ENDORFY is expanding its product portfolio with two low-profile microphone arms: ENDORFY Broadcast Low Profile Boom Arm and ENDORFY Broadcast Low Profile RGB Boom Arm. Designed with professionals and tech enthusiasts in mind, they combine functional design, aesthetic looks and solid workmanship making it a perfect combo for content creators, gamers, streamers, podcasters and remote employees.

Comfort and Broad Compatibility
Both microphone arms provide functionality and comfort of use. Their simple, yet solid construction saves valuable space when placed on a desk or table, ensuring the stability of mounted equipment. To simplify content creation and framing, the ENDORFY Broadcast Low Profile Boom Arm and the ENDORFY Broadcast Low Profile RGB Boom Arm can be locked in almost any position - including the space right below a monitor.

China's dominance in semiconductor equipment procurement is expected to face its first setback since 2021, with spending projected to decrease from $41 billion to $38 billion in 2025, according to semiconductor research firm TechInsights. This 6% decline marks a significant shift for the world's largest buyer of wafer fabrication equipment, whose purchases represented 40% of global sales in 2024. The downturn reflects mounting pressures from both market dynamics and geopolitical constraints. US export controls targeting advanced semiconductor capabilities have intensified while domestic chipmakers grapple with overcapacity in mature node segments. SMIC, China's leading foundry, has already signaled concerns about oversupply risks in this sector, where Chinese manufacturers have rapidly expanded their market share against Taiwanese competitors.

Despite these headwinds, Chinese equipment manufacturers have notably advanced domestic capability development. Naura Technology Group has emerged as the seventh-largest global equipment manufacturer, while AMEC continues to expand its international presence. However, critical gaps persist in China's semiconductor equipment ecosystem, particularly in lithography systems, where dependence on foreign suppliers like ASML remains high. TechInsights data reveals that Chinese companies supplied only 17% of testing tools and 10% of domestic assembly equipment in 2023. The spending reduction comes after a period of aggressive stockpiling prompted by US sanctions to limit Beijing's access to advanced chipmaking capabilities, especially those applicable to artificial intelligence and military applications. However, Chinese manufacturers have demonstrated resilience, with SMIC and Huawei successfully producing advanced chips through alternative, albeit more costly, manufacturing methods.

TSMC has unveiled today its board meeting decisions, the chip giant has greenlit a massive US$17 billion investment to boost production capacity. According to TSMC, to meet long-term capacity plans based on market demand forecasts and TSMC's technology development roadmap, the board approved capital appropriations of approximately US$17.14 billion for installation and upgrade of advanced technology capacity, installation and upgrade of advanced packaging, mature and/or specialty technology capacity, fab construction, and installation of fab facility systems.

Previous reports by MoneyDJ suggested that TSMC might unveil plans for a third Arizona fab, a potential fourth fab, or its first advanced packaging plant after the board meeting. However, no updates have been confirmed yet. Industry sources suggested that TSMC's second Arizona fab, featuring 3 nm, will likely go ahead of schedule, providing a temporary response to U.S. pressures. According to the same report, TSMC's second Arizona fab is expected to begin equipment installation in mid-2026, with mass production expected by 2027. Notably, this progress would exceed TSMC's projections which expected the second plant to start 3 nm and 2 nm production in 2028, with a third plant potentially for the 2 nm process by the late 2030s. The MoneyDJ report further notes that initially, TSMC's second Arizona plant will offer 25K-30K 3 nm wafers per month. TSMC's first Arizona plant, initially slated for 2025, started 4 nm production ahead of schedule in Q4 2024.

TechInsights has identified CXMT's new 16 nm DRAM chips in Gloway DDR-6000 UDIMM modules, confirming advancement in the Chinese memory industry. The CXMT 16 Gb DDR5 chip measures 67 square millimeters with a density of 0.239 Gb per square millimeter. The G4 DRAM cells are 20 percent smaller than CXMT's previous G3 generation. This follows the company's progression from 23 nm (G1) and 18 nm (G2) nodes. Despite this advancement, CXMT remains approximately three years behind Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron in manufacturing capabilities. The Hefei-based company achieved this production milestone under US sanctions restricting access to certain manufacturing equipment and materials, setting it back years in gaining production of advanced memory nodes.

TechInsights found these chips in commercially available memory modules, confirming CXMT's entry into DDR5 production. DDR5 technology is projected to be the primary DRAM standard through 2027. The three major DRAM manufacturers have been producing DDR5 through multiple generations, with DDR5 now reaching 10,000 MT/s speeds. This represents CXMT's first DDR5 DRAM product to reach the consumer market. The chips meet basic compatibility requirements for current DDR5 specifications, meaning that the Chinese memory manufacturing has achieved "1z" memory manufacturing on its soil. This marks the second major news for the Chinese semiconductor industry, right after TechInsights also confirmed that YMTC has started shipping 292-layer NAND Flash. With domestic demand for memory and storage projected to remain strong, we wonder if the supply will exceed demand and allow some left-over chips for worldwide usage.

Time flies and we're already at the end of January and we have another packed week of new releases. This week's major release is already a couple of years old if you own a console, but it's only managed to swing its way onto PC now. This is followed by doing some engineering in space, going on an epic adventure to prevent the world from crumbling, some shape shifting action, being part of the French resistance and finally you can be the first sentient AI running a city. In addition to the games below, this week also brings: Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. and Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 / This week's major release / Thursday 30 January
Be Greater. Together. The incredible power of the symbiote forces Peter Parker and Miles Morales into a desperate fight as they balance their lives, friendships, and their duty to protect in an exciting chapter of the critically acclaimed Spider-Man franchise on PC. Steam link

Lam Research Corporation today announced that its innovative dry photoresist (dry resist) technology has been qualified for direct-print 28 nm pitch back end of line (BEOL) logic at 2 nm and below by imec, a leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. An advanced patterning technique introduced by Lam, dry resist enhances the resolution, productivity and yield of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a pivotal technology used in the production of next-generation semiconductor devices.

"Lam's dry photoresist technology provides unparalleled low-defectivity, high-resolution patterning," said Vahid Vahedi, chief technology and sustainability officer at Lam Research. "We are excited to offer this technology to imec and its partners as a critical process in the design and manufacturing of leading-edge semiconductor devices."

CES 2025, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, kicked off in Las Vegas of America on January 7th, 2025, with more than 130,000 attendees and over 4,800 companies. As a high-performance esports equipment brand incubated by Haier Group, THUNDEROBOT showcased its comprehensive innovation capabilities in high-performance esports equipment under the theme "Powerful Esports Momentum".

At this event, THUNDEROBOT unveiled a range of flagship products encompassing esports laptops, smart glasses, monitors, desktops, and peripherals. Among these, the world's first THUNDEROBOT ZERO series of high-performance gaming laptops took the spotlight. This series is powered by the latest Intel's Core Ultra 200HX (codenamed Arrow Lake-HX) processor and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU. Notably, the flagship ZERO 18 model incorporates a triple-fan "Xiu Technology 2.0" cooling system with seven copper heat pipes and phase-change thermal grease to ensure optimal thermal management even under intense use. Additionally, the introduction of an 18-inch Hummingbird eye-care display with high refresh rates has significantly enhanced the immersive user experience. Each machine will undergo default color calibration to provide accurate color settings.

At CES 2025, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., today announced Qualcomm AI On-Prem Appliance Solution, an on-premises desktop or wall-mounted hardware solution, and Qualcomm AI Inference Suite, a set of software and services for AI inferencing spanning from near-edge to cloud. The combination of these new offerings allows for small and medium businesses, enterprises and industrial organizations to run custom and off-the-shelf AI applications on their premises, including generative workloads. Running AI inference on premises can deliver significant savings in operational costs and overall total cost of ownership (TCO), compared to the cost of renting third-party AI infrastructure.

Using the AI On-Prem Appliance Solution in concert with the AI Inference Suite, customers can now use generative AI leveraging their proprietary data, fine-tuned models, and technology infrastructure to automate human and machine processes and applications in virtually any end environment, such as retail stores, quick service restaurants, shopping outlets, dealerships, hospitals, factories and shop floors - where the workflow is well established, repeatable and ready for automation.

TSMC's new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona, will face production costs approximately 30% higher than its Taiwan-based operations when it begins mass production in early 2025. The increased expenses stem from higher tariffs and transportation costs associated with importing necessary materials from Taiwan. The Arizona facility will start producing 10,000 12-inch wafers monthly using a 4 nm node, with plans to double output to 20,000 wafers at full capacity. Four major technology companies—Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm—have committed to purchasing chips from the plant for their AI and high-performance computing needs. The 445-hectare facility highlights ongoing challenges in America's semiconductor industry. Despite the aim to strengthen domestic chip manufacturing, the plant must import materials from Taiwan to maintain production quality, revealing gaps in the US semiconductor supply chain.

This overseas dependency drives up operational costs significantly. While TSMC's investment marks an essential step in rebuilding domestic capacity, the substantial cost difference between US and Taiwanese production raises questions about long-term viability. TSMC has already begun trial production at the site and plans to expand operations with additional phases. The company's Phase 2 facility is completed, and equipment is being installed, while future expansions aim to produce 2 nm chips by 2028. However, unless the cost gap narrows, the higher production expenses could impact the plant's competitiveness in the global semiconductor market, even competing with its own Taiwanese facilities, where customers could decide to use Taiwanese fabs due to lower costs. Meanwhile, TSMC continues to expand its Taiwan operations, with plans to build new 2 nm facilities in Kaohsiung's Science Park starting next year.

Global sales of total semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are forecast to set a new industry record, reaching $113 billion in 2024, growing 6.5% year-on-year, SEMI announced today in its Year-End Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast - OEM Perspective at SEMICON Japan 2024. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment growth is expected to continue in the following years, reaching new records of $121 billion in 2025 and $139 billion in 2026, supported by both the front-end and back-end segments.

"Three consecutive years of projected growth in investments in semiconductor manufacturing reflect the vital role our industry plays in underpinning the global economy and advancing technology innovation," said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. "Since our July 2024 forecast, the outlook for 2024 semiconductor equipment sales has brightened, especially with stronger-than-expected investments from China and in AI-related sectors. Together with our forecast extension through 2026, it highlights the robust growth drivers across segments, applications, and regions."

The Biden administration is rolling out a third major export control package aimed at China's semiconductor industry, as per a report from Reuters. Estimated to affect 140 companies, including China's chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group, Piotek, and Huawei Technologies, the effort aims to limit China's access to advanced chip making technology. In particular, technology that could be used in military products and artificial intelligence. Important sanctions include export controls to specific chip equipment manufacturers, blocking the delivery of high-performance memory chips and the addition of several semiconductor investment companies to the list of export-restricted entities.

The package expands U.S. regulatory authority through foreign direct product rules. It regulates chip manufacturing equipment manufactured around the world with U.S. technology, Japan and the Netherlands are exempt. However, the rules could have an impact on manufacturers outside U.S. such as those based in Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and non-U.S. firms (i.e. ASML) due to the complexity of the technological and supply chain. This continues the Biden administration's strategy to limit China's semiconductor capabilities and comes just weeks before the Trump administration made changes. When asked about US new restrictions Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference on Monday that such behavior undermines the international economic and trade system, and disrupts global supply chains. China will take measures to protect companies' rights and interests.

Acrosser Technology, a leader in edge computing platforms and embedded computers, is proud to announce the NSA-50A1 Desktop Network Appliance, an entry-level customer premises equipment (CPE) designed for growing businesses and network providers. Powered by the Intel Atom C3338R Processor, the NSA-50A1 addresses the rising demand for edge security computing driven by the widespread adoption of mobile devices and their diverse applications.

This user-friendly device is the perfect solution for LAN security gateways, firewalls, and data collection and processing, making it an ideal choice for work-from-home networks, retail point-of-sale systems, and edge computing deployments.

To address the growing demands for agile embedded networking, intelligent edge, and secure communication, Advantech, a leading provider of network security solutions, has launched a new series of x86 network appliances: FWA-6183, FWA-5082, and FWA-1081. Powered by AMD EPYC 9004 and 8004, and AMD Ryzen V3000 series processors, this series delivers advanced computing performance, high bandwidth, and lower TDP. These appliances are optimized for a wide range of workloads, from SMEs to larger-scale enterprise of network security applications, including edge computing, WAN optimization, DPI/IPS/IDS, SD-WAN/SASE, and NGFW/UTM.

Key AMD Embedded Network Advantages
AMD EPYC & Ryzen Series Processors:

• Breakthrough Performance
• Up to 96 cores/192 threads, ensuring scalable processing power.
• Expansive I/O Options
• PCIe Gen 5 with up to 128 lanes for high bandwidth and maximum I/O flexibility
• Optimized Power Efficiency

The EUV lithography machine from ASML ordered by Rapidus is expected to arrive in Japan in mid-December, according to information from Nikkei cited by TrendForce. This marks the first deployment of EUV technology in Japan, an important step for the country's semiconductor industry as it seeks to establish itself as a major player. Rapidus is currently building a factory in Chitose, Hokkaido, and plans to start mass production of 2 nm chips in 2027. The company also plans to purchase several EUV devices if the 2-nanometer chip production is successful, and intends to build a second production facility specifically for 1.4 nm chips. To support these operations, ASML will establish a service center in Chitose City.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang hinted at the possibility of outsourcing AI chip production to Rapidus. As of October, construction progress on the Rapidus facility, which began in September 2023, is up to 63% and remains on track. In addition to Rapidus, Micron's Hiroshima plant is scheduled to install EUV equipment in 2025, allowing for mass production in 2026. JASM, a TSMC subsidiary in Japan, plans to integrate EUV lithography with a second wafer plant in 2027 that will have a 6 nm production line.

As the popularity of outdoor pursuits and the demand for mobile working lifestyles soar, the market cries out for more proficient, convenient, and reliable power solutions. Through its meticulous market analysis, CE-LINK has discerned that most users aspire for an innovative solution that allows them to keep their electronic devices charged even while the portable power station is recharging.

Conventional portable power stations often disrupt the power flow to devices during charging, posing a hurdle for gadgets requiring an unwavering power supply. To tackle this predicament, CE-LINK boasts a bypass functionality that ensures a seamless power experience, without compromising on either convenience or reliability.

Neuranics has secured an £800,000 grant from Scottish Enterprise (SE) to support a £2.4 million project aimed at transforming how humans interact with machines through innovative wristband technology. Using Neuranics' patented magnetic sensors, the wristbands will detect muscle activity and precise gestures. This 18-month project will create ten high-tech jobs at the company's Glasgow headquarters and solidify Scotland's position as a leader in wearable technology.

The wristbands, leveraging magnetomyography (MMG) technology and machine learning, will interpret muscle movements through soft bands worn on the arms. Initially targeting extended reality (XR) applications, the device will enable seamless gesture recognition for immersive digital experiences.

Canon Inc. announced today that it will ship its most advanced lithography platform, the FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint lithography (NIL) system for semiconductor manufacturing, to the Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE), a Texas-based semiconductor consortium. Canon became the first in the world to commercialize a semiconductor manufacturing system that uses NIL technology, which forms circuit patterns in a different method from conventional projection exposure technology, when it released the FPA-1200NZ2C on October 13, 2023.

In contrast to conventional photolithography equipment, which transfers a circuit pattern by projecting it onto the resist coated wafer, the new product does it by pressing a mask imprinted with the circuit pattern into the resist on the wafer like a stamp. Because its circuit pattern transfer process does not go through an optical mechanism, fine circuit patterns on the mask can be faithfully reproduced on the wafer. With reduced power consumption and cost, the new system enables patterning with a minimum linewidth of 14 nm, equivalent to the 5 nm node that is required to produce most advanced logic semiconductors currently available.

Elgato, a brand of CORSAIR, today shared new additions to its Wave audio line, expanding both hardware and software capabilities. Unveiled earlier today at TwitchCon, Wave Mic Arm Pro is an ultra-premium boom with smooth movement and a low profile, ideal for professional recording. Elgato also debuted Wave Desk Stand, a portable studio arm for mounting mics and accessories onto any flat surface, like podcasting tables. Together, they round out the brand's audio lineup, offering a versatile range of mounting options to fit any setup.

Additionally, Elgato revealed Wave Link 2.0, a major update to its flagship mixing app. Coming soon on PC and Mac, it introduces one-click audio routing and fast Stream Deck setup, making it easier than ever for creators to manage their sound.

Logitech G, a brand of Logitech and leading innovator of gaming technologies and gear, announced today at Logi Play the new Racing Series, marking an important milestone in Logitech G's simulation racing heritage. The Racing Series brings unprecedented innovation and customization to drivers, letting them fine-tune their gear setup and equipment levels to match their driving style.

"We've heard from numerous sim racers that their setup should mirror the car they're driving, whether it's tackling gravel in a rally car, drifting with burning rubber, or navigating an open-wheeler with precision," said Richard Neville, head of SIM product engineering, Logitech G. "Each of these disciplines requires distinct steering input styles to achieve peak performance and the best feel, which is why the steering wheel shapes in these vehicles vary greatly. We developed the RS system specifically for motorsport enthusiasts who want to play their way."

The Netherlands government announced additional export controls on advanced chipmaking equipment on Friday. This decision, which specifically targets ASML's DUV immersion lithography tools, has drawn sharp criticism from Beijing. The new regulations, aligning with similar restrictions imposed by the US last year, will require additional licensing for the export of ASML's 1970i and 1980i models. China's Commerce Ministry swiftly responded to the announcement, expressing dissatisfaction with what it perceives as unwarranted restrictions on trade. In a statement released Sunday, the ministry accused the United States of leveraging its global influence to pressure allies into tightening export controls, describing it as an attempt to maintain "global hegemony" in the semiconductor industry.

The Chinese government urged the Netherlands to reconsider its position, calling for a balance between security concerns and the preservation of mutually beneficial economic ties. Beijing emphasized the importance of safeguarding the "common interests" of businesses in both countries and warned against potential damage to Sino-Dutch cooperation in the semiconductor sector. Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever defended the decision, stating it was made "for our safety." However, this move could have significant implications for ASML, which has already faced restrictions on exporting its most advanced systems to China. ASML receives as much as 49% of its revenue from China, meaning that additional export regulations could significantly reduce revenues if licenses aren't approved.

E&R Engineering Corp. hosted an event on August 28, 2024, in Taipei, Taiwan, where they launched the "E-Core System." This initiative, a combination of "E&R" and "Glass Core" inspired by the sound of "Ecosystem," led to the establishment of the "Glass Substrate Supplier E-Core System Alliance." The alliance aims to combine expertise to promote comprehensive solutions, providing equipment and materials for next-generation advanced packaging with glass substrates to both domestic and international customers.

E&R's E-Core Alliance includes Manz AG, Scientech for wet etching, HYAWEI OPTRONICS for AOI optical inspection, Lincotec, STK Corp., Skytech, Group Up for sputtering and ABF lamination equipment, and other key component suppliers such as HIWIN, HIWIN MIKROSYSTEM, Keyence Taiwan, Mirle Group, ACE PILLAR CHYI DING), and Coherent.

Sony Electronics Inc. today announced the MDR-M1 Reference Closed Monitor Headphones, designed for music creators and sound engineers to produce music in any environment, heard as intended. The headphones host a closed acoustic structure with high sound isolation, exclusively developed driver, and a lightweight and comfortable design that allow users to create in their own environments, as if they were in the studio. The MDR-M1 headphones combine studio sound quality with extreme comfort and reliability, suitable for a wide range of music production and high-resolution audio applications.

Sound Characteristics
The MDR-M1 offers studio sound quality with a carefully tuned acoustic structure to support a wide range of music production, all while offering high-resolution audio. At the core of the sound quality is a uniquely developed driver unit that achieves ultra-wideband playback (5 Hz - 80 kHz), featuring a combination of a soft edge shape to reproduce low frequencies with sufficient volume and low distortion, and a hard dome shape to accurately reproduce ultra-high frequencies.

Airvine, the first company to develop a multi-Gigabit-speed wireless backhaul system for indoor connectivity, today announced the general availability of its WaveCore product line. Designed to eliminate the expensive and time-consuming drilling required when confronting concrete barriers (which includes labor, permitting and inspections) to link areas with Ethernet cabling, the WaveCore system consists of a simple point to point bridge with two nodes, measuring 10.1" x 2.7" x 10.3", that are installed one on each side of a concrete wall or floor / ceiling.

The WaveCore is a PTP (point-to-point) layer 2 Ethernet bridge that operates on PoE (power over Ethernet) or a 12 V DC input. Testing with select customers earlier this year has shown results such as a 3 Gbps connection through 8" of concrete in the middle of a 54-foot link and a 4 Gbps connection through a 12" concrete wall in a garage that was in the middle of a 6-foot link.

In 2016, TSMC developed and named its InFO FOWLP technology, and applied it to the A10 processor used in the iPhone 7. TrendForce points out that since then, OSAT providers have been striving to develop FOWLP and FOPLP technologies to offer more cost-effective packaging solutions.

Starting in the second quarter, chip companies like AMD have actively engaged with TSMC and OSAT providers to explore the use of FOPLP technology for chip packaging and helping drive industry interest in FOPLP. TrendForce observes that there are three main models for introducing FOPLP packaging technology: Firstly, OSAT providers transitioning from traditional methods of consumer IC packaging to FOPLP. Secondly, foundries and OSAT providers packaging AI GPUs that are transitioning 2.5D packaging from wafer level to panel level. Thirdly, panel makers who are packaging consumer ICs.

On June 5th, Vanguard and NXP announced plans to jointly establish VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (VSMC) in Singapore to build a 12-inch wafer plant. TrendForce posits that this move reflects the trend of global supply chains shifting "Out of China, Out of Taiwan"(OOC/OOT), with Taiwanese companies accelerating their overseas expansion to improve regional capacity flexibility and competitiveness.

TrendForce noted that the semiconductor supply chain has been diversifying over the past two years to mitigate geopolitical and pandemic-related risks, forming two major segments: China's domestic supply chain and a non-China supply chain. Recent US tariff increases have accelerated this shift, leading to increased orders from American customers.