGC instead. Leading companies will likely leverage the build-out of virtual reality platforms/environments and the provisioning of developmental tools/interfaces in order to not only lower the barrier to entry for content creation, but also raise user participation, thereby driving up the content market for virtual reality applications.

China's technology reliance on 3rd party companies seems to be getting smaller. One of the leading technology companies in China, Huawei, has designed a laptop powered by a custom 5 nm Kirin SoC with DDR5 memory. Called the Dyna Cloud L420, Huawei has prepared this model for the Chinese market to provide a fully functional laptop that will get the job done, with no risk of the potential security backdoors implemented in the processor. Powered by a brand new Kirin 9006C SoC manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process, it features eight unknown cores running at 3.1 GHz frequency. We assume that those are custom cores designed by Huawei. This SoC is accompanied by 8 GB of LPDDR5 memory, with 256 GB and 512 GB UFS 3.1 configurations storage options.

When it comes to the rest of the laptop, it rocks a 14-inch 2160x1440 display. I/O options are solid as well, as this machine has an HDMI video output, two USB-A, one USB-C, and Gigabit Ethernet using a mini-RJ45 port. Connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 4.2. There is a 56 W/h battery that provides the juice to keep it running when it comes to the battery. And to complete all of that, this laptop officially only supports Huawei's proprietary Kirin OS (KOS) and Unity OS (UOS), with expected support for HarmonyOS in the future. Pricing and availability information is a mistery at the present date.

MediaTek and AMD announced a collaboration to co-engineer industry leading Wi-Fi solutions, starting with the AMD RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E modules containing MediaTek's new Filogic 330P chipset. The Filogic 330P chipset will power next-generation AMD Ryzen-series laptop and desktop PCs in 2022 and beyond, delivering fast Wi-Fi speeds with low latency and less interference from other signals.

To optimize the AMD RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E modules with a focus on delivering seamless connectivity experiences for customers, AMD and MediaTek developed and certified PCIe and USB interfaces for modern sleep states and power management, which are vital elements of modern customer experiences. Further, the optimization process included stress testing and ensuring compatibility standards, which may ultimately reduce development time for OEM customers.

Intel has dominated the client Wi-Fi + Bluetooth network adapter market in the PC space for some time now, particularly with WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E interfaces integrated with motherboards. Even on the AMD platform, motherboard vendors have extensively packaged not just Intel-branded WiFi + Bluetooth modules, but also their wired LAN controllers. In the commercial desktop and commercial notebook markets, Intel leverages this position to push its vPro management suite, with Intel WLAN controllers featuring vPro support. This is something felt lacking in the rival AMD PRO ecosystem, and something the company is looking to change with its collaboration with MediaTek.

AMD RZ660 will be the first controller based on this partnership. Based on the MediaTek Filogic 330P chipset, the controller combines WiFi 6E (6 GHz), with the latest generation Bluetooth (at least Bluetooth 5.2). Driver software and support for this solution will be handled by AMD, as would distribution. MediaTek stated that the first notebooks and desktop PCs (includes DIY motherboards) featuring the AMD RZ660 will debut in 2022. The AMD-supplied driver software would also enable the company to create special "PRO" variants of the RZ660 to bundle with its Ryzen PRO SoCs for the commercial PC and workstation markets. There doesn't appear to be any such collaboration with wired Ethernet, as there is an even competition between Intel and Realtek over the 2.5 GbE PHY market, with both companies offering gaming-specific variants—Intel Killer and Realtek DragonLAN.

While the global electronics supply chain experienced a chip shortage, the corresponding shortage of foundry capacities also led various foundries to raise their quotes, resulting in an over 20% YoY increase in the total annual revenues of the top 10 foundries for both 2020 and 2021, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. The top 10 foundries' annual revenue for 2021 is now expected to surpass US$100 billion. As TSMC leads yet another round of price hikes across the industry, annual foundry revenue for 2022 will likely reach US$117.69 billion, a 13.3% YoY increase.

TrendForce indicates that the combined CAPEX of the top 10 foundries surpassed US$50 billion in 2021, a 43% YoY increase. As new fab constructions and equipment move-ins gradually conclude next year, their combined CAPEX for 2022 is expected to undergo a 15% YoY increase and fall within the US$50-60 billion range. In addition, now that TSMC has officially announced the establishment of a new fab in Japan, total foundry CAPEX will likely increase further next year. TrendForce expects the foundry industry's total 8-inch and 12-inch wafer capacities to increase by 6% YoY and 14% YoY next year, respectively.

Canon Europe today introduces the PowerShot PX, a small, smart and friendly camera, which automatically captures high-quality 11.7MP images and 60p Full HD video. Part of Canon's continued commitment to redefining imaging technology, the PowerShot PX's smart features such as automatic capture of still imagery and video are set to reimagine how families capture memories. With this clever camera, families can enjoy the moment and still capture it, without having to stay behind the lens.

From family photographers to gadget-lovers, this new intuitive camera incorporates smart functionality to document social events and everyday memories. With automatic capture and priority shooting, the PowerShot PX is an innovative addition to the home that complements photographers' existing cameras, and a shining example of Canon's technology algorithm and the forward-thinking features constantly being added to its product line-up.

Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development, and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is pleased to introduce the IPC970, its new feature-rich, expandable 4-slot industrial system. This intelligent industrial computer is powered by the Intel Xeon or 10th generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3 processors (code name: Comet Lake S) with the Intel W480E chipset. The powerful edge computing system supports NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card with 10,496 CUDA cores and a whopping 24 GB of GDDR6X memory for powerful GPU computing capability. The ruggedized IPC970 enables simultaneous AI processing for intelligent AI computing at the edge.

The Axiomtek's IPC970 provides flexible expansion options with one I/O module slot and three PCIe slots plus one blank expansion slot. In addition, it has a full-size PCIe Mini Card slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/LTE modules, one M.2 Key B 3042/3050 socket for 5G wireless connections, and one M.2 Key E 2230 socket for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modules. Its front-facing I/O design makes it easy to access and deploy. To ensure stable and reliable operation in harsh industrial environments, the IPC970 has a wide operating temperature range of -10°C to +70°C and a power input of 24 V DC (uMin=19 V/uMax=30 V) with power-on delay function, over-voltage protection, over current protection, and reverse voltage protection.

The first mainstream Z690 boards have made an appearance online in the shape of ASUS' Prime Z690-P series. As with most of ASUS' Prime boards, these are fairly basic boards, but shouldn't leave the average user wanting for much, although ASUS has made a rather odd layout decision on these boards that we can't quite grasp.

The four models on display are the Prime Z690-P WiFi D4, Prime Z690-P D4, Prime Z690-P and Prime Z690M-Plus D4. The last model doesn't strictly belong to the Prime Z690-P family, but it follows a pretty similar overall design. The Prime Z690-P is obviously the only DDR5 SKU among the four boards, although from what we can tell, there are no other differences between it and the equivalent DDR4 model.

The return of Nokia to the phone market via HMD hasn't quite been what most Nokia fans were hoping for, although the company has carved out a strange mid-range to low-end niche for itself. Now the company has announced its first tablet, called the T20 which ends up in the same kind of market space as most of its phones, although the pricing is somewhat attractive though.

The T20 sports a 10.4-inch display with a 1,200x2,000 pixel resolution and a rather unusual 5:3 aspect ratio. The back is made from aluminium and the screen is covered with toughened glass, although without any kind of fancy marketing name involved. The choice of SoC is rather interesting, as Nokia went with a Unisoc T610, which is already a couple of years old by now. Even so, it sports two Arm Cortex-A75 cores and six Cortex-A55, all clocked at 1.8 GHz, so it's not a bottom shelf chip as such, although the Mali G52 MP2 GPU isn't going to be amazing for more demanding games, considering the resolution of the display.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., together with ecosystem leaders spanning key platforms and OEMs, is set to redefine wireless expectations for latency-sensitive gaming, productivity and learning applications on Window's 11 PCs with Qualcomm FastConnect systems. Wi-Fi Dual Station designed using Qualcomm 4-Stream Dual Band Simultaneous, harnesses multiple Wi-Fi bands and antennas concurrently, to outperform traditional single band connections. By simultaneously utilizing the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band (or 6 GHz where available), latency issues in one band can be easily resolved at a system-level both quickly and transparently to the end user.

"Microsoft is pleased to bring 'Wi-Fi Dual Station' to the Windows 11 ecosystem, enabling our Windows OEMs and ecosystem leaders to deliver low-latency performance on the latest Wi-Fi hardware. Games and other latency-sensitive applications can now leverage two concurrent Wi-Fi connections providing best-in-class user experiences," said Ian LeGrow, vice president, program management for windows platforms and services, Microsoft.

The technological innovation running through homes today demands incredible bandwidth, speed, and a strong network connection. To meet those increasing demands CommScope introduces two new products: the ARRIS SURFboard G34 and G36 DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem and Wi-Fi 6 routers. Available in the United States, the ARRIS SURFboard G34 and G36 were designed for people who want to upgrade and future-proof their home network for optimum performance, integrated with the latest DOCSIS 3.1 and Wi-Fi 6 technologies. Customers can stream multiple 4K ultra-HD videos while hosting multiple online gaming sessions without interruptions. And it is estimated that customers can save themselves up to $168 annually in modem rental fees by purchasing their modem.

"There is no doubt that home connectivity has become more important than ever before and now is the time to upgrade," said Evan Groat, Senior Vice President, Smart Home Solutions and Retail Products, CommScope. "Customers want to make sure they are getting a fast and reliable connection. With people still working and learning from home, the SURFboard G34 and G36 systems provides the coverage and capacity needed to run all their devices at peak performance. It optimizes the latest technology to power a customer's home network for better working, streaming, and gaming at top speeds."

As growing vaccination rates worldwide starting in July lead to a gradual easing of lockdowns, the overall demand for notebook computers has also experienced a corresponding slowdown, with Chromebook demand dropping by as much as 50%, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. However, factors such as a wave of replacement demand for commercial notebooks in Europe and North America due to the return to physical workplaces, as well as brands' aggressive efforts to rush out their 4Q21 shipments ahead of time due to global port congestions, became the primary drivers of notebook demand in 3Q21. Hence, annual notebook shipment for 2021 will likely reach 240 million units, a 16.4% YoY increase.

TrendForce further indicates that 4Q21 will welcome both the gradual release of new models equipped with Intel's next-gen CPUs and a wave of replacement demand for notebooks featuring Windows 11. Even so, overall notebook shipment in 4Q21 will depend on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demand for commercial notebooks. As vaccinations become even more widespread in 2022, pandemic-related spending is expected to decline as a result. TrendForce therefore expects global notebook shipment to decline by 7-8% YoY next year and reach approximately 220 million units, although this still represents a growth of 60 million units over the shipment volume for 2019, prior to the emergence of the pandemic.

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.

With the 15.6 and 17.3 inch XMG APEX gaming laptops, XMG is positioning a new model series below its own high-end range consisting of the NEO and PRO series. These new laptops combine mobile AMD eight-core processors up to the Ryzen 9 5900HX with NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards up to the RTX 3070. The company is simultaneously introducing the XMG FOCUS, a new product series in the entry-level segment. Intel's Core i7-11800H and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti offer decent gaming performance, while good connectivity and memory round off the overall package. All four new models feature an IPS display with 144 Hz.

Until now, the XMG APEX 15 in the older E20 generation represented uncompromising desktop CPU performance, with processors up to the Ryzen 9 3950X in a laptop. Although XMG is already working on a direct successor under a slightly different name, it is unleashing the XMG APEX 15 and APEX 17 of the M21 generation for the time being with the currently fastest eight-core mobile processors from AMD. The laptops are available with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H as well as with the slightly faster Ryzen 9 5900HX from the 54 watt TDP class, as well as with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or RTX 3060 in the respective maximum TGP configuration (RTX 3070: 125 watts plus 15 watts Dynamic Boost 2.0; RTX 3060: 115 watts plus 15 watts Dynamic Boost 2.0).

BenQ might not be your first choice of consumer electronics, but the company keeps churning out some interesting products and its new GV30 and GS50 portable projectors are adding some new features to an already crowded market. First of all, both models have integrated 2.1 speakers and although we doubt you're going to get a cinema level experience from these speakers, it's much better than most of its competitors.

More interestingly, both projectors come with Android TV support, which in itself might not be very unique, but the way BenQ has added this support is unique, as far as we know. It's done via BenQ's QS01 Android TV dongle, which is neatly integrated into the projectors via a hidden compartment. This way it's possible to upgrade the "smarts" once the hardware gets updated or stops receiving updates, a feature we'd like to see on the so called smart TV's out there. The QS01 dongle is based on an unspecified Amlogic SoC, paired with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of eMMC, has dual band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 and is running Android TV 9.0.

In view of the ongoing production capacity shortage in the semiconductor industry and the resultant price hike of chips, revenue of the top 10 IC design companies for 2Q21 reached US$29.8 billion, a 60.8% YoY increase, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. In particular, Taiwanese companies put up remarkable performances during this period, with both MediaTek and Novatek posting YoY growths of more than 95%. AMD, on the other hand, experienced a nearly 100% YoY revenue growth, the highest among the top 10.

TrendForce indicates that the ranking of the top five companies for 2Q21 remained unchanged from the previous quarter, although there were major changes in the 6th to 10th spots. More specifically, after finalizing its acquisition of Inphi, Marvell experienced a major revenue growth and leapfrogged Xilinx and Realtek in the rankings from 9th place in 1Q21 to 7th place in 2Q21.

Growth rates remained strong in the enterprise segment of the wireless local area networking (WLAN) market in the second quarter of 2021 (2Q21) as the market increased 22.4% on a year-over-year basis to $1.7 billion, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wireless LAN Tracker. In the consumer segment of the WLAN market, revenues declined 5.7% in the quarter to $2.3 billion, giving the combined enterprise and consumer WLAN markets year-over-year growth of 4.6% in 2Q21.

The growth in the enterprise-class segment of the market builds on a strong first quarter of 2021 when revenues increased 24.6% year over year. For the first half of 2021, the market increased 23.5% compared to first two quarters of 2020. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, 2Q21 revenues increased 10.8%, indicating that demand in the enterprise WLAN is strong.

To all those who missed the 6 GHz 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E) bus, ASUS rolled out the PCE-AX58BT, a desktop PCI-Express network adapter that provides Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. The adapter provides a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 2402 Mbps Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz) and Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz), along with Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz) bandwidth of up to 574 Mbps. Older 802.11ac is supported at speeds of up to 1733 Mbps, and 802.11n at up to 300 Mbps. The network controller also supports the latest WPA3 security standards.

The PCE-AX58BT connects to your desktop PC over a PCI-Express x1 slot, and an included USB 2.0 header cable (needed for the Bluetooth component). A pair of external antennae are fixed to a magnetized base that can be placed either on your desk, or on top of your PC case. While ASUS does not mention the controller, it is very likely the Intel AX210 Gig+ looking at the feature-set. It sits underneath an aluminium heatsink on an M.2-2230 card on top of the add-on card's main PCB. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability information. ASUS is readying a portfolio of Wi-Fi 6E consumer networking hardware, including the upcoming ZenWiFi PRO router.

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.

D-Link, has today unveiled the world's first Wi-Fi 6 USB adapter. The all-new AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 USB Adapter (DWA-X1850) is a high-speed, easy to install, highly portable upgrade for desktop and laptop computers to bolster wireless connectivity and security in the home or office. The DWA-X1850 is perfect for people looking to update to the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology and experience lag-free gaming, fast downloading of large files, and buffer-free video calls and 4K/8K video streaming.

Featuring the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, the DWA-X1850 can connect with wireless speeds of up to 1,200 Mbps while helping to optimize overall network efficiency and performance. Fully equipped with MU-MIMO and OFDMA technology, the DWA-X1850 allows Wi-Fi 6 networks to reach their true potential - delivering a faster and more stable connection even when multiple devices are transmitting data simultaneously in a busy home or office environment. What's more, it supports the latest WPA3 authentication and encryption, ensuring more secure connections to wireless networks.

Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development, and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is pleased to introduce the AIE900-902-FL, its new edge AI computing system for advanced AI-powered autonomous machine applications. This robust edge AI system adopts the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier platform which has an 8-core NVDIA Carmel ARM v8.2 (64-bit) processor and 512-Core NVIDIA Volta GPU with 64 Tensor cores. The high-performance AI system comes with four PoE ports and two LAN ports for 3D LiDAR and high-speed intelligent video surveillance applications. The AIE900-902-FL is a perfect platform for 3D vision guided robot, autonomous mobile robot (AMR), intelligent video analytics, domain-focused robot assistant, intelligent roadside unit, and more.

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting every industry, and autonomous machines are no exception. Axiomtek's AIE900-902-FL specifically built around NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier platform, with integrated NVIDIA GPUs to deliver exceptional computing performance for processing AI data at the edge. This edge AI embedded system gets a head start to provide advanced opportunities to our customers to develop and deploy AI-driven autonomous machines," said Annie Fu, a product manager of the Product PM Division at Axiomtek.