Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z

Geniatech is happy to reconnect with the Computex audience after a strange gap of four years. During this time, Geniatech has been hard at work, engaging in numerous productive meetings with their esteemed customers. Although they have only a brief five minutes before they have to head to the airport, they am determined to utilize this time efficiently and provide you with an overview of several groundbreaking products that Geniatech has developed—specifically, their new line of Edge Computing ARM-based mini PCs.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Edge Computing? Well, let me shed some light on this transformative concept. Edge Computing refers to the practice of performing computation and data processing at or near the source of data generation, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers to do that work. By bringing computing power closer to the data source, Edge Computing enables faster processing, reduced latency, enhanced security, and greater autonomy in various applications. And that’s precisely what Geniatech’s new mini PCs are designed to deliver!

Let’s kick off the introduction with our first standout product, the Geniatech Case 3566. This sleek and compact mini PC boasts exceptional input and output capabilities, making it a perfect fit for Edge Computing use cases. It supports both Linux and Android operating systems, offering incredible versatility for a wide range of IoT projects. Equipped with a robust AI capability, the Case 3566 is ready to tackle complex tasks with ease.

Moving on, they have their remarkable space-saving Edge Computing box based on the RK 1126 chipset. This innovative device features not just one, but two Ethernet ports—an invaluable asset for various project requirements. Additionally, it offers USB 3 connectivity, further expanding its connectivity options. Designed with a pure Linux environment, it includes a powerful 4K encoder, allowing for seamless encoding and decoding operations. Their extensive expertise in encoding and decoding ensures optimal utilization of this feature, enabling smooth IP input and HDMI output functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Allow them to introduce their latest gem—the result of their collaboration with Rock Chip and their cutting-edge Rockchip 3588 chipset. This powerhouse mini PC sets new benchmarks in performance and capability. With two HDMI outputs capable of supporting up to 8K resolution, an HDMI input, a DP port, USB Type-C connectivity, and GPIO support, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Its impressive decoding and encoding capabilities bring unparalleled versatility, making it an indispensable asset for demanding applications. By pushing the boundaries of what was traditionally limited to x86 SOC devices, Geniatech’s new offering opens up exciting possibilities and expands the horizons of Edge Computing.

He is delighted to share that their customers have responded overwhelmingly positively to these new products. The feedback they have received thus far has been incredibly encouraging, validating their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

While they regret not being able to delve deeper into the features and functionalities of these remarkable mini PCs today, he promise to keep you updated with comprehensive insights in the near future. The world of Edge Computing is rapidly evolving, and Geniatech remains at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Thank you for joining us on this brief journey into the world of Geniatech’s Edge Computing solutions. Stay tuned for more updates, detailed reviews, and demonstrations as they continue to shape the future of computing with their groundbreaking products.

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Shenzhen AV Display as they showcase their cutting-edge products and solutions at Display Week 2023 Let’s dive right in Our host introduces herself as the representative from the sales department at Shenzhen AV Display. She takes us through their impressive range of integrated display solutions, highlighting how they provide a total package to their customers. From displays to PCBs, they offer a seamless system that caters to various needs.

One of the standout features of their product lineup is the ARM board, which serves as the driving force behind their displays. By utilizing Rockchip and NXP as their main solutions, they ensure optimal performance and functionality. The host proudly presents a series of displays, demonstrating their capabilities and versatility.

Among the showcased displays is an all-in-one machine, which boasts two unique functions. Firstly, it serves as an all-in-one solution, providing an immersive user experience. Additionally, it features touch-plus functionality, allowing users to interact with the display effortlessly. The host explains that one of the highlights of this display is its Corona feature, eliminating the need for touch input. Instead, a sensor located inside the display accurately detects user actions. This becomes particularly useful during situations like the ongoing pandemic, where maintaining cleanliness and avoiding contact are crucial.

Moving on, the host presents more display options, emphasizing that Shenzhen AV Display doesn’t just sell individual components; they provide complete solutions. Each display is carefully designed and accompanied by a touch interface, PCB, and even their own custom-designed main board.

The video continues to explore their range of products, with the host introducing another impressive solution powered by Rockchip. This particular display features the Android operating system and is tailored for IoT applications. The host also showcases their smart display module, which comes in a compact five-inch size. It’s fascinating to see how Shenzhen AV Display offers various sizes and customization options to meet the specific requirements of their clients.

To add a touch of uniqueness, the host unveils displays with special shapes, including pottery-type and landscape-type designs. These unconventional displays not only capture attention but also provide immersive visual experiences.

During the conversation, the host reveals that Shenzhen AV Display has been attending Display Week for several years, establishing strong partnerships with renowned panel manufacturers such as BOE, Innolux. This collaboration ensures that they have access to high-quality panels, guaranteeing superior performance and reliability in their products.

Thank you for joining us on this captivating exploration of display technology with Shenzhen AV Display. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos. Stay tuned for the latest updates and advancements in the world of display!

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Strategy Analytics has published its yearly report detailing global smartphone application processor market share in 2014. The total market had sales of about $21 billion with robust growth of 21%. The report shows that Qualcomm continued to lead the market in terms of revenue share with 52%, followed by Apple with 18% and MediaTek with 14%. The Apple number most likely reflects an estimate because Apple does not sell its chips to third parties. In fourth and fifth place were Speadtrum and Samsung LSI. The report mentions that HiSilicon, Intel and MediaTek had bigger growth than Qualcomm in 2014.

Qualcomm's strength based on Snapdragon 800 series wins in higher-tier phones

According to the report, Qualcomm's leadership was largely based on design wins for its Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 805 SoCs in the higher-tier market. Examples of this include the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3. However, as I have previously reported Samsung has increased its use of in-house application processors starting from the second half of 2014, culminating in the exclusive use of Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6 in 2015, putting pressure on Qualcomm.

Baseband share in 2014

Strategy Analytics has also published a report with details about baseband (modem) market share in smartphones. According to the report, LTE (4G) basebands accounted for 50% of cellular baseband share in 2014, and the figure is likely to increase significantly in 2015. Qualcomm led in LTE basebands, but HiSilicon, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and Samsung also increased LTE baseband shipments.

In terms of revenues in the overall baseband market, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Speadtrum, Marvell and Intel had the top positions in 2104. Qualcomm had 66% revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 17% and Speadtrum with 5% sare. Given the product lines of the respective companies in 2014, Qualcomm's revenues are based on both integrated SoC and separate modems, while Intel's sales were mostly separate modem chips, while the other players mostly shipped a mix of integrated SoCs and modem chips.

Comparison with 2013

Comparing with the reports that Strategy Analytics issued for 2013, Qualcomm saws it baseband revenue share remain relatively stable at 66% compared to 64% in 2013. MediaTek saw its AP market share increase from 10% in 2013 to 14% in 2014, and its baseband share increased.

Tablet processor market in 2014

According to another report issued by Strategy Analytics, the market for tablet processors grew 18% in 2014 to $4.2 billion. The top-five revenue share positions were occupied by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung LSI. Apple led with 27% share (which must be an estimate), followed by Intel with 17% and Qualcomm with 16% share.

Notable is the absence among the top five of traditional leaders in the Chinese white-box market such as Rockchip and Allwinner. This most likely reflects in increase in brand name tablet shipments at the expense of the white-box tablet market, the low selling prices of white-box tablet processor and the encroachment of MediaTek and Intel into that segment.

Source: Strategy Analytics (Smartphone AP market share), Strategy Analytics (cellular baseband market share), Strategy Analytics (Tablet processor market share)

According to a recent article published by DigiTimes Research, tablet applications processor unit shipments to Chinese manufacturers grew by 4.7% in Q4 2014 to reach 34.7 million units. However, shipments are estimated to decline by 24% in Q1 2015 when compared to Q4 2104. Year-over-year, shipments are expected to drop by about 8%, which marks the first time quarterly tablet processor shipments in China experience a year-over-year decline. Excess inventory from Q4 2014 is given as a cause for the decline in shipments.

MediaTek leads Chinese tablet market in Q1 2015

Based on information published by DigiTimes Research, MediaTek, Rockchip, Allwinner and Intel were the top four providers of tablet processors in China, in that order, in Q4 2014. For Q1 2015, MediaTek is estimated to expand it market share by about 1% to reach 28.5%, although absolute shipments will decline significantly due to the overall market decline.

Rockchip, who was the market share leader for most of 2014, is estimated to see its market share remain stable in Q1 2015, registering a 0.6% increase according to DigiTimes Research, who did not supply a market share figure for Rockchip, although it is probably in the region of 25%. DigiTimes mentioned that Rockchip's new chips launched at the end of 2014 (which includes the Cortex-A7-based RK3126 and RK3128) have not yet reached strong shipments.

Meanwhile, Allwinner continues the trend of a steady decline a market share, being expected to have a share of 15.6% compared to 17.6% in Q4 2014. This allows it to be passed by Intel in terms of market share, with Intel's market share estimated to rise from 15% to 16.3% in Q1 2015.

Intel's global market share has increased and is significant, especially revenue share

It should be noted that in terms of global market share, Intel has a stronger position than what would be inferred just from the Chinese market due to a strong position at brand-name tablet manufacturers outside of China, such as Asus and Acer. The other chip players in the Chinese tablet processor market, especially Rockchip and Allwinner, have a weak position outside of China. Due to the higher-end nature of Intel's product mix, Intel also has a higher revenue share, whereas the sales of companies such as Allwinner are mostly concentrated in low-end processors. It has been reported that Intel is abandoning its "contra-revenue" strategy of subsidizing tablet processor sales, which it probably can afford to do because its chip solutions are fairly competitive on their own.

Global brand names gain share, use different chip suppliers

In the global tablet marker, brand name manufacturers are gaining share and dominate the dollar value of the market, also for semiconductor content. Apple and Samsung, who lead the global tablet market, use a lot of in-house chip solutions (100% in the case of Apple). Samsung also uses suppliers like Qualcomm and Marvell, who otherwise do not have a strong position in the Chinese tablet market.

MediaTek used to have strong market share among Taiwanese tablet manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. However, its market share their seems to have been eroded significantly by strong adoption of Intel's Atom SoCs at these manufacturers (who have strong ties with Intel through PC manufacturing).

Popular tablet SoCs as of Q1 2015

By analyzing the tablet models offered on Chinese e-commerce portals, one can get some idea of what SoCs are currently used the most in tablets from China. I took a look at the tablet offerings on Banggood.com.

Rockchip's RK3188 (which probably means the RK3188T variant in most cases) is still widely used. Originally a mid-range performance segment SoC, there are indications that Rockchip built a significant inventory of this SoC (which is not particularly cheap in terms of manufactuing cost) last year, and the chip has been used in cheaper models as well. Rockchip's RK3126, which is more cost-effective than RK3188, is slowly starting to appear in new tablet models.

Meanwhile, Rockchip's high-end RK3288 is used in several models from Pipo, Teclast and FNF, and these seem to be reasonably popular for a high-end product. I have some concerns about power consumption and battery life regarding these products due to the processor cores used in the SoC.

The most popular MediaTek chips used in tablets are SoCs with 3G connectivity such as the low-end dual-core MT8312 and quad-core MT8382 (the equivalent of the MT6572 and MT6582 smartphone SoCs), as well as the more performance oriented octa-core MT6592/MT8392, which provides good performance and battery-life and has moved down to lower-priced tablet models. Additionally, the new 64-bit MT8752 with 4G (equivalent to the MT6752 smartphone SoC) is starting to appear in new models (Cube, Teclast). For WiFi-only tablets, the MT8127 (which has a relatively powerful GPU for a cheap SoC) is used in some low-to-mid-range tablets.

Allwinner's A31s, which was released in 2013 but perhaps its last successful product introduction, appears to be still used for production. Low-end tablets are available with the A23 and A33 SoCs, although the A33 does not seem to have been very successful and has been affected by weakness in the low-end segment of the tablet market.

Allwinner's new octa-core A83T has started to appear in a few new models, and is probably replacing the high-end A80 Octa which is likely to have had low profit margins.

Finally, Intel's Z3735F, Z3735G and Z3736F Atom SoCs are widely used in tablets, although most prominently in higher-prices models that come equipped with Microsoft Windows.

Update (15 March): 3G smartphone chip inventory unloaded onto Chinese tablet market

In an article published on 13 March 2015, DigiTimes Research reported that due to a high inventory level of 3G smartphone solutions in China, such chips will be unloaded onto the Chinese tablet market by players such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum.

3G-enabled chip solutions for tablets are usually very similar to similar solutions for smartphones. For example, MediaTek's smartphone solutions have commonly been used in tablets, while MediaTek's official 3G-enabled tablet solutions most likely consist of a chip virtually identical to the smartphone version, with the main difference being a different model number (e.g. MT6582 vs MT8382). That MediaTek would target any excess inventory of 3G smartphone chipsets at the tablet market is not surprising.

However, I am little sceptical about the volume that may be involved. The Chinese tablet market is clearly contracting in the near term, and the volumes in the tablet market are considerably smaller than the smartphone market, even the declining 3G part of the smartphone SoC market. To put things into perspective, MediaTek's quarterly 3G smartphone chip shipments were on the order of 70 million in Q4 2014, while its 3G tablet chip shipments were probably in the range of 5 to 10 million.

The article also mentions Qualcomm, which in the past has not been a major player in the Chinese white-box tablet market. It mentions rumours that Qualcomm may form a partnership with Allwinner (which has been consistently losing market share) to penetrate the tablet market in China. The article also states that while Intel has introduced 3G tablet solutions, Intel's solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted until Intel introduces the 4G version of its Atom x3 (formerly SoFIA) platform.

Sources: DigiTimes (Q1 2015 China tablet AP market article),  DigiTimes Research (smartphone chips inventory unloaded to tablet market)

Updated 15 March 2015.

At the Mobile World Congress this week, several new mobile SoCs are being announced.

MediaTek announces cost-reduced MT6753 for smartphones

MediaTek anounced two mobile SoCs, the MT6753 for smartphones and the MT8173 for tablets.

The MT6753 appears to be a cost-reduced version of the successful MT6752, equpped with "WorldMode" modem technology. By offering compatibility with the CDMA2000 standard, it gives customers worldwide greater diversity and flexibility in their product layouts, according to MediaTek. Features include an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T720 GPU with an unspecified number of cores. ARM's Mali-T720 GPU is positioned at a significantly lower performance bracket than the Mali-T760 used in the MT6752, positioning the MT6753 below the MT6752 in terms of cost and performance.

The MT6753 is described as being compatible with the previously announced MT6735 for entry-level smartphones. The MT6735 has four Cortex-A53 cores instead of eight but otherwise has a similar configuration with a Mali T720 GPU.

High-performance MT8173 tablet SoC uses small big.LITTLE clusters with Cortex-A72

The MT8173 is a high-performance tablet processor (without integrated modem) that utilizes ARM's new Cortex-A72 core in a big.LITTLE configuration. By using only two Cortex-A72 cores (clocked up to 2.4 GHz) as well as two Cortex-A53 cores, the chip has a lower cost than would be the case with the four-by-four core configuration commonly used for big.LITTLE designs, while still providing good performance.

The Cortex-A72 core, the successor of Cortex-A57, appears to be seeing quick adoption as Qualcomm has already announced performance-segment smartphone SoCs (Snapdragon 618 and 620) featuring the core.

MediaTek has previously used a similar two-by-two big.LITTLE configuration in its MT8135(V) tablet SoC, which has two Cortex-A15 cores and Cortex-A7 cores. This chip was used in Amazon tablets but otherwise did not see much adoption.

Other features include a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, which is part of Imagination's Series 6XT family, with higher performance and efficiency than the G6200 GPU used in chips such as the MT8135 and MT6595.

Other tablet SoCs not yet publicly announced by MediaTek

Meanwhile, tablet product announcements by Lenovo also refer to the MT8161 and MT8165 SoCs, which have not been announced. From the specifications of the Lenovo Tab 2 A8 which is using it, the MT8161 appears to be a tablet SoC without modem with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running up to 1.3 GHz, while the MT8165 (used in the Tab 2 A10) is a similar SoC with the CPU running up to 1.5 GHz. The 4G version of the Lenovo tablets come equipped with the MT8735 (Tab 2 A8) and MT8732 (Tab 2 A10). These chips are the tablet versions of the MT6735 and MT6732 smartphone SoCs.

MT6795 renamed to Helio X10

In a closed-door presentation at MWC, MediaTek also presented the Helio X10 smartphone SoC, featuring a 64-bit octa-core CPU up to 2.2 GHz, 120 Hz display refresh rate and H.265 video encode up to 4K2K @ 30 fps. A photograph of a slide taken at the presentation strongly suggests that Helio X10 is nothing other than the delayed MT6795 SoC, whose specifications closely match. Devices using this chip are likely to have already started production. MediaTek also talked about the Helio P series, a high-performance platform, which will make its way into devices before the end of the year.

Qualcomm gives preview of next-generation Snapdragon 820 SoC

In a press release, Qualcomm has given a preview of the Snapdragon 820, which utilizes Qualcomm's new custom 64-bit CPU architecture for mobile devices called Kryo. The chip will start sampling in the second half of 2015 according to Qualcomm, with devices becoming available in 2016. It will be manufactured on a next-generation FinFET process (which probably means TSMC's 16FF+, but Samsung cannot be excluded). In the press release, Qualcomm does not mention whether the chip will conform to ARM's ARMv8 instruction set architecture.

In conjuction with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm also announced the Zeroth hardware/software platform focusing on device intelligence features including video and audio recognition techniques (such as visual object and face recognition).

Intel introduces tablet and smartphone SoCs with integrated modem

Intel has finally introduced SoCs with an integrated cellular modem in its Atom system-on-a-chip product line. The former SoFIA platform has been renamed to Atom X3 and features multi-core 64-bit Atom processors with integrated 3G or 4G LTE modem technology. The following products are available:

• Atom X3-C3130, which has dual-core Atom CPU running up to 1.0 GHz and integrates a 3G modem. It features Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Maximum display resolution is 1280x800. It appears to be in the same market segment as MediaTek's previous-generation 3G SoCs such as MT6572 and MT6582 and other SoCs that are already on the market.
• Atom X3-C3230RK, which was developed by Intel partner Rockchip following the agreement announced last year. It has quad-core Atom CPU, integrates a 3G modem and features a Mali-450 MP4 GPU.
• Atom X3-C3440, a quad-core Atom CPU platform that integrates a Cat 6 LTE 4G modem. It has an Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. This product appears to be one that is most likely to succeed in the market.

All feature a 32-bit memory interface with support for LPDDR2 (and DDR3/DDR3L with the X3-C3230RK). These are the first Intel products that have features (such as the integrated modem) that make them specifically suitable for the smartphone market. They also target cellular-enabled tablets.

The 3G products are a little behind the times, and their success is uncertain. It will be interesting observe whether Rockchip was able to develop the X3-C3230RK in time (one would expect Intel to have greater expertise/resources so that the other products will appear on the market first).

One notable fact is that these are among the first SoCs to integrate an ARM GPU core with a non-ARM CPU.

Intel announces first 14 nm Atom SoCs for tablets and all-in-ones

Intel also rolled out its first 14 nm Atom SoCs, the Atom x5 and x7 processor series (formely codenamed Cherry Trail) with  Intel Gen 8 graphics, targeting tablets and small screen all-in-ones.

Intel has also introduced a new stand-alone modem chip, XMM 7360, which support LTE Cat 10 and download speeds up to 450 Mbps, as well as wireless connnectivity products (including WiFi/Bluetooth, GNSS/GPS and NFC solutions).

Sources: MediaTek (MT6753 announcement), MediaTek (MT8173 announcement), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 820/Zeroth platform preview), Intel (MWC announcements), Intel Atom x3 Processor Series Brief

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of Q4 2014 and made projections for future periods. Both companies are seeing challenges that are already affecting their revenues and market share now or later in 2015.

Qualcomm lowers forecast for 2015 due to weakness at major customer

In their financial report for Q4 2014, Qualcomm lowered their outlook for 2015, citing as one of the reasons reduced demand from a major customer as that customer has not selected the Snapdragon 810 processor for an upcoming flagship product. This is widely believed to refer to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6. In fact the trend of increasing use of in-house Exynos processors already started last year, as models such as Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Note 4 already saw increasing use of Samsung's own Exynos processors, including modem technology in some cases.

Qualcomm also mentions a share shift among major OEMs that will result in relatively more modem chips as opposed to SoCs (clearly referring to Apple, which only uses Qualcom's modem chips), as well as heightened competition in China. Recently, Qualcomm also recently announced a resolution of the anti-trust investigation by authorities in China, which amounts to a reduction in the patent royalty rate it charges to customers in China.

Qualcomm's total market share currently still strong

At the moment, Qualcomm's market share for smartphone SoCs is still strong as shown by unit shipments and revenues for Q4 2014 and Qualcomm's estimates for Q1 2015, although its product mix has shifted to lower-end products. In comparison to competitor MediaTek, Qualcomm is doing much better in terms of maintaining or growing unit shipments (with Qualcomm in fact seeing a 14% increase in unit shipments in Q4 2014), suggesting that Qualcomm is taking market share from MediaTek as products such as Snapdragon 410 and the new Snapdragon 210 take over large parts of the low-end cost-sensitive market (especially in China) where MediaTek's 3G solutions where previously dominant.

MediaTek losing market share despite successful new products

Meanwhile, although MediaTek has seen widespread adoption of its new MT6752 and MT6732 SoCs with integrated LTE modem for the cost-sensitive mid-range market, the company saw lower unit shipments in Q4 2014 and predicts a 10 to 18% revenue decline for Q1 2015, suggesting its smartphone SoC shipments are under pressure. Given the fact that the new 4G chips have higher selling prices than existing 3G chips, the revenue decline probably reflects a relatively dramatic decline in shipments of existing 3G solutions, with resulting loss of total market share, although price reductions may also play a role. MediaTek has been affected especially by the late introduction of integrated 4G solutions and the lack of a low-end 4G solution and to a lesser extend the delayed introduction of the high-end MT6795.

Captive mobile SoC use becoming more important

Within the total smartphone SoC market (and also in the tablet maket), captive supply (whereby a smartphone manufacturer uses its own SoCs in its smartphone models) is becoming more important, which affects the market opportunity for companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. I already mentioned Samsung's increasing use of Exynos processors, which has a significant impact as Samsung is one of the two largest smartphone manufacturers. A major Chinese manufacturr, Huawei, is also increasingly using SoCs from its own HiSilicon division, also extending to lower end models. Apple's gains in market share also has an effect (especially on the high-end market) since it uses proprietary SoCs.

In the tablet market, the low-end and Chinese white-box market is seeing a sharp reduction in shipments in Q1 2015, with market share shifting to brand names (where captive solutions are more important, such as at Samsung) as total shipments are estimated to decline dramatically. This greatly affects traditional players in the tablet SoC market such as Rockchip, Allwinner and MediaTek. Intel's strategy of subsidizing tablet SoCs has also had an impact. According to DigiTimes, the total tablet market will decline 30% sequentially in Q1 2015, with estimates of a decline of 12% for the whole year 2015.


Sources: DigiTimes (tablet market article), DigiTimes (MediaTek results), Qualcomm, MediaTek

Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z

Geniatech is happy to reconnect with the Computex audience after a strange gap of four years. During this time, Geniatech has been hard at work, engaging in numerous productive meetings with their esteemed customers. Although they have only a brief five minutes before they have to head to the airport, they am determined to utilize this time efficiently and provide you with an overview of several groundbreaking products that Geniatech has developed—specifically, their new line of Edge Computing ARM-based mini PCs.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Edge Computing? Well, let me shed some light on this transformative concept. Edge Computing refers to the practice of performing computation and data processing at or near the source of data generation, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers to do that work. By bringing computing power closer to the data source, Edge Computing enables faster processing, reduced latency, enhanced security, and greater autonomy in various applications. And that’s precisely what Geniatech’s new mini PCs are designed to deliver!

Let’s kick off the introduction with our first standout product, the Geniatech Case 3566. This sleek and compact mini PC boasts exceptional input and output capabilities, making it a perfect fit for Edge Computing use cases. It supports both Linux and Android operating systems, offering incredible versatility for a wide range of IoT projects. Equipped with a robust AI capability, the Case 3566 is ready to tackle complex tasks with ease.

Moving on, they have their remarkable space-saving Edge Computing box based on the RK 1126 chipset. This innovative device features not just one, but two Ethernet ports—an invaluable asset for various project requirements. Additionally, it offers USB 3 connectivity, further expanding its connectivity options. Designed with a pure Linux environment, it includes a powerful 4K encoder, allowing for seamless encoding and decoding operations. Their extensive expertise in encoding and decoding ensures optimal utilization of this feature, enabling smooth IP input and HDMI output functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Allow them to introduce their latest gem—the result of their collaboration with Rock Chip and their cutting-edge Rockchip 3588 chipset. This powerhouse mini PC sets new benchmarks in performance and capability. With two HDMI outputs capable of supporting up to 8K resolution, an HDMI input, a DP port, USB Type-C connectivity, and GPIO support, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Its impressive decoding and encoding capabilities bring unparalleled versatility, making it an indispensable asset for demanding applications. By pushing the boundaries of what was traditionally limited to x86 SOC devices, Geniatech’s new offering opens up exciting possibilities and expands the horizons of Edge Computing.

He is delighted to share that their customers have responded overwhelmingly positively to these new products. The feedback they have received thus far has been incredibly encouraging, validating their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

While they regret not being able to delve deeper into the features and functionalities of these remarkable mini PCs today, he promise to keep you updated with comprehensive insights in the near future. The world of Edge Computing is rapidly evolving, and Geniatech remains at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Thank you for joining us on this brief journey into the world of Geniatech’s Edge Computing solutions. Stay tuned for more updates, detailed reviews, and demonstrations as they continue to shape the future of computing with their groundbreaking products.

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Shenzhen AV Display as they showcase their cutting-edge products and solutions at Display Week 2023 Let’s dive right in Our host introduces herself as the representative from the sales department at Shenzhen AV Display. She takes us through their impressive range of integrated display solutions, highlighting how they provide a total package to their customers. From displays to PCBs, they offer a seamless system that caters to various needs.

One of the standout features of their product lineup is the ARM board, which serves as the driving force behind their displays. By utilizing Rockchip and NXP as their main solutions, they ensure optimal performance and functionality. The host proudly presents a series of displays, demonstrating their capabilities and versatility.

Among the showcased displays is an all-in-one machine, which boasts two unique functions. Firstly, it serves as an all-in-one solution, providing an immersive user experience. Additionally, it features touch-plus functionality, allowing users to interact with the display effortlessly. The host explains that one of the highlights of this display is its Corona feature, eliminating the need for touch input. Instead, a sensor located inside the display accurately detects user actions. This becomes particularly useful during situations like the ongoing pandemic, where maintaining cleanliness and avoiding contact are crucial.

Moving on, the host presents more display options, emphasizing that Shenzhen AV Display doesn’t just sell individual components; they provide complete solutions. Each display is carefully designed and accompanied by a touch interface, PCB, and even their own custom-designed main board.

The video continues to explore their range of products, with the host introducing another impressive solution powered by Rockchip. This particular display features the Android operating system and is tailored for IoT applications. The host also showcases their smart display module, which comes in a compact five-inch size. It’s fascinating to see how Shenzhen AV Display offers various sizes and customization options to meet the specific requirements of their clients.

To add a touch of uniqueness, the host unveils displays with special shapes, including pottery-type and landscape-type designs. These unconventional displays not only capture attention but also provide immersive visual experiences.

During the conversation, the host reveals that Shenzhen AV Display has been attending Display Week for several years, establishing strong partnerships with renowned panel manufacturers such as BOE, Innolux. This collaboration ensures that they have access to high-quality panels, guaranteeing superior performance and reliability in their products.

Thank you for joining us on this captivating exploration of display technology with Shenzhen AV Display. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos. Stay tuned for the latest updates and advancements in the world of display!

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Strategy Analytics has published its yearly report detailing global smartphone application processor market share in 2014. The total market had sales of about $21 billion with robust growth of 21%. The report shows that Qualcomm continued to lead the market in terms of revenue share with 52%, followed by Apple with 18% and MediaTek with 14%. The Apple number most likely reflects an estimate because Apple does not sell its chips to third parties. In fourth and fifth place were Speadtrum and Samsung LSI. The report mentions that HiSilicon, Intel and MediaTek had bigger growth than Qualcomm in 2014.

Qualcomm's strength based on Snapdragon 800 series wins in higher-tier phones

According to the report, Qualcomm's leadership was largely based on design wins for its Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 805 SoCs in the higher-tier market. Examples of this include the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3. However, as I have previously reported Samsung has increased its use of in-house application processors starting from the second half of 2014, culminating in the exclusive use of Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6 in 2015, putting pressure on Qualcomm.

Baseband share in 2014

Strategy Analytics has also published a report with details about baseband (modem) market share in smartphones. According to the report, LTE (4G) basebands accounted for 50% of cellular baseband share in 2014, and the figure is likely to increase significantly in 2015. Qualcomm led in LTE basebands, but HiSilicon, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and Samsung also increased LTE baseband shipments.

In terms of revenues in the overall baseband market, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Speadtrum, Marvell and Intel had the top positions in 2104. Qualcomm had 66% revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 17% and Speadtrum with 5% sare. Given the product lines of the respective companies in 2014, Qualcomm's revenues are based on both integrated SoC and separate modems, while Intel's sales were mostly separate modem chips, while the other players mostly shipped a mix of integrated SoCs and modem chips.

Comparison with 2013

Comparing with the reports that Strategy Analytics issued for 2013, Qualcomm saws it baseband revenue share remain relatively stable at 66% compared to 64% in 2013. MediaTek saw its AP market share increase from 10% in 2013 to 14% in 2014, and its baseband share increased.

Tablet processor market in 2014

According to another report issued by Strategy Analytics, the market for tablet processors grew 18% in 2014 to $4.2 billion. The top-five revenue share positions were occupied by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung LSI. Apple led with 27% share (which must be an estimate), followed by Intel with 17% and Qualcomm with 16% share.

Notable is the absence among the top five of traditional leaders in the Chinese white-box market such as Rockchip and Allwinner. This most likely reflects in increase in brand name tablet shipments at the expense of the white-box tablet market, the low selling prices of white-box tablet processor and the encroachment of MediaTek and Intel into that segment.

Source: Strategy Analytics (Smartphone AP market share), Strategy Analytics (cellular baseband market share), Strategy Analytics (Tablet processor market share)

According to a recent article published by DigiTimes Research, tablet applications processor unit shipments to Chinese manufacturers grew by 4.7% in Q4 2014 to reach 34.7 million units. However, shipments are estimated to decline by 24% in Q1 2015 when compared to Q4 2104. Year-over-year, shipments are expected to drop by about 8%, which marks the first time quarterly tablet processor shipments in China experience a year-over-year decline. Excess inventory from Q4 2014 is given as a cause for the decline in shipments.

MediaTek leads Chinese tablet market in Q1 2015

Based on information published by DigiTimes Research, MediaTek, Rockchip, Allwinner and Intel were the top four providers of tablet processors in China, in that order, in Q4 2014. For Q1 2015, MediaTek is estimated to expand it market share by about 1% to reach 28.5%, although absolute shipments will decline significantly due to the overall market decline.

Rockchip, who was the market share leader for most of 2014, is estimated to see its market share remain stable in Q1 2015, registering a 0.6% increase according to DigiTimes Research, who did not supply a market share figure for Rockchip, although it is probably in the region of 25%. DigiTimes mentioned that Rockchip's new chips launched at the end of 2014 (which includes the Cortex-A7-based RK3126 and RK3128) have not yet reached strong shipments.

Meanwhile, Allwinner continues the trend of a steady decline a market share, being expected to have a share of 15.6% compared to 17.6% in Q4 2014. This allows it to be passed by Intel in terms of market share, with Intel's market share estimated to rise from 15% to 16.3% in Q1 2015.

Intel's global market share has increased and is significant, especially revenue share

It should be noted that in terms of global market share, Intel has a stronger position than what would be inferred just from the Chinese market due to a strong position at brand-name tablet manufacturers outside of China, such as Asus and Acer. The other chip players in the Chinese tablet processor market, especially Rockchip and Allwinner, have a weak position outside of China. Due to the higher-end nature of Intel's product mix, Intel also has a higher revenue share, whereas the sales of companies such as Allwinner are mostly concentrated in low-end processors. It has been reported that Intel is abandoning its "contra-revenue" strategy of subsidizing tablet processor sales, which it probably can afford to do because its chip solutions are fairly competitive on their own.

Global brand names gain share, use different chip suppliers

In the global tablet marker, brand name manufacturers are gaining share and dominate the dollar value of the market, also for semiconductor content. Apple and Samsung, who lead the global tablet market, use a lot of in-house chip solutions (100% in the case of Apple). Samsung also uses suppliers like Qualcomm and Marvell, who otherwise do not have a strong position in the Chinese tablet market.

MediaTek used to have strong market share among Taiwanese tablet manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. However, its market share their seems to have been eroded significantly by strong adoption of Intel's Atom SoCs at these manufacturers (who have strong ties with Intel through PC manufacturing).

Popular tablet SoCs as of Q1 2015

By analyzing the tablet models offered on Chinese e-commerce portals, one can get some idea of what SoCs are currently used the most in tablets from China. I took a look at the tablet offerings on Banggood.com.

Rockchip's RK3188 (which probably means the RK3188T variant in most cases) is still widely used. Originally a mid-range performance segment SoC, there are indications that Rockchip built a significant inventory of this SoC (which is not particularly cheap in terms of manufactuing cost) last year, and the chip has been used in cheaper models as well. Rockchip's RK3126, which is more cost-effective than RK3188, is slowly starting to appear in new tablet models.

Meanwhile, Rockchip's high-end RK3288 is used in several models from Pipo, Teclast and FNF, and these seem to be reasonably popular for a high-end product. I have some concerns about power consumption and battery life regarding these products due to the processor cores used in the SoC.

The most popular MediaTek chips used in tablets are SoCs with 3G connectivity such as the low-end dual-core MT8312 and quad-core MT8382 (the equivalent of the MT6572 and MT6582 smartphone SoCs), as well as the more performance oriented octa-core MT6592/MT8392, which provides good performance and battery-life and has moved down to lower-priced tablet models. Additionally, the new 64-bit MT8752 with 4G (equivalent to the MT6752 smartphone SoC) is starting to appear in new models (Cube, Teclast). For WiFi-only tablets, the MT8127 (which has a relatively powerful GPU for a cheap SoC) is used in some low-to-mid-range tablets.

Allwinner's A31s, which was released in 2013 but perhaps its last successful product introduction, appears to be still used for production. Low-end tablets are available with the A23 and A33 SoCs, although the A33 does not seem to have been very successful and has been affected by weakness in the low-end segment of the tablet market.

Allwinner's new octa-core A83T has started to appear in a few new models, and is probably replacing the high-end A80 Octa which is likely to have had low profit margins.

Finally, Intel's Z3735F, Z3735G and Z3736F Atom SoCs are widely used in tablets, although most prominently in higher-prices models that come equipped with Microsoft Windows.

Update (15 March): 3G smartphone chip inventory unloaded onto Chinese tablet market

In an article published on 13 March 2015, DigiTimes Research reported that due to a high inventory level of 3G smartphone solutions in China, such chips will be unloaded onto the Chinese tablet market by players such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum.

3G-enabled chip solutions for tablets are usually very similar to similar solutions for smartphones. For example, MediaTek's smartphone solutions have commonly been used in tablets, while MediaTek's official 3G-enabled tablet solutions most likely consist of a chip virtually identical to the smartphone version, with the main difference being a different model number (e.g. MT6582 vs MT8382). That MediaTek would target any excess inventory of 3G smartphone chipsets at the tablet market is not surprising.

However, I am little sceptical about the volume that may be involved. The Chinese tablet market is clearly contracting in the near term, and the volumes in the tablet market are considerably smaller than the smartphone market, even the declining 3G part of the smartphone SoC market. To put things into perspective, MediaTek's quarterly 3G smartphone chip shipments were on the order of 70 million in Q4 2014, while its 3G tablet chip shipments were probably in the range of 5 to 10 million.

The article also mentions Qualcomm, which in the past has not been a major player in the Chinese white-box tablet market. It mentions rumours that Qualcomm may form a partnership with Allwinner (which has been consistently losing market share) to penetrate the tablet market in China. The article also states that while Intel has introduced 3G tablet solutions, Intel's solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted until Intel introduces the 4G version of its Atom x3 (formerly SoFIA) platform.

Sources: DigiTimes (Q1 2015 China tablet AP market article),  DigiTimes Research (smartphone chips inventory unloaded to tablet market)

Updated 15 March 2015.

At the Mobile World Congress this week, several new mobile SoCs are being announced.

MediaTek announces cost-reduced MT6753 for smartphones

MediaTek anounced two mobile SoCs, the MT6753 for smartphones and the MT8173 for tablets.

The MT6753 appears to be a cost-reduced version of the successful MT6752, equpped with "WorldMode" modem technology. By offering compatibility with the CDMA2000 standard, it gives customers worldwide greater diversity and flexibility in their product layouts, according to MediaTek. Features include an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T720 GPU with an unspecified number of cores. ARM's Mali-T720 GPU is positioned at a significantly lower performance bracket than the Mali-T760 used in the MT6752, positioning the MT6753 below the MT6752 in terms of cost and performance.

The MT6753 is described as being compatible with the previously announced MT6735 for entry-level smartphones. The MT6735 has four Cortex-A53 cores instead of eight but otherwise has a similar configuration with a Mali T720 GPU.

High-performance MT8173 tablet SoC uses small big.LITTLE clusters with Cortex-A72

The MT8173 is a high-performance tablet processor (without integrated modem) that utilizes ARM's new Cortex-A72 core in a big.LITTLE configuration. By using only two Cortex-A72 cores (clocked up to 2.4 GHz) as well as two Cortex-A53 cores, the chip has a lower cost than would be the case with the four-by-four core configuration commonly used for big.LITTLE designs, while still providing good performance.

The Cortex-A72 core, the successor of Cortex-A57, appears to be seeing quick adoption as Qualcomm has already announced performance-segment smartphone SoCs (Snapdragon 618 and 620) featuring the core.

MediaTek has previously used a similar two-by-two big.LITTLE configuration in its MT8135(V) tablet SoC, which has two Cortex-A15 cores and Cortex-A7 cores. This chip was used in Amazon tablets but otherwise did not see much adoption.

Other features include a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, which is part of Imagination's Series 6XT family, with higher performance and efficiency than the G6200 GPU used in chips such as the MT8135 and MT6595.

Other tablet SoCs not yet publicly announced by MediaTek

Meanwhile, tablet product announcements by Lenovo also refer to the MT8161 and MT8165 SoCs, which have not been announced. From the specifications of the Lenovo Tab 2 A8 which is using it, the MT8161 appears to be a tablet SoC without modem with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running up to 1.3 GHz, while the MT8165 (used in the Tab 2 A10) is a similar SoC with the CPU running up to 1.5 GHz. The 4G version of the Lenovo tablets come equipped with the MT8735 (Tab 2 A8) and MT8732 (Tab 2 A10). These chips are the tablet versions of the MT6735 and MT6732 smartphone SoCs.

MT6795 renamed to Helio X10

In a closed-door presentation at MWC, MediaTek also presented the Helio X10 smartphone SoC, featuring a 64-bit octa-core CPU up to 2.2 GHz, 120 Hz display refresh rate and H.265 video encode up to 4K2K @ 30 fps. A photograph of a slide taken at the presentation strongly suggests that Helio X10 is nothing other than the delayed MT6795 SoC, whose specifications closely match. Devices using this chip are likely to have already started production. MediaTek also talked about the Helio P series, a high-performance platform, which will make its way into devices before the end of the year.

Qualcomm gives preview of next-generation Snapdragon 820 SoC

In a press release, Qualcomm has given a preview of the Snapdragon 820, which utilizes Qualcomm's new custom 64-bit CPU architecture for mobile devices called Kryo. The chip will start sampling in the second half of 2015 according to Qualcomm, with devices becoming available in 2016. It will be manufactured on a next-generation FinFET process (which probably means TSMC's 16FF+, but Samsung cannot be excluded). In the press release, Qualcomm does not mention whether the chip will conform to ARM's ARMv8 instruction set architecture.

In conjuction with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm also announced the Zeroth hardware/software platform focusing on device intelligence features including video and audio recognition techniques (such as visual object and face recognition).

Intel introduces tablet and smartphone SoCs with integrated modem

Intel has finally introduced SoCs with an integrated cellular modem in its Atom system-on-a-chip product line. The former SoFIA platform has been renamed to Atom X3 and features multi-core 64-bit Atom processors with integrated 3G or 4G LTE modem technology. The following products are available:

• Atom X3-C3130, which has dual-core Atom CPU running up to 1.0 GHz and integrates a 3G modem. It features Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Maximum display resolution is 1280x800. It appears to be in the same market segment as MediaTek's previous-generation 3G SoCs such as MT6572 and MT6582 and other SoCs that are already on the market.
• Atom X3-C3230RK, which was developed by Intel partner Rockchip following the agreement announced last year. It has quad-core Atom CPU, integrates a 3G modem and features a Mali-450 MP4 GPU.
• Atom X3-C3440, a quad-core Atom CPU platform that integrates a Cat 6 LTE 4G modem. It has an Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. This product appears to be one that is most likely to succeed in the market.

All feature a 32-bit memory interface with support for LPDDR2 (and DDR3/DDR3L with the X3-C3230RK). These are the first Intel products that have features (such as the integrated modem) that make them specifically suitable for the smartphone market. They also target cellular-enabled tablets.

The 3G products are a little behind the times, and their success is uncertain. It will be interesting observe whether Rockchip was able to develop the X3-C3230RK in time (one would expect Intel to have greater expertise/resources so that the other products will appear on the market first).

One notable fact is that these are among the first SoCs to integrate an ARM GPU core with a non-ARM CPU.

Intel announces first 14 nm Atom SoCs for tablets and all-in-ones

Intel also rolled out its first 14 nm Atom SoCs, the Atom x5 and x7 processor series (formely codenamed Cherry Trail) with  Intel Gen 8 graphics, targeting tablets and small screen all-in-ones.

Intel has also introduced a new stand-alone modem chip, XMM 7360, which support LTE Cat 10 and download speeds up to 450 Mbps, as well as wireless connnectivity products (including WiFi/Bluetooth, GNSS/GPS and NFC solutions).

Sources: MediaTek (MT6753 announcement), MediaTek (MT8173 announcement), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 820/Zeroth platform preview), Intel (MWC announcements), Intel Atom x3 Processor Series Brief

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of Q4 2014 and made projections for future periods. Both companies are seeing challenges that are already affecting their revenues and market share now or later in 2015.

Qualcomm lowers forecast for 2015 due to weakness at major customer

In their financial report for Q4 2014, Qualcomm lowered their outlook for 2015, citing as one of the reasons reduced demand from a major customer as that customer has not selected the Snapdragon 810 processor for an upcoming flagship product. This is widely believed to refer to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6. In fact the trend of increasing use of in-house Exynos processors already started last year, as models such as Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Note 4 already saw increasing use of Samsung's own Exynos processors, including modem technology in some cases.

Qualcomm also mentions a share shift among major OEMs that will result in relatively more modem chips as opposed to SoCs (clearly referring to Apple, which only uses Qualcom's modem chips), as well as heightened competition in China. Recently, Qualcomm also recently announced a resolution of the anti-trust investigation by authorities in China, which amounts to a reduction in the patent royalty rate it charges to customers in China.

Qualcomm's total market share currently still strong

At the moment, Qualcomm's market share for smartphone SoCs is still strong as shown by unit shipments and revenues for Q4 2014 and Qualcomm's estimates for Q1 2015, although its product mix has shifted to lower-end products. In comparison to competitor MediaTek, Qualcomm is doing much better in terms of maintaining or growing unit shipments (with Qualcomm in fact seeing a 14% increase in unit shipments in Q4 2014), suggesting that Qualcomm is taking market share from MediaTek as products such as Snapdragon 410 and the new Snapdragon 210 take over large parts of the low-end cost-sensitive market (especially in China) where MediaTek's 3G solutions where previously dominant.

MediaTek losing market share despite successful new products

Meanwhile, although MediaTek has seen widespread adoption of its new MT6752 and MT6732 SoCs with integrated LTE modem for the cost-sensitive mid-range market, the company saw lower unit shipments in Q4 2014 and predicts a 10 to 18% revenue decline for Q1 2015, suggesting its smartphone SoC shipments are under pressure. Given the fact that the new 4G chips have higher selling prices than existing 3G chips, the revenue decline probably reflects a relatively dramatic decline in shipments of existing 3G solutions, with resulting loss of total market share, although price reductions may also play a role. MediaTek has been affected especially by the late introduction of integrated 4G solutions and the lack of a low-end 4G solution and to a lesser extend the delayed introduction of the high-end MT6795.

Captive mobile SoC use becoming more important

Within the total smartphone SoC market (and also in the tablet maket), captive supply (whereby a smartphone manufacturer uses its own SoCs in its smartphone models) is becoming more important, which affects the market opportunity for companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. I already mentioned Samsung's increasing use of Exynos processors, which has a significant impact as Samsung is one of the two largest smartphone manufacturers. A major Chinese manufacturr, Huawei, is also increasingly using SoCs from its own HiSilicon division, also extending to lower end models. Apple's gains in market share also has an effect (especially on the high-end market) since it uses proprietary SoCs.

In the tablet market, the low-end and Chinese white-box market is seeing a sharp reduction in shipments in Q1 2015, with market share shifting to brand names (where captive solutions are more important, such as at Samsung) as total shipments are estimated to decline dramatically. This greatly affects traditional players in the tablet SoC market such as Rockchip, Allwinner and MediaTek. Intel's strategy of subsidizing tablet SoCs has also had an impact. According to DigiTimes, the total tablet market will decline 30% sequentially in Q1 2015, with estimates of a decline of 12% for the whole year 2015.


Sources: DigiTimes (tablet market article), DigiTimes (MediaTek results), Qualcomm, MediaTek

Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z

Geniatech is happy to reconnect with the Computex audience after a strange gap of four years. During this time, Geniatech has been hard at work, engaging in numerous productive meetings with their esteemed customers. Although they have only a brief five minutes before they have to head to the airport, they am determined to utilize this time efficiently and provide you with an overview of several groundbreaking products that Geniatech has developed—specifically, their new line of Edge Computing ARM-based mini PCs.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Edge Computing? Well, let me shed some light on this transformative concept. Edge Computing refers to the practice of performing computation and data processing at or near the source of data generation, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers to do that work. By bringing computing power closer to the data source, Edge Computing enables faster processing, reduced latency, enhanced security, and greater autonomy in various applications. And that’s precisely what Geniatech’s new mini PCs are designed to deliver!

Let’s kick off the introduction with our first standout product, the Geniatech Case 3566. This sleek and compact mini PC boasts exceptional input and output capabilities, making it a perfect fit for Edge Computing use cases. It supports both Linux and Android operating systems, offering incredible versatility for a wide range of IoT projects. Equipped with a robust AI capability, the Case 3566 is ready to tackle complex tasks with ease.

Moving on, they have their remarkable space-saving Edge Computing box based on the RK 1126 chipset. This innovative device features not just one, but two Ethernet ports—an invaluable asset for various project requirements. Additionally, it offers USB 3 connectivity, further expanding its connectivity options. Designed with a pure Linux environment, it includes a powerful 4K encoder, allowing for seamless encoding and decoding operations. Their extensive expertise in encoding and decoding ensures optimal utilization of this feature, enabling smooth IP input and HDMI output functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Allow them to introduce their latest gem—the result of their collaboration with Rock Chip and their cutting-edge Rockchip 3588 chipset. This powerhouse mini PC sets new benchmarks in performance and capability. With two HDMI outputs capable of supporting up to 8K resolution, an HDMI input, a DP port, USB Type-C connectivity, and GPIO support, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Its impressive decoding and encoding capabilities bring unparalleled versatility, making it an indispensable asset for demanding applications. By pushing the boundaries of what was traditionally limited to x86 SOC devices, Geniatech’s new offering opens up exciting possibilities and expands the horizons of Edge Computing.

He is delighted to share that their customers have responded overwhelmingly positively to these new products. The feedback they have received thus far has been incredibly encouraging, validating their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

While they regret not being able to delve deeper into the features and functionalities of these remarkable mini PCs today, he promise to keep you updated with comprehensive insights in the near future. The world of Edge Computing is rapidly evolving, and Geniatech remains at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Thank you for joining us on this brief journey into the world of Geniatech’s Edge Computing solutions. Stay tuned for more updates, detailed reviews, and demonstrations as they continue to shape the future of computing with their groundbreaking products.

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Shenzhen AV Display as they showcase their cutting-edge products and solutions at Display Week 2023 Let’s dive right in Our host introduces herself as the representative from the sales department at Shenzhen AV Display. She takes us through their impressive range of integrated display solutions, highlighting how they provide a total package to their customers. From displays to PCBs, they offer a seamless system that caters to various needs.

One of the standout features of their product lineup is the ARM board, which serves as the driving force behind their displays. By utilizing Rockchip and NXP as their main solutions, they ensure optimal performance and functionality. The host proudly presents a series of displays, demonstrating their capabilities and versatility.

Among the showcased displays is an all-in-one machine, which boasts two unique functions. Firstly, it serves as an all-in-one solution, providing an immersive user experience. Additionally, it features touch-plus functionality, allowing users to interact with the display effortlessly. The host explains that one of the highlights of this display is its Corona feature, eliminating the need for touch input. Instead, a sensor located inside the display accurately detects user actions. This becomes particularly useful during situations like the ongoing pandemic, where maintaining cleanliness and avoiding contact are crucial.

Moving on, the host presents more display options, emphasizing that Shenzhen AV Display doesn’t just sell individual components; they provide complete solutions. Each display is carefully designed and accompanied by a touch interface, PCB, and even their own custom-designed main board.

The video continues to explore their range of products, with the host introducing another impressive solution powered by Rockchip. This particular display features the Android operating system and is tailored for IoT applications. The host also showcases their smart display module, which comes in a compact five-inch size. It’s fascinating to see how Shenzhen AV Display offers various sizes and customization options to meet the specific requirements of their clients.

To add a touch of uniqueness, the host unveils displays with special shapes, including pottery-type and landscape-type designs. These unconventional displays not only capture attention but also provide immersive visual experiences.

During the conversation, the host reveals that Shenzhen AV Display has been attending Display Week for several years, establishing strong partnerships with renowned panel manufacturers such as BOE, Innolux. This collaboration ensures that they have access to high-quality panels, guaranteeing superior performance and reliability in their products.

Thank you for joining us on this captivating exploration of display technology with Shenzhen AV Display. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos. Stay tuned for the latest updates and advancements in the world of display!

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Strategy Analytics has published its yearly report detailing global smartphone application processor market share in 2014. The total market had sales of about $21 billion with robust growth of 21%. The report shows that Qualcomm continued to lead the market in terms of revenue share with 52%, followed by Apple with 18% and MediaTek with 14%. The Apple number most likely reflects an estimate because Apple does not sell its chips to third parties. In fourth and fifth place were Speadtrum and Samsung LSI. The report mentions that HiSilicon, Intel and MediaTek had bigger growth than Qualcomm in 2014.

Qualcomm's strength based on Snapdragon 800 series wins in higher-tier phones

According to the report, Qualcomm's leadership was largely based on design wins for its Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 805 SoCs in the higher-tier market. Examples of this include the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3. However, as I have previously reported Samsung has increased its use of in-house application processors starting from the second half of 2014, culminating in the exclusive use of Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6 in 2015, putting pressure on Qualcomm.

Baseband share in 2014

Strategy Analytics has also published a report with details about baseband (modem) market share in smartphones. According to the report, LTE (4G) basebands accounted for 50% of cellular baseband share in 2014, and the figure is likely to increase significantly in 2015. Qualcomm led in LTE basebands, but HiSilicon, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and Samsung also increased LTE baseband shipments.

In terms of revenues in the overall baseband market, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Speadtrum, Marvell and Intel had the top positions in 2104. Qualcomm had 66% revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 17% and Speadtrum with 5% sare. Given the product lines of the respective companies in 2014, Qualcomm's revenues are based on both integrated SoC and separate modems, while Intel's sales were mostly separate modem chips, while the other players mostly shipped a mix of integrated SoCs and modem chips.

Comparison with 2013

Comparing with the reports that Strategy Analytics issued for 2013, Qualcomm saws it baseband revenue share remain relatively stable at 66% compared to 64% in 2013. MediaTek saw its AP market share increase from 10% in 2013 to 14% in 2014, and its baseband share increased.

Tablet processor market in 2014

According to another report issued by Strategy Analytics, the market for tablet processors grew 18% in 2014 to $4.2 billion. The top-five revenue share positions were occupied by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung LSI. Apple led with 27% share (which must be an estimate), followed by Intel with 17% and Qualcomm with 16% share.

Notable is the absence among the top five of traditional leaders in the Chinese white-box market such as Rockchip and Allwinner. This most likely reflects in increase in brand name tablet shipments at the expense of the white-box tablet market, the low selling prices of white-box tablet processor and the encroachment of MediaTek and Intel into that segment.

Source: Strategy Analytics (Smartphone AP market share), Strategy Analytics (cellular baseband market share), Strategy Analytics (Tablet processor market share)

According to a recent article published by DigiTimes Research, tablet applications processor unit shipments to Chinese manufacturers grew by 4.7% in Q4 2014 to reach 34.7 million units. However, shipments are estimated to decline by 24% in Q1 2015 when compared to Q4 2104. Year-over-year, shipments are expected to drop by about 8%, which marks the first time quarterly tablet processor shipments in China experience a year-over-year decline. Excess inventory from Q4 2014 is given as a cause for the decline in shipments.

MediaTek leads Chinese tablet market in Q1 2015

Based on information published by DigiTimes Research, MediaTek, Rockchip, Allwinner and Intel were the top four providers of tablet processors in China, in that order, in Q4 2014. For Q1 2015, MediaTek is estimated to expand it market share by about 1% to reach 28.5%, although absolute shipments will decline significantly due to the overall market decline.

Rockchip, who was the market share leader for most of 2014, is estimated to see its market share remain stable in Q1 2015, registering a 0.6% increase according to DigiTimes Research, who did not supply a market share figure for Rockchip, although it is probably in the region of 25%. DigiTimes mentioned that Rockchip's new chips launched at the end of 2014 (which includes the Cortex-A7-based RK3126 and RK3128) have not yet reached strong shipments.

Meanwhile, Allwinner continues the trend of a steady decline a market share, being expected to have a share of 15.6% compared to 17.6% in Q4 2014. This allows it to be passed by Intel in terms of market share, with Intel's market share estimated to rise from 15% to 16.3% in Q1 2015.

Intel's global market share has increased and is significant, especially revenue share

It should be noted that in terms of global market share, Intel has a stronger position than what would be inferred just from the Chinese market due to a strong position at brand-name tablet manufacturers outside of China, such as Asus and Acer. The other chip players in the Chinese tablet processor market, especially Rockchip and Allwinner, have a weak position outside of China. Due to the higher-end nature of Intel's product mix, Intel also has a higher revenue share, whereas the sales of companies such as Allwinner are mostly concentrated in low-end processors. It has been reported that Intel is abandoning its "contra-revenue" strategy of subsidizing tablet processor sales, which it probably can afford to do because its chip solutions are fairly competitive on their own.

Global brand names gain share, use different chip suppliers

In the global tablet marker, brand name manufacturers are gaining share and dominate the dollar value of the market, also for semiconductor content. Apple and Samsung, who lead the global tablet market, use a lot of in-house chip solutions (100% in the case of Apple). Samsung also uses suppliers like Qualcomm and Marvell, who otherwise do not have a strong position in the Chinese tablet market.

MediaTek used to have strong market share among Taiwanese tablet manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. However, its market share their seems to have been eroded significantly by strong adoption of Intel's Atom SoCs at these manufacturers (who have strong ties with Intel through PC manufacturing).

Popular tablet SoCs as of Q1 2015

By analyzing the tablet models offered on Chinese e-commerce portals, one can get some idea of what SoCs are currently used the most in tablets from China. I took a look at the tablet offerings on Banggood.com.

Rockchip's RK3188 (which probably means the RK3188T variant in most cases) is still widely used. Originally a mid-range performance segment SoC, there are indications that Rockchip built a significant inventory of this SoC (which is not particularly cheap in terms of manufactuing cost) last year, and the chip has been used in cheaper models as well. Rockchip's RK3126, which is more cost-effective than RK3188, is slowly starting to appear in new tablet models.

Meanwhile, Rockchip's high-end RK3288 is used in several models from Pipo, Teclast and FNF, and these seem to be reasonably popular for a high-end product. I have some concerns about power consumption and battery life regarding these products due to the processor cores used in the SoC.

The most popular MediaTek chips used in tablets are SoCs with 3G connectivity such as the low-end dual-core MT8312 and quad-core MT8382 (the equivalent of the MT6572 and MT6582 smartphone SoCs), as well as the more performance oriented octa-core MT6592/MT8392, which provides good performance and battery-life and has moved down to lower-priced tablet models. Additionally, the new 64-bit MT8752 with 4G (equivalent to the MT6752 smartphone SoC) is starting to appear in new models (Cube, Teclast). For WiFi-only tablets, the MT8127 (which has a relatively powerful GPU for a cheap SoC) is used in some low-to-mid-range tablets.

Allwinner's A31s, which was released in 2013 but perhaps its last successful product introduction, appears to be still used for production. Low-end tablets are available with the A23 and A33 SoCs, although the A33 does not seem to have been very successful and has been affected by weakness in the low-end segment of the tablet market.

Allwinner's new octa-core A83T has started to appear in a few new models, and is probably replacing the high-end A80 Octa which is likely to have had low profit margins.

Finally, Intel's Z3735F, Z3735G and Z3736F Atom SoCs are widely used in tablets, although most prominently in higher-prices models that come equipped with Microsoft Windows.

Update (15 March): 3G smartphone chip inventory unloaded onto Chinese tablet market

In an article published on 13 March 2015, DigiTimes Research reported that due to a high inventory level of 3G smartphone solutions in China, such chips will be unloaded onto the Chinese tablet market by players such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum.

3G-enabled chip solutions for tablets are usually very similar to similar solutions for smartphones. For example, MediaTek's smartphone solutions have commonly been used in tablets, while MediaTek's official 3G-enabled tablet solutions most likely consist of a chip virtually identical to the smartphone version, with the main difference being a different model number (e.g. MT6582 vs MT8382). That MediaTek would target any excess inventory of 3G smartphone chipsets at the tablet market is not surprising.

However, I am little sceptical about the volume that may be involved. The Chinese tablet market is clearly contracting in the near term, and the volumes in the tablet market are considerably smaller than the smartphone market, even the declining 3G part of the smartphone SoC market. To put things into perspective, MediaTek's quarterly 3G smartphone chip shipments were on the order of 70 million in Q4 2014, while its 3G tablet chip shipments were probably in the range of 5 to 10 million.

The article also mentions Qualcomm, which in the past has not been a major player in the Chinese white-box tablet market. It mentions rumours that Qualcomm may form a partnership with Allwinner (which has been consistently losing market share) to penetrate the tablet market in China. The article also states that while Intel has introduced 3G tablet solutions, Intel's solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted until Intel introduces the 4G version of its Atom x3 (formerly SoFIA) platform.

Sources: DigiTimes (Q1 2015 China tablet AP market article),  DigiTimes Research (smartphone chips inventory unloaded to tablet market)

Updated 15 March 2015.

At the Mobile World Congress this week, several new mobile SoCs are being announced.

MediaTek announces cost-reduced MT6753 for smartphones

MediaTek anounced two mobile SoCs, the MT6753 for smartphones and the MT8173 for tablets.

The MT6753 appears to be a cost-reduced version of the successful MT6752, equpped with "WorldMode" modem technology. By offering compatibility with the CDMA2000 standard, it gives customers worldwide greater diversity and flexibility in their product layouts, according to MediaTek. Features include an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T720 GPU with an unspecified number of cores. ARM's Mali-T720 GPU is positioned at a significantly lower performance bracket than the Mali-T760 used in the MT6752, positioning the MT6753 below the MT6752 in terms of cost and performance.

The MT6753 is described as being compatible with the previously announced MT6735 for entry-level smartphones. The MT6735 has four Cortex-A53 cores instead of eight but otherwise has a similar configuration with a Mali T720 GPU.

High-performance MT8173 tablet SoC uses small big.LITTLE clusters with Cortex-A72

The MT8173 is a high-performance tablet processor (without integrated modem) that utilizes ARM's new Cortex-A72 core in a big.LITTLE configuration. By using only two Cortex-A72 cores (clocked up to 2.4 GHz) as well as two Cortex-A53 cores, the chip has a lower cost than would be the case with the four-by-four core configuration commonly used for big.LITTLE designs, while still providing good performance.

The Cortex-A72 core, the successor of Cortex-A57, appears to be seeing quick adoption as Qualcomm has already announced performance-segment smartphone SoCs (Snapdragon 618 and 620) featuring the core.

MediaTek has previously used a similar two-by-two big.LITTLE configuration in its MT8135(V) tablet SoC, which has two Cortex-A15 cores and Cortex-A7 cores. This chip was used in Amazon tablets but otherwise did not see much adoption.

Other features include a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, which is part of Imagination's Series 6XT family, with higher performance and efficiency than the G6200 GPU used in chips such as the MT8135 and MT6595.

Other tablet SoCs not yet publicly announced by MediaTek

Meanwhile, tablet product announcements by Lenovo also refer to the MT8161 and MT8165 SoCs, which have not been announced. From the specifications of the Lenovo Tab 2 A8 which is using it, the MT8161 appears to be a tablet SoC without modem with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running up to 1.3 GHz, while the MT8165 (used in the Tab 2 A10) is a similar SoC with the CPU running up to 1.5 GHz. The 4G version of the Lenovo tablets come equipped with the MT8735 (Tab 2 A8) and MT8732 (Tab 2 A10). These chips are the tablet versions of the MT6735 and MT6732 smartphone SoCs.

MT6795 renamed to Helio X10

In a closed-door presentation at MWC, MediaTek also presented the Helio X10 smartphone SoC, featuring a 64-bit octa-core CPU up to 2.2 GHz, 120 Hz display refresh rate and H.265 video encode up to 4K2K @ 30 fps. A photograph of a slide taken at the presentation strongly suggests that Helio X10 is nothing other than the delayed MT6795 SoC, whose specifications closely match. Devices using this chip are likely to have already started production. MediaTek also talked about the Helio P series, a high-performance platform, which will make its way into devices before the end of the year.

Qualcomm gives preview of next-generation Snapdragon 820 SoC

In a press release, Qualcomm has given a preview of the Snapdragon 820, which utilizes Qualcomm's new custom 64-bit CPU architecture for mobile devices called Kryo. The chip will start sampling in the second half of 2015 according to Qualcomm, with devices becoming available in 2016. It will be manufactured on a next-generation FinFET process (which probably means TSMC's 16FF+, but Samsung cannot be excluded). In the press release, Qualcomm does not mention whether the chip will conform to ARM's ARMv8 instruction set architecture.

In conjuction with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm also announced the Zeroth hardware/software platform focusing on device intelligence features including video and audio recognition techniques (such as visual object and face recognition).

Intel introduces tablet and smartphone SoCs with integrated modem

Intel has finally introduced SoCs with an integrated cellular modem in its Atom system-on-a-chip product line. The former SoFIA platform has been renamed to Atom X3 and features multi-core 64-bit Atom processors with integrated 3G or 4G LTE modem technology. The following products are available:

• Atom X3-C3130, which has dual-core Atom CPU running up to 1.0 GHz and integrates a 3G modem. It features Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Maximum display resolution is 1280x800. It appears to be in the same market segment as MediaTek's previous-generation 3G SoCs such as MT6572 and MT6582 and other SoCs that are already on the market.
• Atom X3-C3230RK, which was developed by Intel partner Rockchip following the agreement announced last year. It has quad-core Atom CPU, integrates a 3G modem and features a Mali-450 MP4 GPU.
• Atom X3-C3440, a quad-core Atom CPU platform that integrates a Cat 6 LTE 4G modem. It has an Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. This product appears to be one that is most likely to succeed in the market.

All feature a 32-bit memory interface with support for LPDDR2 (and DDR3/DDR3L with the X3-C3230RK). These are the first Intel products that have features (such as the integrated modem) that make them specifically suitable for the smartphone market. They also target cellular-enabled tablets.

The 3G products are a little behind the times, and their success is uncertain. It will be interesting observe whether Rockchip was able to develop the X3-C3230RK in time (one would expect Intel to have greater expertise/resources so that the other products will appear on the market first).

One notable fact is that these are among the first SoCs to integrate an ARM GPU core with a non-ARM CPU.

Intel announces first 14 nm Atom SoCs for tablets and all-in-ones

Intel also rolled out its first 14 nm Atom SoCs, the Atom x5 and x7 processor series (formely codenamed Cherry Trail) with  Intel Gen 8 graphics, targeting tablets and small screen all-in-ones.

Intel has also introduced a new stand-alone modem chip, XMM 7360, which support LTE Cat 10 and download speeds up to 450 Mbps, as well as wireless connnectivity products (including WiFi/Bluetooth, GNSS/GPS and NFC solutions).

Sources: MediaTek (MT6753 announcement), MediaTek (MT8173 announcement), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 820/Zeroth platform preview), Intel (MWC announcements), Intel Atom x3 Processor Series Brief

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of Q4 2014 and made projections for future periods. Both companies are seeing challenges that are already affecting their revenues and market share now or later in 2015.

Qualcomm lowers forecast for 2015 due to weakness at major customer

In their financial report for Q4 2014, Qualcomm lowered their outlook for 2015, citing as one of the reasons reduced demand from a major customer as that customer has not selected the Snapdragon 810 processor for an upcoming flagship product. This is widely believed to refer to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6. In fact the trend of increasing use of in-house Exynos processors already started last year, as models such as Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Note 4 already saw increasing use of Samsung's own Exynos processors, including modem technology in some cases.

Qualcomm also mentions a share shift among major OEMs that will result in relatively more modem chips as opposed to SoCs (clearly referring to Apple, which only uses Qualcom's modem chips), as well as heightened competition in China. Recently, Qualcomm also recently announced a resolution of the anti-trust investigation by authorities in China, which amounts to a reduction in the patent royalty rate it charges to customers in China.

Qualcomm's total market share currently still strong

At the moment, Qualcomm's market share for smartphone SoCs is still strong as shown by unit shipments and revenues for Q4 2014 and Qualcomm's estimates for Q1 2015, although its product mix has shifted to lower-end products. In comparison to competitor MediaTek, Qualcomm is doing much better in terms of maintaining or growing unit shipments (with Qualcomm in fact seeing a 14% increase in unit shipments in Q4 2014), suggesting that Qualcomm is taking market share from MediaTek as products such as Snapdragon 410 and the new Snapdragon 210 take over large parts of the low-end cost-sensitive market (especially in China) where MediaTek's 3G solutions where previously dominant.

MediaTek losing market share despite successful new products

Meanwhile, although MediaTek has seen widespread adoption of its new MT6752 and MT6732 SoCs with integrated LTE modem for the cost-sensitive mid-range market, the company saw lower unit shipments in Q4 2014 and predicts a 10 to 18% revenue decline for Q1 2015, suggesting its smartphone SoC shipments are under pressure. Given the fact that the new 4G chips have higher selling prices than existing 3G chips, the revenue decline probably reflects a relatively dramatic decline in shipments of existing 3G solutions, with resulting loss of total market share, although price reductions may also play a role. MediaTek has been affected especially by the late introduction of integrated 4G solutions and the lack of a low-end 4G solution and to a lesser extend the delayed introduction of the high-end MT6795.

Captive mobile SoC use becoming more important

Within the total smartphone SoC market (and also in the tablet maket), captive supply (whereby a smartphone manufacturer uses its own SoCs in its smartphone models) is becoming more important, which affects the market opportunity for companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. I already mentioned Samsung's increasing use of Exynos processors, which has a significant impact as Samsung is one of the two largest smartphone manufacturers. A major Chinese manufacturr, Huawei, is also increasingly using SoCs from its own HiSilicon division, also extending to lower end models. Apple's gains in market share also has an effect (especially on the high-end market) since it uses proprietary SoCs.

In the tablet market, the low-end and Chinese white-box market is seeing a sharp reduction in shipments in Q1 2015, with market share shifting to brand names (where captive solutions are more important, such as at Samsung) as total shipments are estimated to decline dramatically. This greatly affects traditional players in the tablet SoC market such as Rockchip, Allwinner and MediaTek. Intel's strategy of subsidizing tablet SoCs has also had an impact. According to DigiTimes, the total tablet market will decline 30% sequentially in Q1 2015, with estimates of a decline of 12% for the whole year 2015.


Sources: DigiTimes (tablet market article), DigiTimes (MediaTek results), Qualcomm, MediaTek

Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z

Geniatech is happy to reconnect with the Computex audience after a strange gap of four years. During this time, Geniatech has been hard at work, engaging in numerous productive meetings with their esteemed customers. Although they have only a brief five minutes before they have to head to the airport, they am determined to utilize this time efficiently and provide you with an overview of several groundbreaking products that Geniatech has developed—specifically, their new line of Edge Computing ARM-based mini PCs.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Edge Computing? Well, let me shed some light on this transformative concept. Edge Computing refers to the practice of performing computation and data processing at or near the source of data generation, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers to do that work. By bringing computing power closer to the data source, Edge Computing enables faster processing, reduced latency, enhanced security, and greater autonomy in various applications. And that’s precisely what Geniatech’s new mini PCs are designed to deliver!

Let’s kick off the introduction with our first standout product, the Geniatech Case 3566. This sleek and compact mini PC boasts exceptional input and output capabilities, making it a perfect fit for Edge Computing use cases. It supports both Linux and Android operating systems, offering incredible versatility for a wide range of IoT projects. Equipped with a robust AI capability, the Case 3566 is ready to tackle complex tasks with ease.

Moving on, they have their remarkable space-saving Edge Computing box based on the RK 1126 chipset. This innovative device features not just one, but two Ethernet ports—an invaluable asset for various project requirements. Additionally, it offers USB 3 connectivity, further expanding its connectivity options. Designed with a pure Linux environment, it includes a powerful 4K encoder, allowing for seamless encoding and decoding operations. Their extensive expertise in encoding and decoding ensures optimal utilization of this feature, enabling smooth IP input and HDMI output functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Allow them to introduce their latest gem—the result of their collaboration with Rock Chip and their cutting-edge Rockchip 3588 chipset. This powerhouse mini PC sets new benchmarks in performance and capability. With two HDMI outputs capable of supporting up to 8K resolution, an HDMI input, a DP port, USB Type-C connectivity, and GPIO support, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Its impressive decoding and encoding capabilities bring unparalleled versatility, making it an indispensable asset for demanding applications. By pushing the boundaries of what was traditionally limited to x86 SOC devices, Geniatech’s new offering opens up exciting possibilities and expands the horizons of Edge Computing.

He is delighted to share that their customers have responded overwhelmingly positively to these new products. The feedback they have received thus far has been incredibly encouraging, validating their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

While they regret not being able to delve deeper into the features and functionalities of these remarkable mini PCs today, he promise to keep you updated with comprehensive insights in the near future. The world of Edge Computing is rapidly evolving, and Geniatech remains at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Thank you for joining us on this brief journey into the world of Geniatech’s Edge Computing solutions. Stay tuned for more updates, detailed reviews, and demonstrations as they continue to shape the future of computing with their groundbreaking products.

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Shenzhen AV Display as they showcase their cutting-edge products and solutions at Display Week 2023 Let’s dive right in Our host introduces herself as the representative from the sales department at Shenzhen AV Display. She takes us through their impressive range of integrated display solutions, highlighting how they provide a total package to their customers. From displays to PCBs, they offer a seamless system that caters to various needs.

One of the standout features of their product lineup is the ARM board, which serves as the driving force behind their displays. By utilizing Rockchip and NXP as their main solutions, they ensure optimal performance and functionality. The host proudly presents a series of displays, demonstrating their capabilities and versatility.

Among the showcased displays is an all-in-one machine, which boasts two unique functions. Firstly, it serves as an all-in-one solution, providing an immersive user experience. Additionally, it features touch-plus functionality, allowing users to interact with the display effortlessly. The host explains that one of the highlights of this display is its Corona feature, eliminating the need for touch input. Instead, a sensor located inside the display accurately detects user actions. This becomes particularly useful during situations like the ongoing pandemic, where maintaining cleanliness and avoiding contact are crucial.

Moving on, the host presents more display options, emphasizing that Shenzhen AV Display doesn’t just sell individual components; they provide complete solutions. Each display is carefully designed and accompanied by a touch interface, PCB, and even their own custom-designed main board.

The video continues to explore their range of products, with the host introducing another impressive solution powered by Rockchip. This particular display features the Android operating system and is tailored for IoT applications. The host also showcases their smart display module, which comes in a compact five-inch size. It’s fascinating to see how Shenzhen AV Display offers various sizes and customization options to meet the specific requirements of their clients.

To add a touch of uniqueness, the host unveils displays with special shapes, including pottery-type and landscape-type designs. These unconventional displays not only capture attention but also provide immersive visual experiences.

During the conversation, the host reveals that Shenzhen AV Display has been attending Display Week for several years, establishing strong partnerships with renowned panel manufacturers such as BOE, Innolux. This collaboration ensures that they have access to high-quality panels, guaranteeing superior performance and reliability in their products.

Thank you for joining us on this captivating exploration of display technology with Shenzhen AV Display. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos. Stay tuned for the latest updates and advancements in the world of display!

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Strategy Analytics has published its yearly report detailing global smartphone application processor market share in 2014. The total market had sales of about $21 billion with robust growth of 21%. The report shows that Qualcomm continued to lead the market in terms of revenue share with 52%, followed by Apple with 18% and MediaTek with 14%. The Apple number most likely reflects an estimate because Apple does not sell its chips to third parties. In fourth and fifth place were Speadtrum and Samsung LSI. The report mentions that HiSilicon, Intel and MediaTek had bigger growth than Qualcomm in 2014.

Qualcomm's strength based on Snapdragon 800 series wins in higher-tier phones

According to the report, Qualcomm's leadership was largely based on design wins for its Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 805 SoCs in the higher-tier market. Examples of this include the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3. However, as I have previously reported Samsung has increased its use of in-house application processors starting from the second half of 2014, culminating in the exclusive use of Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6 in 2015, putting pressure on Qualcomm.

Baseband share in 2014

Strategy Analytics has also published a report with details about baseband (modem) market share in smartphones. According to the report, LTE (4G) basebands accounted for 50% of cellular baseband share in 2014, and the figure is likely to increase significantly in 2015. Qualcomm led in LTE basebands, but HiSilicon, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and Samsung also increased LTE baseband shipments.

In terms of revenues in the overall baseband market, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Speadtrum, Marvell and Intel had the top positions in 2104. Qualcomm had 66% revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 17% and Speadtrum with 5% sare. Given the product lines of the respective companies in 2014, Qualcomm's revenues are based on both integrated SoC and separate modems, while Intel's sales were mostly separate modem chips, while the other players mostly shipped a mix of integrated SoCs and modem chips.

Comparison with 2013

Comparing with the reports that Strategy Analytics issued for 2013, Qualcomm saws it baseband revenue share remain relatively stable at 66% compared to 64% in 2013. MediaTek saw its AP market share increase from 10% in 2013 to 14% in 2014, and its baseband share increased.

Tablet processor market in 2014

According to another report issued by Strategy Analytics, the market for tablet processors grew 18% in 2014 to $4.2 billion. The top-five revenue share positions were occupied by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung LSI. Apple led with 27% share (which must be an estimate), followed by Intel with 17% and Qualcomm with 16% share.

Notable is the absence among the top five of traditional leaders in the Chinese white-box market such as Rockchip and Allwinner. This most likely reflects in increase in brand name tablet shipments at the expense of the white-box tablet market, the low selling prices of white-box tablet processor and the encroachment of MediaTek and Intel into that segment.

Source: Strategy Analytics (Smartphone AP market share), Strategy Analytics (cellular baseband market share), Strategy Analytics (Tablet processor market share)

According to a recent article published by DigiTimes Research, tablet applications processor unit shipments to Chinese manufacturers grew by 4.7% in Q4 2014 to reach 34.7 million units. However, shipments are estimated to decline by 24% in Q1 2015 when compared to Q4 2104. Year-over-year, shipments are expected to drop by about 8%, which marks the first time quarterly tablet processor shipments in China experience a year-over-year decline. Excess inventory from Q4 2014 is given as a cause for the decline in shipments.

MediaTek leads Chinese tablet market in Q1 2015

Based on information published by DigiTimes Research, MediaTek, Rockchip, Allwinner and Intel were the top four providers of tablet processors in China, in that order, in Q4 2014. For Q1 2015, MediaTek is estimated to expand it market share by about 1% to reach 28.5%, although absolute shipments will decline significantly due to the overall market decline.

Rockchip, who was the market share leader for most of 2014, is estimated to see its market share remain stable in Q1 2015, registering a 0.6% increase according to DigiTimes Research, who did not supply a market share figure for Rockchip, although it is probably in the region of 25%. DigiTimes mentioned that Rockchip's new chips launched at the end of 2014 (which includes the Cortex-A7-based RK3126 and RK3128) have not yet reached strong shipments.

Meanwhile, Allwinner continues the trend of a steady decline a market share, being expected to have a share of 15.6% compared to 17.6% in Q4 2014. This allows it to be passed by Intel in terms of market share, with Intel's market share estimated to rise from 15% to 16.3% in Q1 2015.

Intel's global market share has increased and is significant, especially revenue share

It should be noted that in terms of global market share, Intel has a stronger position than what would be inferred just from the Chinese market due to a strong position at brand-name tablet manufacturers outside of China, such as Asus and Acer. The other chip players in the Chinese tablet processor market, especially Rockchip and Allwinner, have a weak position outside of China. Due to the higher-end nature of Intel's product mix, Intel also has a higher revenue share, whereas the sales of companies such as Allwinner are mostly concentrated in low-end processors. It has been reported that Intel is abandoning its "contra-revenue" strategy of subsidizing tablet processor sales, which it probably can afford to do because its chip solutions are fairly competitive on their own.

Global brand names gain share, use different chip suppliers

In the global tablet marker, brand name manufacturers are gaining share and dominate the dollar value of the market, also for semiconductor content. Apple and Samsung, who lead the global tablet market, use a lot of in-house chip solutions (100% in the case of Apple). Samsung also uses suppliers like Qualcomm and Marvell, who otherwise do not have a strong position in the Chinese tablet market.

MediaTek used to have strong market share among Taiwanese tablet manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. However, its market share their seems to have been eroded significantly by strong adoption of Intel's Atom SoCs at these manufacturers (who have strong ties with Intel through PC manufacturing).

Popular tablet SoCs as of Q1 2015

By analyzing the tablet models offered on Chinese e-commerce portals, one can get some idea of what SoCs are currently used the most in tablets from China. I took a look at the tablet offerings on Banggood.com.

Rockchip's RK3188 (which probably means the RK3188T variant in most cases) is still widely used. Originally a mid-range performance segment SoC, there are indications that Rockchip built a significant inventory of this SoC (which is not particularly cheap in terms of manufactuing cost) last year, and the chip has been used in cheaper models as well. Rockchip's RK3126, which is more cost-effective than RK3188, is slowly starting to appear in new tablet models.

Meanwhile, Rockchip's high-end RK3288 is used in several models from Pipo, Teclast and FNF, and these seem to be reasonably popular for a high-end product. I have some concerns about power consumption and battery life regarding these products due to the processor cores used in the SoC.

The most popular MediaTek chips used in tablets are SoCs with 3G connectivity such as the low-end dual-core MT8312 and quad-core MT8382 (the equivalent of the MT6572 and MT6582 smartphone SoCs), as well as the more performance oriented octa-core MT6592/MT8392, which provides good performance and battery-life and has moved down to lower-priced tablet models. Additionally, the new 64-bit MT8752 with 4G (equivalent to the MT6752 smartphone SoC) is starting to appear in new models (Cube, Teclast). For WiFi-only tablets, the MT8127 (which has a relatively powerful GPU for a cheap SoC) is used in some low-to-mid-range tablets.

Allwinner's A31s, which was released in 2013 but perhaps its last successful product introduction, appears to be still used for production. Low-end tablets are available with the A23 and A33 SoCs, although the A33 does not seem to have been very successful and has been affected by weakness in the low-end segment of the tablet market.

Allwinner's new octa-core A83T has started to appear in a few new models, and is probably replacing the high-end A80 Octa which is likely to have had low profit margins.

Finally, Intel's Z3735F, Z3735G and Z3736F Atom SoCs are widely used in tablets, although most prominently in higher-prices models that come equipped with Microsoft Windows.

Update (15 March): 3G smartphone chip inventory unloaded onto Chinese tablet market

In an article published on 13 March 2015, DigiTimes Research reported that due to a high inventory level of 3G smartphone solutions in China, such chips will be unloaded onto the Chinese tablet market by players such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum.

3G-enabled chip solutions for tablets are usually very similar to similar solutions for smartphones. For example, MediaTek's smartphone solutions have commonly been used in tablets, while MediaTek's official 3G-enabled tablet solutions most likely consist of a chip virtually identical to the smartphone version, with the main difference being a different model number (e.g. MT6582 vs MT8382). That MediaTek would target any excess inventory of 3G smartphone chipsets at the tablet market is not surprising.

However, I am little sceptical about the volume that may be involved. The Chinese tablet market is clearly contracting in the near term, and the volumes in the tablet market are considerably smaller than the smartphone market, even the declining 3G part of the smartphone SoC market. To put things into perspective, MediaTek's quarterly 3G smartphone chip shipments were on the order of 70 million in Q4 2014, while its 3G tablet chip shipments were probably in the range of 5 to 10 million.

The article also mentions Qualcomm, which in the past has not been a major player in the Chinese white-box tablet market. It mentions rumours that Qualcomm may form a partnership with Allwinner (which has been consistently losing market share) to penetrate the tablet market in China. The article also states that while Intel has introduced 3G tablet solutions, Intel's solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted until Intel introduces the 4G version of its Atom x3 (formerly SoFIA) platform.

Sources: DigiTimes (Q1 2015 China tablet AP market article),  DigiTimes Research (smartphone chips inventory unloaded to tablet market)

Updated 15 March 2015.

At the Mobile World Congress this week, several new mobile SoCs are being announced.

MediaTek announces cost-reduced MT6753 for smartphones

MediaTek anounced two mobile SoCs, the MT6753 for smartphones and the MT8173 for tablets.

The MT6753 appears to be a cost-reduced version of the successful MT6752, equpped with "WorldMode" modem technology. By offering compatibility with the CDMA2000 standard, it gives customers worldwide greater diversity and flexibility in their product layouts, according to MediaTek. Features include an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T720 GPU with an unspecified number of cores. ARM's Mali-T720 GPU is positioned at a significantly lower performance bracket than the Mali-T760 used in the MT6752, positioning the MT6753 below the MT6752 in terms of cost and performance.

The MT6753 is described as being compatible with the previously announced MT6735 for entry-level smartphones. The MT6735 has four Cortex-A53 cores instead of eight but otherwise has a similar configuration with a Mali T720 GPU.

High-performance MT8173 tablet SoC uses small big.LITTLE clusters with Cortex-A72

The MT8173 is a high-performance tablet processor (without integrated modem) that utilizes ARM's new Cortex-A72 core in a big.LITTLE configuration. By using only two Cortex-A72 cores (clocked up to 2.4 GHz) as well as two Cortex-A53 cores, the chip has a lower cost than would be the case with the four-by-four core configuration commonly used for big.LITTLE designs, while still providing good performance.

The Cortex-A72 core, the successor of Cortex-A57, appears to be seeing quick adoption as Qualcomm has already announced performance-segment smartphone SoCs (Snapdragon 618 and 620) featuring the core.

MediaTek has previously used a similar two-by-two big.LITTLE configuration in its MT8135(V) tablet SoC, which has two Cortex-A15 cores and Cortex-A7 cores. This chip was used in Amazon tablets but otherwise did not see much adoption.

Other features include a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, which is part of Imagination's Series 6XT family, with higher performance and efficiency than the G6200 GPU used in chips such as the MT8135 and MT6595.

Other tablet SoCs not yet publicly announced by MediaTek

Meanwhile, tablet product announcements by Lenovo also refer to the MT8161 and MT8165 SoCs, which have not been announced. From the specifications of the Lenovo Tab 2 A8 which is using it, the MT8161 appears to be a tablet SoC without modem with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running up to 1.3 GHz, while the MT8165 (used in the Tab 2 A10) is a similar SoC with the CPU running up to 1.5 GHz. The 4G version of the Lenovo tablets come equipped with the MT8735 (Tab 2 A8) and MT8732 (Tab 2 A10). These chips are the tablet versions of the MT6735 and MT6732 smartphone SoCs.

MT6795 renamed to Helio X10

In a closed-door presentation at MWC, MediaTek also presented the Helio X10 smartphone SoC, featuring a 64-bit octa-core CPU up to 2.2 GHz, 120 Hz display refresh rate and H.265 video encode up to 4K2K @ 30 fps. A photograph of a slide taken at the presentation strongly suggests that Helio X10 is nothing other than the delayed MT6795 SoC, whose specifications closely match. Devices using this chip are likely to have already started production. MediaTek also talked about the Helio P series, a high-performance platform, which will make its way into devices before the end of the year.

Qualcomm gives preview of next-generation Snapdragon 820 SoC

In a press release, Qualcomm has given a preview of the Snapdragon 820, which utilizes Qualcomm's new custom 64-bit CPU architecture for mobile devices called Kryo. The chip will start sampling in the second half of 2015 according to Qualcomm, with devices becoming available in 2016. It will be manufactured on a next-generation FinFET process (which probably means TSMC's 16FF+, but Samsung cannot be excluded). In the press release, Qualcomm does not mention whether the chip will conform to ARM's ARMv8 instruction set architecture.

In conjuction with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm also announced the Zeroth hardware/software platform focusing on device intelligence features including video and audio recognition techniques (such as visual object and face recognition).

Intel introduces tablet and smartphone SoCs with integrated modem

Intel has finally introduced SoCs with an integrated cellular modem in its Atom system-on-a-chip product line. The former SoFIA platform has been renamed to Atom X3 and features multi-core 64-bit Atom processors with integrated 3G or 4G LTE modem technology. The following products are available:

• Atom X3-C3130, which has dual-core Atom CPU running up to 1.0 GHz and integrates a 3G modem. It features Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Maximum display resolution is 1280x800. It appears to be in the same market segment as MediaTek's previous-generation 3G SoCs such as MT6572 and MT6582 and other SoCs that are already on the market.
• Atom X3-C3230RK, which was developed by Intel partner Rockchip following the agreement announced last year. It has quad-core Atom CPU, integrates a 3G modem and features a Mali-450 MP4 GPU.
• Atom X3-C3440, a quad-core Atom CPU platform that integrates a Cat 6 LTE 4G modem. It has an Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. This product appears to be one that is most likely to succeed in the market.

All feature a 32-bit memory interface with support for LPDDR2 (and DDR3/DDR3L with the X3-C3230RK). These are the first Intel products that have features (such as the integrated modem) that make them specifically suitable for the smartphone market. They also target cellular-enabled tablets.

The 3G products are a little behind the times, and their success is uncertain. It will be interesting observe whether Rockchip was able to develop the X3-C3230RK in time (one would expect Intel to have greater expertise/resources so that the other products will appear on the market first).

One notable fact is that these are among the first SoCs to integrate an ARM GPU core with a non-ARM CPU.

Intel announces first 14 nm Atom SoCs for tablets and all-in-ones

Intel also rolled out its first 14 nm Atom SoCs, the Atom x5 and x7 processor series (formely codenamed Cherry Trail) with  Intel Gen 8 graphics, targeting tablets and small screen all-in-ones.

Intel has also introduced a new stand-alone modem chip, XMM 7360, which support LTE Cat 10 and download speeds up to 450 Mbps, as well as wireless connnectivity products (including WiFi/Bluetooth, GNSS/GPS and NFC solutions).

Sources: MediaTek (MT6753 announcement), MediaTek (MT8173 announcement), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 820/Zeroth platform preview), Intel (MWC announcements), Intel Atom x3 Processor Series Brief

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of Q4 2014 and made projections for future periods. Both companies are seeing challenges that are already affecting their revenues and market share now or later in 2015.

Qualcomm lowers forecast for 2015 due to weakness at major customer

In their financial report for Q4 2014, Qualcomm lowered their outlook for 2015, citing as one of the reasons reduced demand from a major customer as that customer has not selected the Snapdragon 810 processor for an upcoming flagship product. This is widely believed to refer to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6. In fact the trend of increasing use of in-house Exynos processors already started last year, as models such as Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Note 4 already saw increasing use of Samsung's own Exynos processors, including modem technology in some cases.

Qualcomm also mentions a share shift among major OEMs that will result in relatively more modem chips as opposed to SoCs (clearly referring to Apple, which only uses Qualcom's modem chips), as well as heightened competition in China. Recently, Qualcomm also recently announced a resolution of the anti-trust investigation by authorities in China, which amounts to a reduction in the patent royalty rate it charges to customers in China.

Qualcomm's total market share currently still strong

At the moment, Qualcomm's market share for smartphone SoCs is still strong as shown by unit shipments and revenues for Q4 2014 and Qualcomm's estimates for Q1 2015, although its product mix has shifted to lower-end products. In comparison to competitor MediaTek, Qualcomm is doing much better in terms of maintaining or growing unit shipments (with Qualcomm in fact seeing a 14% increase in unit shipments in Q4 2014), suggesting that Qualcomm is taking market share from MediaTek as products such as Snapdragon 410 and the new Snapdragon 210 take over large parts of the low-end cost-sensitive market (especially in China) where MediaTek's 3G solutions where previously dominant.

MediaTek losing market share despite successful new products

Meanwhile, although MediaTek has seen widespread adoption of its new MT6752 and MT6732 SoCs with integrated LTE modem for the cost-sensitive mid-range market, the company saw lower unit shipments in Q4 2014 and predicts a 10 to 18% revenue decline for Q1 2015, suggesting its smartphone SoC shipments are under pressure. Given the fact that the new 4G chips have higher selling prices than existing 3G chips, the revenue decline probably reflects a relatively dramatic decline in shipments of existing 3G solutions, with resulting loss of total market share, although price reductions may also play a role. MediaTek has been affected especially by the late introduction of integrated 4G solutions and the lack of a low-end 4G solution and to a lesser extend the delayed introduction of the high-end MT6795.

Captive mobile SoC use becoming more important

Within the total smartphone SoC market (and also in the tablet maket), captive supply (whereby a smartphone manufacturer uses its own SoCs in its smartphone models) is becoming more important, which affects the market opportunity for companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. I already mentioned Samsung's increasing use of Exynos processors, which has a significant impact as Samsung is one of the two largest smartphone manufacturers. A major Chinese manufacturr, Huawei, is also increasingly using SoCs from its own HiSilicon division, also extending to lower end models. Apple's gains in market share also has an effect (especially on the high-end market) since it uses proprietary SoCs.

In the tablet market, the low-end and Chinese white-box market is seeing a sharp reduction in shipments in Q1 2015, with market share shifting to brand names (where captive solutions are more important, such as at Samsung) as total shipments are estimated to decline dramatically. This greatly affects traditional players in the tablet SoC market such as Rockchip, Allwinner and MediaTek. Intel's strategy of subsidizing tablet SoCs has also had an impact. According to DigiTimes, the total tablet market will decline 30% sequentially in Q1 2015, with estimates of a decline of 12% for the whole year 2015.


Sources: DigiTimes (tablet market article), DigiTimes (MediaTek results), Qualcomm, MediaTek

Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z

Geniatech is happy to reconnect with the Computex audience after a strange gap of four years. During this time, Geniatech has been hard at work, engaging in numerous productive meetings with their esteemed customers. Although they have only a brief five minutes before they have to head to the airport, they am determined to utilize this time efficiently and provide you with an overview of several groundbreaking products that Geniatech has developed—specifically, their new line of Edge Computing ARM-based mini PCs.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Edge Computing? Well, let me shed some light on this transformative concept. Edge Computing refers to the practice of performing computation and data processing at or near the source of data generation, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers to do that work. By bringing computing power closer to the data source, Edge Computing enables faster processing, reduced latency, enhanced security, and greater autonomy in various applications. And that’s precisely what Geniatech’s new mini PCs are designed to deliver!

Let’s kick off the introduction with our first standout product, the Geniatech Case 3566. This sleek and compact mini PC boasts exceptional input and output capabilities, making it a perfect fit for Edge Computing use cases. It supports both Linux and Android operating systems, offering incredible versatility for a wide range of IoT projects. Equipped with a robust AI capability, the Case 3566 is ready to tackle complex tasks with ease.

Moving on, they have their remarkable space-saving Edge Computing box based on the RK 1126 chipset. This innovative device features not just one, but two Ethernet ports—an invaluable asset for various project requirements. Additionally, it offers USB 3 connectivity, further expanding its connectivity options. Designed with a pure Linux environment, it includes a powerful 4K encoder, allowing for seamless encoding and decoding operations. Their extensive expertise in encoding and decoding ensures optimal utilization of this feature, enabling smooth IP input and HDMI output functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Allow them to introduce their latest gem—the result of their collaboration with Rock Chip and their cutting-edge Rockchip 3588 chipset. This powerhouse mini PC sets new benchmarks in performance and capability. With two HDMI outputs capable of supporting up to 8K resolution, an HDMI input, a DP port, USB Type-C connectivity, and GPIO support, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Its impressive decoding and encoding capabilities bring unparalleled versatility, making it an indispensable asset for demanding applications. By pushing the boundaries of what was traditionally limited to x86 SOC devices, Geniatech’s new offering opens up exciting possibilities and expands the horizons of Edge Computing.

He is delighted to share that their customers have responded overwhelmingly positively to these new products. The feedback they have received thus far has been incredibly encouraging, validating their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

While they regret not being able to delve deeper into the features and functionalities of these remarkable mini PCs today, he promise to keep you updated with comprehensive insights in the near future. The world of Edge Computing is rapidly evolving, and Geniatech remains at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Thank you for joining us on this brief journey into the world of Geniatech’s Edge Computing solutions. Stay tuned for more updates, detailed reviews, and demonstrations as they continue to shape the future of computing with their groundbreaking products.

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Check out my Display Week 2023 sponsors https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvjCrPLmMguxH5aIl4y75Lr- and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvhNinXlfK22GotQv-7gjT4H both of whom I will soon be filming new videos with, so check back!

Shenzhen AV Display as they showcase their cutting-edge products and solutions at Display Week 2023 Let’s dive right in Our host introduces herself as the representative from the sales department at Shenzhen AV Display. She takes us through their impressive range of integrated display solutions, highlighting how they provide a total package to their customers. From displays to PCBs, they offer a seamless system that caters to various needs.

One of the standout features of their product lineup is the ARM board, which serves as the driving force behind their displays. By utilizing Rockchip and NXP as their main solutions, they ensure optimal performance and functionality. The host proudly presents a series of displays, demonstrating their capabilities and versatility.

Among the showcased displays is an all-in-one machine, which boasts two unique functions. Firstly, it serves as an all-in-one solution, providing an immersive user experience. Additionally, it features touch-plus functionality, allowing users to interact with the display effortlessly. The host explains that one of the highlights of this display is its Corona feature, eliminating the need for touch input. Instead, a sensor located inside the display accurately detects user actions. This becomes particularly useful during situations like the ongoing pandemic, where maintaining cleanliness and avoiding contact are crucial.

Moving on, the host presents more display options, emphasizing that Shenzhen AV Display doesn’t just sell individual components; they provide complete solutions. Each display is carefully designed and accompanied by a touch interface, PCB, and even their own custom-designed main board.

The video continues to explore their range of products, with the host introducing another impressive solution powered by Rockchip. This particular display features the Android operating system and is tailored for IoT applications. The host also showcases their smart display module, which comes in a compact five-inch size. It’s fascinating to see how Shenzhen AV Display offers various sizes and customization options to meet the specific requirements of their clients.

To add a touch of uniqueness, the host unveils displays with special shapes, including pottery-type and landscape-type designs. These unconventional displays not only capture attention but also provide immersive visual experiences.

During the conversation, the host reveals that Shenzhen AV Display has been attending Display Week for several years, establishing strong partnerships with renowned panel manufacturers such as BOE, Innolux. This collaboration ensures that they have access to high-quality panels, guaranteeing superior performance and reliability in their products.

Thank you for joining us on this captivating exploration of display technology with Shenzhen AV Display. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos. Stay tuned for the latest updates and advancements in the world of display!

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Strategy Analytics has published its yearly report detailing global smartphone application processor market share in 2014. The total market had sales of about $21 billion with robust growth of 21%. The report shows that Qualcomm continued to lead the market in terms of revenue share with 52%, followed by Apple with 18% and MediaTek with 14%. The Apple number most likely reflects an estimate because Apple does not sell its chips to third parties. In fourth and fifth place were Speadtrum and Samsung LSI. The report mentions that HiSilicon, Intel and MediaTek had bigger growth than Qualcomm in 2014.

Qualcomm's strength based on Snapdragon 800 series wins in higher-tier phones

According to the report, Qualcomm's leadership was largely based on design wins for its Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 805 SoCs in the higher-tier market. Examples of this include the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3. However, as I have previously reported Samsung has increased its use of in-house application processors starting from the second half of 2014, culminating in the exclusive use of Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6 in 2015, putting pressure on Qualcomm.

Baseband share in 2014

Strategy Analytics has also published a report with details about baseband (modem) market share in smartphones. According to the report, LTE (4G) basebands accounted for 50% of cellular baseband share in 2014, and the figure is likely to increase significantly in 2015. Qualcomm led in LTE basebands, but HiSilicon, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and Samsung also increased LTE baseband shipments.

In terms of revenues in the overall baseband market, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Speadtrum, Marvell and Intel had the top positions in 2104. Qualcomm had 66% revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 17% and Speadtrum with 5% sare. Given the product lines of the respective companies in 2014, Qualcomm's revenues are based on both integrated SoC and separate modems, while Intel's sales were mostly separate modem chips, while the other players mostly shipped a mix of integrated SoCs and modem chips.

Comparison with 2013

Comparing with the reports that Strategy Analytics issued for 2013, Qualcomm saws it baseband revenue share remain relatively stable at 66% compared to 64% in 2013. MediaTek saw its AP market share increase from 10% in 2013 to 14% in 2014, and its baseband share increased.

Tablet processor market in 2014

According to another report issued by Strategy Analytics, the market for tablet processors grew 18% in 2014 to $4.2 billion. The top-five revenue share positions were occupied by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung LSI. Apple led with 27% share (which must be an estimate), followed by Intel with 17% and Qualcomm with 16% share.

Notable is the absence among the top five of traditional leaders in the Chinese white-box market such as Rockchip and Allwinner. This most likely reflects in increase in brand name tablet shipments at the expense of the white-box tablet market, the low selling prices of white-box tablet processor and the encroachment of MediaTek and Intel into that segment.

Source: Strategy Analytics (Smartphone AP market share), Strategy Analytics (cellular baseband market share), Strategy Analytics (Tablet processor market share)

According to a recent article published by DigiTimes Research, tablet applications processor unit shipments to Chinese manufacturers grew by 4.7% in Q4 2014 to reach 34.7 million units. However, shipments are estimated to decline by 24% in Q1 2015 when compared to Q4 2104. Year-over-year, shipments are expected to drop by about 8%, which marks the first time quarterly tablet processor shipments in China experience a year-over-year decline. Excess inventory from Q4 2014 is given as a cause for the decline in shipments.

MediaTek leads Chinese tablet market in Q1 2015

Based on information published by DigiTimes Research, MediaTek, Rockchip, Allwinner and Intel were the top four providers of tablet processors in China, in that order, in Q4 2014. For Q1 2015, MediaTek is estimated to expand it market share by about 1% to reach 28.5%, although absolute shipments will decline significantly due to the overall market decline.

Rockchip, who was the market share leader for most of 2014, is estimated to see its market share remain stable in Q1 2015, registering a 0.6% increase according to DigiTimes Research, who did not supply a market share figure for Rockchip, although it is probably in the region of 25%. DigiTimes mentioned that Rockchip's new chips launched at the end of 2014 (which includes the Cortex-A7-based RK3126 and RK3128) have not yet reached strong shipments.

Meanwhile, Allwinner continues the trend of a steady decline a market share, being expected to have a share of 15.6% compared to 17.6% in Q4 2014. This allows it to be passed by Intel in terms of market share, with Intel's market share estimated to rise from 15% to 16.3% in Q1 2015.

Intel's global market share has increased and is significant, especially revenue share

It should be noted that in terms of global market share, Intel has a stronger position than what would be inferred just from the Chinese market due to a strong position at brand-name tablet manufacturers outside of China, such as Asus and Acer. The other chip players in the Chinese tablet processor market, especially Rockchip and Allwinner, have a weak position outside of China. Due to the higher-end nature of Intel's product mix, Intel also has a higher revenue share, whereas the sales of companies such as Allwinner are mostly concentrated in low-end processors. It has been reported that Intel is abandoning its "contra-revenue" strategy of subsidizing tablet processor sales, which it probably can afford to do because its chip solutions are fairly competitive on their own.

Global brand names gain share, use different chip suppliers

In the global tablet marker, brand name manufacturers are gaining share and dominate the dollar value of the market, also for semiconductor content. Apple and Samsung, who lead the global tablet market, use a lot of in-house chip solutions (100% in the case of Apple). Samsung also uses suppliers like Qualcomm and Marvell, who otherwise do not have a strong position in the Chinese tablet market.

MediaTek used to have strong market share among Taiwanese tablet manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. However, its market share their seems to have been eroded significantly by strong adoption of Intel's Atom SoCs at these manufacturers (who have strong ties with Intel through PC manufacturing).

Popular tablet SoCs as of Q1 2015

By analyzing the tablet models offered on Chinese e-commerce portals, one can get some idea of what SoCs are currently used the most in tablets from China. I took a look at the tablet offerings on Banggood.com.

Rockchip's RK3188 (which probably means the RK3188T variant in most cases) is still widely used. Originally a mid-range performance segment SoC, there are indications that Rockchip built a significant inventory of this SoC (which is not particularly cheap in terms of manufactuing cost) last year, and the chip has been used in cheaper models as well. Rockchip's RK3126, which is more cost-effective than RK3188, is slowly starting to appear in new tablet models.

Meanwhile, Rockchip's high-end RK3288 is used in several models from Pipo, Teclast and FNF, and these seem to be reasonably popular for a high-end product. I have some concerns about power consumption and battery life regarding these products due to the processor cores used in the SoC.

The most popular MediaTek chips used in tablets are SoCs with 3G connectivity such as the low-end dual-core MT8312 and quad-core MT8382 (the equivalent of the MT6572 and MT6582 smartphone SoCs), as well as the more performance oriented octa-core MT6592/MT8392, which provides good performance and battery-life and has moved down to lower-priced tablet models. Additionally, the new 64-bit MT8752 with 4G (equivalent to the MT6752 smartphone SoC) is starting to appear in new models (Cube, Teclast). For WiFi-only tablets, the MT8127 (which has a relatively powerful GPU for a cheap SoC) is used in some low-to-mid-range tablets.

Allwinner's A31s, which was released in 2013 but perhaps its last successful product introduction, appears to be still used for production. Low-end tablets are available with the A23 and A33 SoCs, although the A33 does not seem to have been very successful and has been affected by weakness in the low-end segment of the tablet market.

Allwinner's new octa-core A83T has started to appear in a few new models, and is probably replacing the high-end A80 Octa which is likely to have had low profit margins.

Finally, Intel's Z3735F, Z3735G and Z3736F Atom SoCs are widely used in tablets, although most prominently in higher-prices models that come equipped with Microsoft Windows.

Update (15 March): 3G smartphone chip inventory unloaded onto Chinese tablet market

In an article published on 13 March 2015, DigiTimes Research reported that due to a high inventory level of 3G smartphone solutions in China, such chips will be unloaded onto the Chinese tablet market by players such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum.

3G-enabled chip solutions for tablets are usually very similar to similar solutions for smartphones. For example, MediaTek's smartphone solutions have commonly been used in tablets, while MediaTek's official 3G-enabled tablet solutions most likely consist of a chip virtually identical to the smartphone version, with the main difference being a different model number (e.g. MT6582 vs MT8382). That MediaTek would target any excess inventory of 3G smartphone chipsets at the tablet market is not surprising.

However, I am little sceptical about the volume that may be involved. The Chinese tablet market is clearly contracting in the near term, and the volumes in the tablet market are considerably smaller than the smartphone market, even the declining 3G part of the smartphone SoC market. To put things into perspective, MediaTek's quarterly 3G smartphone chip shipments were on the order of 70 million in Q4 2014, while its 3G tablet chip shipments were probably in the range of 5 to 10 million.

The article also mentions Qualcomm, which in the past has not been a major player in the Chinese white-box tablet market. It mentions rumours that Qualcomm may form a partnership with Allwinner (which has been consistently losing market share) to penetrate the tablet market in China. The article also states that while Intel has introduced 3G tablet solutions, Intel's solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted until Intel introduces the 4G version of its Atom x3 (formerly SoFIA) platform.

Sources: DigiTimes (Q1 2015 China tablet AP market article),  DigiTimes Research (smartphone chips inventory unloaded to tablet market)

Updated 15 March 2015.

At the Mobile World Congress this week, several new mobile SoCs are being announced.

MediaTek announces cost-reduced MT6753 for smartphones

MediaTek anounced two mobile SoCs, the MT6753 for smartphones and the MT8173 for tablets.

The MT6753 appears to be a cost-reduced version of the successful MT6752, equpped with "WorldMode" modem technology. By offering compatibility with the CDMA2000 standard, it gives customers worldwide greater diversity and flexibility in their product layouts, according to MediaTek. Features include an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T720 GPU with an unspecified number of cores. ARM's Mali-T720 GPU is positioned at a significantly lower performance bracket than the Mali-T760 used in the MT6752, positioning the MT6753 below the MT6752 in terms of cost and performance.

The MT6753 is described as being compatible with the previously announced MT6735 for entry-level smartphones. The MT6735 has four Cortex-A53 cores instead of eight but otherwise has a similar configuration with a Mali T720 GPU.

High-performance MT8173 tablet SoC uses small big.LITTLE clusters with Cortex-A72

The MT8173 is a high-performance tablet processor (without integrated modem) that utilizes ARM's new Cortex-A72 core in a big.LITTLE configuration. By using only two Cortex-A72 cores (clocked up to 2.4 GHz) as well as two Cortex-A53 cores, the chip has a lower cost than would be the case with the four-by-four core configuration commonly used for big.LITTLE designs, while still providing good performance.

The Cortex-A72 core, the successor of Cortex-A57, appears to be seeing quick adoption as Qualcomm has already announced performance-segment smartphone SoCs (Snapdragon 618 and 620) featuring the core.

MediaTek has previously used a similar two-by-two big.LITTLE configuration in its MT8135(V) tablet SoC, which has two Cortex-A15 cores and Cortex-A7 cores. This chip was used in Amazon tablets but otherwise did not see much adoption.

Other features include a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, which is part of Imagination's Series 6XT family, with higher performance and efficiency than the G6200 GPU used in chips such as the MT8135 and MT6595.

Other tablet SoCs not yet publicly announced by MediaTek

Meanwhile, tablet product announcements by Lenovo also refer to the MT8161 and MT8165 SoCs, which have not been announced. From the specifications of the Lenovo Tab 2 A8 which is using it, the MT8161 appears to be a tablet SoC without modem with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running up to 1.3 GHz, while the MT8165 (used in the Tab 2 A10) is a similar SoC with the CPU running up to 1.5 GHz. The 4G version of the Lenovo tablets come equipped with the MT8735 (Tab 2 A8) and MT8732 (Tab 2 A10). These chips are the tablet versions of the MT6735 and MT6732 smartphone SoCs.

MT6795 renamed to Helio X10

In a closed-door presentation at MWC, MediaTek also presented the Helio X10 smartphone SoC, featuring a 64-bit octa-core CPU up to 2.2 GHz, 120 Hz display refresh rate and H.265 video encode up to 4K2K @ 30 fps. A photograph of a slide taken at the presentation strongly suggests that Helio X10 is nothing other than the delayed MT6795 SoC, whose specifications closely match. Devices using this chip are likely to have already started production. MediaTek also talked about the Helio P series, a high-performance platform, which will make its way into devices before the end of the year.

Qualcomm gives preview of next-generation Snapdragon 820 SoC

In a press release, Qualcomm has given a preview of the Snapdragon 820, which utilizes Qualcomm's new custom 64-bit CPU architecture for mobile devices called Kryo. The chip will start sampling in the second half of 2015 according to Qualcomm, with devices becoming available in 2016. It will be manufactured on a next-generation FinFET process (which probably means TSMC's 16FF+, but Samsung cannot be excluded). In the press release, Qualcomm does not mention whether the chip will conform to ARM's ARMv8 instruction set architecture.

In conjuction with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm also announced the Zeroth hardware/software platform focusing on device intelligence features including video and audio recognition techniques (such as visual object and face recognition).

Intel introduces tablet and smartphone SoCs with integrated modem

Intel has finally introduced SoCs with an integrated cellular modem in its Atom system-on-a-chip product line. The former SoFIA platform has been renamed to Atom X3 and features multi-core 64-bit Atom processors with integrated 3G or 4G LTE modem technology. The following products are available:

• Atom X3-C3130, which has dual-core Atom CPU running up to 1.0 GHz and integrates a 3G modem. It features Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Maximum display resolution is 1280x800. It appears to be in the same market segment as MediaTek's previous-generation 3G SoCs such as MT6572 and MT6582 and other SoCs that are already on the market.
• Atom X3-C3230RK, which was developed by Intel partner Rockchip following the agreement announced last year. It has quad-core Atom CPU, integrates a 3G modem and features a Mali-450 MP4 GPU.
• Atom X3-C3440, a quad-core Atom CPU platform that integrates a Cat 6 LTE 4G modem. It has an Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. This product appears to be one that is most likely to succeed in the market.

All feature a 32-bit memory interface with support for LPDDR2 (and DDR3/DDR3L with the X3-C3230RK). These are the first Intel products that have features (such as the integrated modem) that make them specifically suitable for the smartphone market. They also target cellular-enabled tablets.

The 3G products are a little behind the times, and their success is uncertain. It will be interesting observe whether Rockchip was able to develop the X3-C3230RK in time (one would expect Intel to have greater expertise/resources so that the other products will appear on the market first).

One notable fact is that these are among the first SoCs to integrate an ARM GPU core with a non-ARM CPU.

Intel announces first 14 nm Atom SoCs for tablets and all-in-ones

Intel also rolled out its first 14 nm Atom SoCs, the Atom x5 and x7 processor series (formely codenamed Cherry Trail) with  Intel Gen 8 graphics, targeting tablets and small screen all-in-ones.

Intel has also introduced a new stand-alone modem chip, XMM 7360, which support LTE Cat 10 and download speeds up to 450 Mbps, as well as wireless connnectivity products (including WiFi/Bluetooth, GNSS/GPS and NFC solutions).

Sources: MediaTek (MT6753 announcement), MediaTek (MT8173 announcement), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 820/Zeroth platform preview), Intel (MWC announcements), Intel Atom x3 Processor Series Brief

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of Q4 2014 and made projections for future periods. Both companies are seeing challenges that are already affecting their revenues and market share now or later in 2015.

Qualcomm lowers forecast for 2015 due to weakness at major customer

In their financial report for Q4 2014, Qualcomm lowered their outlook for 2015, citing as one of the reasons reduced demand from a major customer as that customer has not selected the Snapdragon 810 processor for an upcoming flagship product. This is widely believed to refer to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6. In fact the trend of increasing use of in-house Exynos processors already started last year, as models such as Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Note 4 already saw increasing use of Samsung's own Exynos processors, including modem technology in some cases.

Qualcomm also mentions a share shift among major OEMs that will result in relatively more modem chips as opposed to SoCs (clearly referring to Apple, which only uses Qualcom's modem chips), as well as heightened competition in China. Recently, Qualcomm also recently announced a resolution of the anti-trust investigation by authorities in China, which amounts to a reduction in the patent royalty rate it charges to customers in China.

Qualcomm's total market share currently still strong

At the moment, Qualcomm's market share for smartphone SoCs is still strong as shown by unit shipments and revenues for Q4 2014 and Qualcomm's estimates for Q1 2015, although its product mix has shifted to lower-end products. In comparison to competitor MediaTek, Qualcomm is doing much better in terms of maintaining or growing unit shipments (with Qualcomm in fact seeing a 14% increase in unit shipments in Q4 2014), suggesting that Qualcomm is taking market share from MediaTek as products such as Snapdragon 410 and the new Snapdragon 210 take over large parts of the low-end cost-sensitive market (especially in China) where MediaTek's 3G solutions where previously dominant.

MediaTek losing market share despite successful new products

Meanwhile, although MediaTek has seen widespread adoption of its new MT6752 and MT6732 SoCs with integrated LTE modem for the cost-sensitive mid-range market, the company saw lower unit shipments in Q4 2014 and predicts a 10 to 18% revenue decline for Q1 2015, suggesting its smartphone SoC shipments are under pressure. Given the fact that the new 4G chips have higher selling prices than existing 3G chips, the revenue decline probably reflects a relatively dramatic decline in shipments of existing 3G solutions, with resulting loss of total market share, although price reductions may also play a role. MediaTek has been affected especially by the late introduction of integrated 4G solutions and the lack of a low-end 4G solution and to a lesser extend the delayed introduction of the high-end MT6795.

Captive mobile SoC use becoming more important

Within the total smartphone SoC market (and also in the tablet maket), captive supply (whereby a smartphone manufacturer uses its own SoCs in its smartphone models) is becoming more important, which affects the market opportunity for companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. I already mentioned Samsung's increasing use of Exynos processors, which has a significant impact as Samsung is one of the two largest smartphone manufacturers. A major Chinese manufacturr, Huawei, is also increasingly using SoCs from its own HiSilicon division, also extending to lower end models. Apple's gains in market share also has an effect (especially on the high-end market) since it uses proprietary SoCs.

In the tablet market, the low-end and Chinese white-box market is seeing a sharp reduction in shipments in Q1 2015, with market share shifting to brand names (where captive solutions are more important, such as at Samsung) as total shipments are estimated to decline dramatically. This greatly affects traditional players in the tablet SoC market such as Rockchip, Allwinner and MediaTek. Intel's strategy of subsidizing tablet SoCs has also had an impact. According to DigiTimes, the total tablet market will decline 30% sequentially in Q1 2015, with estimates of a decline of 12% for the whole year 2015.


Sources: DigiTimes (tablet market article), DigiTimes (MediaTek results), Qualcomm, MediaTek

Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z

Geniatech is happy to reconnect with the Computex audience after a strange gap of four years. During this time, Geniatech has been hard at work, engaging in numerous productive meetings with their esteemed customers. Although they have only a brief five minutes before they have to head to the airport, they am determined to utilize this time efficiently and provide you with an overview of several groundbreaking products that Geniatech has developed—specifically, their new line of Edge Computing ARM-based mini PCs.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Edge Computing? Well, let me shed some light on this transformative concept. Edge Computing refers to the practice of performing computation and data processing at or near the source of data generation, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers to do that work. By bringing computing power closer to the data source, Edge Computing enables faster processing, reduced latency, enhanced security, and greater autonomy in various applications. And that’s precisely what Geniatech’s new mini PCs are designed to deliver!

Let’s kick off the introduction with our first standout product, the Geniatech Case 3566. This sleek and compact mini PC boasts exceptional input and output capabilities, making it a perfect fit for Edge Computing use cases. It supports both Linux and Android operating systems, offering incredible versatility for a wide range of IoT projects. Equipped with a robust AI capability, the Case 3566 is ready to tackle complex tasks with ease.

Moving on, they have their remarkable space-saving Edge Computing box based on the RK 1126 chipset. This innovative device features not just one, but two Ethernet ports—an invaluable asset for various project requirements. Additionally, it offers USB 3 connectivity, further expanding its connectivity options. Designed with a pure Linux environment, it includes a powerful 4K encoder, allowing for seamless encoding and decoding operations. Their extensive expertise in encoding and decoding ensures optimal utilization of this feature, enabling smooth IP input and HDMI output functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Allow them to introduce their latest gem—the result of their collaboration with Rock Chip and their cutting-edge Rockchip 3588 chipset. This powerhouse mini PC sets new benchmarks in performance and capability. With two HDMI outputs capable of supporting up to 8K resolution, an HDMI input, a DP port, USB Type-C connectivity, and GPIO support, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Its impressive decoding and encoding capabilities bring unparalleled versatility, making it an indispensable asset for demanding applications. By pushing the boundaries of what was traditionally limited to x86 SOC devices, Geniatech’s new offering opens up exciting possibilities and expands the horizons of Edge Computing.

He is delighted to share that their customers have responded overwhelmingly positively to these new products. The feedback they have received thus far has been incredibly encouraging, validating their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

While they regret not being able to delve deeper into the features and functionalities of these remarkable mini PCs today, he promise to keep you updated with comprehensive insights in the near future. The world of Edge Computing is rapidly evolving, and Geniatech remains at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Thank you for joining us on this brief journey into the world of Geniatech’s Edge Computing solutions. Stay tuned for more updates, detailed reviews, and demonstrations as they continue to shape the future of computing with their groundbreaking products.

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Shenzhen AV Display as they showcase their cutting-edge products and solutions at Display Week 2023 Let’s dive right in Our host introduces herself as the representative from the sales department at Shenzhen AV Display. She takes us through their impressive range of integrated display solutions, highlighting how they provide a total package to their customers. From displays to PCBs, they offer a seamless system that caters to various needs.

One of the standout features of their product lineup is the ARM board, which serves as the driving force behind their displays. By utilizing Rockchip and NXP as their main solutions, they ensure optimal performance and functionality. The host proudly presents a series of displays, demonstrating their capabilities and versatility.

Among the showcased displays is an all-in-one machine, which boasts two unique functions. Firstly, it serves as an all-in-one solution, providing an immersive user experience. Additionally, it features touch-plus functionality, allowing users to interact with the display effortlessly. The host explains that one of the highlights of this display is its Corona feature, eliminating the need for touch input. Instead, a sensor located inside the display accurately detects user actions. This becomes particularly useful during situations like the ongoing pandemic, where maintaining cleanliness and avoiding contact are crucial.

Moving on, the host presents more display options, emphasizing that Shenzhen AV Display doesn’t just sell individual components; they provide complete solutions. Each display is carefully designed and accompanied by a touch interface, PCB, and even their own custom-designed main board.

The video continues to explore their range of products, with the host introducing another impressive solution powered by Rockchip. This particular display features the Android operating system and is tailored for IoT applications. The host also showcases their smart display module, which comes in a compact five-inch size. It’s fascinating to see how Shenzhen AV Display offers various sizes and customization options to meet the specific requirements of their clients.

To add a touch of uniqueness, the host unveils displays with special shapes, including pottery-type and landscape-type designs. These unconventional displays not only capture attention but also provide immersive visual experiences.

During the conversation, the host reveals that Shenzhen AV Display has been attending Display Week for several years, establishing strong partnerships with renowned panel manufacturers such as BOE, Innolux. This collaboration ensures that they have access to high-quality panels, guaranteeing superior performance and reliability in their products.

Thank you for joining us on this captivating exploration of display technology with Shenzhen AV Display. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos. Stay tuned for the latest updates and advancements in the world of display!

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

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Strategy Analytics has published its yearly report detailing global smartphone application processor market share in 2014. The total market had sales of about $21 billion with robust growth of 21%. The report shows that Qualcomm continued to lead the market in terms of revenue share with 52%, followed by Apple with 18% and MediaTek with 14%. The Apple number most likely reflects an estimate because Apple does not sell its chips to third parties. In fourth and fifth place were Speadtrum and Samsung LSI. The report mentions that HiSilicon, Intel and MediaTek had bigger growth than Qualcomm in 2014.

Qualcomm's strength based on Snapdragon 800 series wins in higher-tier phones

According to the report, Qualcomm's leadership was largely based on design wins for its Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 805 SoCs in the higher-tier market. Examples of this include the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3. However, as I have previously reported Samsung has increased its use of in-house application processors starting from the second half of 2014, culminating in the exclusive use of Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6 in 2015, putting pressure on Qualcomm.

Baseband share in 2014

Strategy Analytics has also published a report with details about baseband (modem) market share in smartphones. According to the report, LTE (4G) basebands accounted for 50% of cellular baseband share in 2014, and the figure is likely to increase significantly in 2015. Qualcomm led in LTE basebands, but HiSilicon, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and Samsung also increased LTE baseband shipments.

In terms of revenues in the overall baseband market, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Speadtrum, Marvell and Intel had the top positions in 2104. Qualcomm had 66% revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 17% and Speadtrum with 5% sare. Given the product lines of the respective companies in 2014, Qualcomm's revenues are based on both integrated SoC and separate modems, while Intel's sales were mostly separate modem chips, while the other players mostly shipped a mix of integrated SoCs and modem chips.

Comparison with 2013

Comparing with the reports that Strategy Analytics issued for 2013, Qualcomm saws it baseband revenue share remain relatively stable at 66% compared to 64% in 2013. MediaTek saw its AP market share increase from 10% in 2013 to 14% in 2014, and its baseband share increased.

Tablet processor market in 2014

According to another report issued by Strategy Analytics, the market for tablet processors grew 18% in 2014 to $4.2 billion. The top-five revenue share positions were occupied by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung LSI. Apple led with 27% share (which must be an estimate), followed by Intel with 17% and Qualcomm with 16% share.

Notable is the absence among the top five of traditional leaders in the Chinese white-box market such as Rockchip and Allwinner. This most likely reflects in increase in brand name tablet shipments at the expense of the white-box tablet market, the low selling prices of white-box tablet processor and the encroachment of MediaTek and Intel into that segment.

Source: Strategy Analytics (Smartphone AP market share), Strategy Analytics (cellular baseband market share), Strategy Analytics (Tablet processor market share)

According to a recent article published by DigiTimes Research, tablet applications processor unit shipments to Chinese manufacturers grew by 4.7% in Q4 2014 to reach 34.7 million units. However, shipments are estimated to decline by 24% in Q1 2015 when compared to Q4 2104. Year-over-year, shipments are expected to drop by about 8%, which marks the first time quarterly tablet processor shipments in China experience a year-over-year decline. Excess inventory from Q4 2014 is given as a cause for the decline in shipments.

MediaTek leads Chinese tablet market in Q1 2015

Based on information published by DigiTimes Research, MediaTek, Rockchip, Allwinner and Intel were the top four providers of tablet processors in China, in that order, in Q4 2014. For Q1 2015, MediaTek is estimated to expand it market share by about 1% to reach 28.5%, although absolute shipments will decline significantly due to the overall market decline.

Rockchip, who was the market share leader for most of 2014, is estimated to see its market share remain stable in Q1 2015, registering a 0.6% increase according to DigiTimes Research, who did not supply a market share figure for Rockchip, although it is probably in the region of 25%. DigiTimes mentioned that Rockchip's new chips launched at the end of 2014 (which includes the Cortex-A7-based RK3126 and RK3128) have not yet reached strong shipments.

Meanwhile, Allwinner continues the trend of a steady decline a market share, being expected to have a share of 15.6% compared to 17.6% in Q4 2014. This allows it to be passed by Intel in terms of market share, with Intel's market share estimated to rise from 15% to 16.3% in Q1 2015.

Intel's global market share has increased and is significant, especially revenue share

It should be noted that in terms of global market share, Intel has a stronger position than what would be inferred just from the Chinese market due to a strong position at brand-name tablet manufacturers outside of China, such as Asus and Acer. The other chip players in the Chinese tablet processor market, especially Rockchip and Allwinner, have a weak position outside of China. Due to the higher-end nature of Intel's product mix, Intel also has a higher revenue share, whereas the sales of companies such as Allwinner are mostly concentrated in low-end processors. It has been reported that Intel is abandoning its "contra-revenue" strategy of subsidizing tablet processor sales, which it probably can afford to do because its chip solutions are fairly competitive on their own.

Global brand names gain share, use different chip suppliers

In the global tablet marker, brand name manufacturers are gaining share and dominate the dollar value of the market, also for semiconductor content. Apple and Samsung, who lead the global tablet market, use a lot of in-house chip solutions (100% in the case of Apple). Samsung also uses suppliers like Qualcomm and Marvell, who otherwise do not have a strong position in the Chinese tablet market.

MediaTek used to have strong market share among Taiwanese tablet manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. However, its market share their seems to have been eroded significantly by strong adoption of Intel's Atom SoCs at these manufacturers (who have strong ties with Intel through PC manufacturing).

Popular tablet SoCs as of Q1 2015

By analyzing the tablet models offered on Chinese e-commerce portals, one can get some idea of what SoCs are currently used the most in tablets from China. I took a look at the tablet offerings on Banggood.com.

Rockchip's RK3188 (which probably means the RK3188T variant in most cases) is still widely used. Originally a mid-range performance segment SoC, there are indications that Rockchip built a significant inventory of this SoC (which is not particularly cheap in terms of manufactuing cost) last year, and the chip has been used in cheaper models as well. Rockchip's RK3126, which is more cost-effective than RK3188, is slowly starting to appear in new tablet models.

Meanwhile, Rockchip's high-end RK3288 is used in several models from Pipo, Teclast and FNF, and these seem to be reasonably popular for a high-end product. I have some concerns about power consumption and battery life regarding these products due to the processor cores used in the SoC.

The most popular MediaTek chips used in tablets are SoCs with 3G connectivity such as the low-end dual-core MT8312 and quad-core MT8382 (the equivalent of the MT6572 and MT6582 smartphone SoCs), as well as the more performance oriented octa-core MT6592/MT8392, which provides good performance and battery-life and has moved down to lower-priced tablet models. Additionally, the new 64-bit MT8752 with 4G (equivalent to the MT6752 smartphone SoC) is starting to appear in new models (Cube, Teclast). For WiFi-only tablets, the MT8127 (which has a relatively powerful GPU for a cheap SoC) is used in some low-to-mid-range tablets.

Allwinner's A31s, which was released in 2013 but perhaps its last successful product introduction, appears to be still used for production. Low-end tablets are available with the A23 and A33 SoCs, although the A33 does not seem to have been very successful and has been affected by weakness in the low-end segment of the tablet market.

Allwinner's new octa-core A83T has started to appear in a few new models, and is probably replacing the high-end A80 Octa which is likely to have had low profit margins.

Finally, Intel's Z3735F, Z3735G and Z3736F Atom SoCs are widely used in tablets, although most prominently in higher-prices models that come equipped with Microsoft Windows.

Update (15 March): 3G smartphone chip inventory unloaded onto Chinese tablet market

In an article published on 13 March 2015, DigiTimes Research reported that due to a high inventory level of 3G smartphone solutions in China, such chips will be unloaded onto the Chinese tablet market by players such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum.

3G-enabled chip solutions for tablets are usually very similar to similar solutions for smartphones. For example, MediaTek's smartphone solutions have commonly been used in tablets, while MediaTek's official 3G-enabled tablet solutions most likely consist of a chip virtually identical to the smartphone version, with the main difference being a different model number (e.g. MT6582 vs MT8382). That MediaTek would target any excess inventory of 3G smartphone chipsets at the tablet market is not surprising.

However, I am little sceptical about the volume that may be involved. The Chinese tablet market is clearly contracting in the near term, and the volumes in the tablet market are considerably smaller than the smartphone market, even the declining 3G part of the smartphone SoC market. To put things into perspective, MediaTek's quarterly 3G smartphone chip shipments were on the order of 70 million in Q4 2014, while its 3G tablet chip shipments were probably in the range of 5 to 10 million.

The article also mentions Qualcomm, which in the past has not been a major player in the Chinese white-box tablet market. It mentions rumours that Qualcomm may form a partnership with Allwinner (which has been consistently losing market share) to penetrate the tablet market in China. The article also states that while Intel has introduced 3G tablet solutions, Intel's solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted until Intel introduces the 4G version of its Atom x3 (formerly SoFIA) platform.

Sources: DigiTimes (Q1 2015 China tablet AP market article),  DigiTimes Research (smartphone chips inventory unloaded to tablet market)

Updated 15 March 2015.

At the Mobile World Congress this week, several new mobile SoCs are being announced.

MediaTek announces cost-reduced MT6753 for smartphones

MediaTek anounced two mobile SoCs, the MT6753 for smartphones and the MT8173 for tablets.

The MT6753 appears to be a cost-reduced version of the successful MT6752, equpped with "WorldMode" modem technology. By offering compatibility with the CDMA2000 standard, it gives customers worldwide greater diversity and flexibility in their product layouts, according to MediaTek. Features include an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T720 GPU with an unspecified number of cores. ARM's Mali-T720 GPU is positioned at a significantly lower performance bracket than the Mali-T760 used in the MT6752, positioning the MT6753 below the MT6752 in terms of cost and performance.

The MT6753 is described as being compatible with the previously announced MT6735 for entry-level smartphones. The MT6735 has four Cortex-A53 cores instead of eight but otherwise has a similar configuration with a Mali T720 GPU.

High-performance MT8173 tablet SoC uses small big.LITTLE clusters with Cortex-A72

The MT8173 is a high-performance tablet processor (without integrated modem) that utilizes ARM's new Cortex-A72 core in a big.LITTLE configuration. By using only two Cortex-A72 cores (clocked up to 2.4 GHz) as well as two Cortex-A53 cores, the chip has a lower cost than would be the case with the four-by-four core configuration commonly used for big.LITTLE designs, while still providing good performance.

The Cortex-A72 core, the successor of Cortex-A57, appears to be seeing quick adoption as Qualcomm has already announced performance-segment smartphone SoCs (Snapdragon 618 and 620) featuring the core.

MediaTek has previously used a similar two-by-two big.LITTLE configuration in its MT8135(V) tablet SoC, which has two Cortex-A15 cores and Cortex-A7 cores. This chip was used in Amazon tablets but otherwise did not see much adoption.

Other features include a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, which is part of Imagination's Series 6XT family, with higher performance and efficiency than the G6200 GPU used in chips such as the MT8135 and MT6595.

Other tablet SoCs not yet publicly announced by MediaTek

Meanwhile, tablet product announcements by Lenovo also refer to the MT8161 and MT8165 SoCs, which have not been announced. From the specifications of the Lenovo Tab 2 A8 which is using it, the MT8161 appears to be a tablet SoC without modem with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running up to 1.3 GHz, while the MT8165 (used in the Tab 2 A10) is a similar SoC with the CPU running up to 1.5 GHz. The 4G version of the Lenovo tablets come equipped with the MT8735 (Tab 2 A8) and MT8732 (Tab 2 A10). These chips are the tablet versions of the MT6735 and MT6732 smartphone SoCs.

MT6795 renamed to Helio X10

In a closed-door presentation at MWC, MediaTek also presented the Helio X10 smartphone SoC, featuring a 64-bit octa-core CPU up to 2.2 GHz, 120 Hz display refresh rate and H.265 video encode up to 4K2K @ 30 fps. A photograph of a slide taken at the presentation strongly suggests that Helio X10 is nothing other than the delayed MT6795 SoC, whose specifications closely match. Devices using this chip are likely to have already started production. MediaTek also talked about the Helio P series, a high-performance platform, which will make its way into devices before the end of the year.

Qualcomm gives preview of next-generation Snapdragon 820 SoC

In a press release, Qualcomm has given a preview of the Snapdragon 820, which utilizes Qualcomm's new custom 64-bit CPU architecture for mobile devices called Kryo. The chip will start sampling in the second half of 2015 according to Qualcomm, with devices becoming available in 2016. It will be manufactured on a next-generation FinFET process (which probably means TSMC's 16FF+, but Samsung cannot be excluded). In the press release, Qualcomm does not mention whether the chip will conform to ARM's ARMv8 instruction set architecture.

In conjuction with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm also announced the Zeroth hardware/software platform focusing on device intelligence features including video and audio recognition techniques (such as visual object and face recognition).

Intel introduces tablet and smartphone SoCs with integrated modem

Intel has finally introduced SoCs with an integrated cellular modem in its Atom system-on-a-chip product line. The former SoFIA platform has been renamed to Atom X3 and features multi-core 64-bit Atom processors with integrated 3G or 4G LTE modem technology. The following products are available:

• Atom X3-C3130, which has dual-core Atom CPU running up to 1.0 GHz and integrates a 3G modem. It features Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Maximum display resolution is 1280x800. It appears to be in the same market segment as MediaTek's previous-generation 3G SoCs such as MT6572 and MT6582 and other SoCs that are already on the market.
• Atom X3-C3230RK, which was developed by Intel partner Rockchip following the agreement announced last year. It has quad-core Atom CPU, integrates a 3G modem and features a Mali-450 MP4 GPU.
• Atom X3-C3440, a quad-core Atom CPU platform that integrates a Cat 6 LTE 4G modem. It has an Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. This product appears to be one that is most likely to succeed in the market.

All feature a 32-bit memory interface with support for LPDDR2 (and DDR3/DDR3L with the X3-C3230RK). These are the first Intel products that have features (such as the integrated modem) that make them specifically suitable for the smartphone market. They also target cellular-enabled tablets.

The 3G products are a little behind the times, and their success is uncertain. It will be interesting observe whether Rockchip was able to develop the X3-C3230RK in time (one would expect Intel to have greater expertise/resources so that the other products will appear on the market first).

One notable fact is that these are among the first SoCs to integrate an ARM GPU core with a non-ARM CPU.

Intel announces first 14 nm Atom SoCs for tablets and all-in-ones

Intel also rolled out its first 14 nm Atom SoCs, the Atom x5 and x7 processor series (formely codenamed Cherry Trail) with  Intel Gen 8 graphics, targeting tablets and small screen all-in-ones.

Intel has also introduced a new stand-alone modem chip, XMM 7360, which support LTE Cat 10 and download speeds up to 450 Mbps, as well as wireless connnectivity products (including WiFi/Bluetooth, GNSS/GPS and NFC solutions).

Sources: MediaTek (MT6753 announcement), MediaTek (MT8173 announcement), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 820/Zeroth platform preview), Intel (MWC announcements), Intel Atom x3 Processor Series Brief

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of Q4 2014 and made projections for future periods. Both companies are seeing challenges that are already affecting their revenues and market share now or later in 2015.

Qualcomm lowers forecast for 2015 due to weakness at major customer

In their financial report for Q4 2014, Qualcomm lowered their outlook for 2015, citing as one of the reasons reduced demand from a major customer as that customer has not selected the Snapdragon 810 processor for an upcoming flagship product. This is widely believed to refer to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6. In fact the trend of increasing use of in-house Exynos processors already started last year, as models such as Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Note 4 already saw increasing use of Samsung's own Exynos processors, including modem technology in some cases.

Qualcomm also mentions a share shift among major OEMs that will result in relatively more modem chips as opposed to SoCs (clearly referring to Apple, which only uses Qualcom's modem chips), as well as heightened competition in China. Recently, Qualcomm also recently announced a resolution of the anti-trust investigation by authorities in China, which amounts to a reduction in the patent royalty rate it charges to customers in China.

Qualcomm's total market share currently still strong

At the moment, Qualcomm's market share for smartphone SoCs is still strong as shown by unit shipments and revenues for Q4 2014 and Qualcomm's estimates for Q1 2015, although its product mix has shifted to lower-end products. In comparison to competitor MediaTek, Qualcomm is doing much better in terms of maintaining or growing unit shipments (with Qualcomm in fact seeing a 14% increase in unit shipments in Q4 2014), suggesting that Qualcomm is taking market share from MediaTek as products such as Snapdragon 410 and the new Snapdragon 210 take over large parts of the low-end cost-sensitive market (especially in China) where MediaTek's 3G solutions where previously dominant.

MediaTek losing market share despite successful new products

Meanwhile, although MediaTek has seen widespread adoption of its new MT6752 and MT6732 SoCs with integrated LTE modem for the cost-sensitive mid-range market, the company saw lower unit shipments in Q4 2014 and predicts a 10 to 18% revenue decline for Q1 2015, suggesting its smartphone SoC shipments are under pressure. Given the fact that the new 4G chips have higher selling prices than existing 3G chips, the revenue decline probably reflects a relatively dramatic decline in shipments of existing 3G solutions, with resulting loss of total market share, although price reductions may also play a role. MediaTek has been affected especially by the late introduction of integrated 4G solutions and the lack of a low-end 4G solution and to a lesser extend the delayed introduction of the high-end MT6795.

Captive mobile SoC use becoming more important

Within the total smartphone SoC market (and also in the tablet maket), captive supply (whereby a smartphone manufacturer uses its own SoCs in its smartphone models) is becoming more important, which affects the market opportunity for companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. I already mentioned Samsung's increasing use of Exynos processors, which has a significant impact as Samsung is one of the two largest smartphone manufacturers. A major Chinese manufacturr, Huawei, is also increasingly using SoCs from its own HiSilicon division, also extending to lower end models. Apple's gains in market share also has an effect (especially on the high-end market) since it uses proprietary SoCs.

In the tablet market, the low-end and Chinese white-box market is seeing a sharp reduction in shipments in Q1 2015, with market share shifting to brand names (where captive solutions are more important, such as at Samsung) as total shipments are estimated to decline dramatically. This greatly affects traditional players in the tablet SoC market such as Rockchip, Allwinner and MediaTek. Intel's strategy of subsidizing tablet SoCs has also had an impact. According to DigiTimes, the total tablet market will decline 30% sequentially in Q1 2015, with estimates of a decline of 12% for the whole year 2015.


Sources: DigiTimes (tablet market article), DigiTimes (MediaTek results), Qualcomm, MediaTek

Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z

Geniatech is happy to reconnect with the Computex audience after a strange gap of four years. During this time, Geniatech has been hard at work, engaging in numerous productive meetings with their esteemed customers. Although they have only a brief five minutes before they have to head to the airport, they am determined to utilize this time efficiently and provide you with an overview of several groundbreaking products that Geniatech has developed—specifically, their new line of Edge Computing ARM-based mini PCs.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Edge Computing? Well, let me shed some light on this transformative concept. Edge Computing refers to the practice of performing computation and data processing at or near the source of data generation, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers to do that work. By bringing computing power closer to the data source, Edge Computing enables faster processing, reduced latency, enhanced security, and greater autonomy in various applications. And that’s precisely what Geniatech’s new mini PCs are designed to deliver!

Let’s kick off the introduction with our first standout product, the Geniatech Case 3566. This sleek and compact mini PC boasts exceptional input and output capabilities, making it a perfect fit for Edge Computing use cases. It supports both Linux and Android operating systems, offering incredible versatility for a wide range of IoT projects. Equipped with a robust AI capability, the Case 3566 is ready to tackle complex tasks with ease.

Moving on, they have their remarkable space-saving Edge Computing box based on the RK 1126 chipset. This innovative device features not just one, but two Ethernet ports—an invaluable asset for various project requirements. Additionally, it offers USB 3 connectivity, further expanding its connectivity options. Designed with a pure Linux environment, it includes a powerful 4K encoder, allowing for seamless encoding and decoding operations. Their extensive expertise in encoding and decoding ensures optimal utilization of this feature, enabling smooth IP input and HDMI output functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Allow them to introduce their latest gem—the result of their collaboration with Rock Chip and their cutting-edge Rockchip 3588 chipset. This powerhouse mini PC sets new benchmarks in performance and capability. With two HDMI outputs capable of supporting up to 8K resolution, an HDMI input, a DP port, USB Type-C connectivity, and GPIO support, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Its impressive decoding and encoding capabilities bring unparalleled versatility, making it an indispensable asset for demanding applications. By pushing the boundaries of what was traditionally limited to x86 SOC devices, Geniatech’s new offering opens up exciting possibilities and expands the horizons of Edge Computing.

He is delighted to share that their customers have responded overwhelmingly positively to these new products. The feedback they have received thus far has been incredibly encouraging, validating their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

While they regret not being able to delve deeper into the features and functionalities of these remarkable mini PCs today, he promise to keep you updated with comprehensive insights in the near future. The world of Edge Computing is rapidly evolving, and Geniatech remains at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Thank you for joining us on this brief journey into the world of Geniatech’s Edge Computing solutions. Stay tuned for more updates, detailed reviews, and demonstrations as they continue to shape the future of computing with their groundbreaking products.

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Shenzhen AV Display as they showcase their cutting-edge products and solutions at Display Week 2023 Let’s dive right in Our host introduces herself as the representative from the sales department at Shenzhen AV Display. She takes us through their impressive range of integrated display solutions, highlighting how they provide a total package to their customers. From displays to PCBs, they offer a seamless system that caters to various needs.

One of the standout features of their product lineup is the ARM board, which serves as the driving force behind their displays. By utilizing Rockchip and NXP as their main solutions, they ensure optimal performance and functionality. The host proudly presents a series of displays, demonstrating their capabilities and versatility.

Among the showcased displays is an all-in-one machine, which boasts two unique functions. Firstly, it serves as an all-in-one solution, providing an immersive user experience. Additionally, it features touch-plus functionality, allowing users to interact with the display effortlessly. The host explains that one of the highlights of this display is its Corona feature, eliminating the need for touch input. Instead, a sensor located inside the display accurately detects user actions. This becomes particularly useful during situations like the ongoing pandemic, where maintaining cleanliness and avoiding contact are crucial.

Moving on, the host presents more display options, emphasizing that Shenzhen AV Display doesn’t just sell individual components; they provide complete solutions. Each display is carefully designed and accompanied by a touch interface, PCB, and even their own custom-designed main board.

The video continues to explore their range of products, with the host introducing another impressive solution powered by Rockchip. This particular display features the Android operating system and is tailored for IoT applications. The host also showcases their smart display module, which comes in a compact five-inch size. It’s fascinating to see how Shenzhen AV Display offers various sizes and customization options to meet the specific requirements of their clients.

To add a touch of uniqueness, the host unveils displays with special shapes, including pottery-type and landscape-type designs. These unconventional displays not only capture attention but also provide immersive visual experiences.

During the conversation, the host reveals that Shenzhen AV Display has been attending Display Week for several years, establishing strong partnerships with renowned panel manufacturers such as BOE, Innolux. This collaboration ensures that they have access to high-quality panels, guaranteeing superior performance and reliability in their products.

Thank you for joining us on this captivating exploration of display technology with Shenzhen AV Display. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos. Stay tuned for the latest updates and advancements in the world of display!

Support this channel:
Sign up for free for Wise at http://wise.charbax.com – world’s cheapest international money transfer, currency exchange and debit card for traveling – Donate to me to my Wise account at charbax@gmail.com (or send me a YouTube Thanks or Super Chat during live stream) if you want I can mention you in my next video. Value for value

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Strategy Analytics has published its yearly report detailing global smartphone application processor market share in 2014. The total market had sales of about $21 billion with robust growth of 21%. The report shows that Qualcomm continued to lead the market in terms of revenue share with 52%, followed by Apple with 18% and MediaTek with 14%. The Apple number most likely reflects an estimate because Apple does not sell its chips to third parties. In fourth and fifth place were Speadtrum and Samsung LSI. The report mentions that HiSilicon, Intel and MediaTek had bigger growth than Qualcomm in 2014.

Qualcomm's strength based on Snapdragon 800 series wins in higher-tier phones

According to the report, Qualcomm's leadership was largely based on design wins for its Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 805 SoCs in the higher-tier market. Examples of this include the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3. However, as I have previously reported Samsung has increased its use of in-house application processors starting from the second half of 2014, culminating in the exclusive use of Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6 in 2015, putting pressure on Qualcomm.

Baseband share in 2014

Strategy Analytics has also published a report with details about baseband (modem) market share in smartphones. According to the report, LTE (4G) basebands accounted for 50% of cellular baseband share in 2014, and the figure is likely to increase significantly in 2015. Qualcomm led in LTE basebands, but HiSilicon, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and Samsung also increased LTE baseband shipments.

In terms of revenues in the overall baseband market, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Speadtrum, Marvell and Intel had the top positions in 2104. Qualcomm had 66% revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 17% and Speadtrum with 5% sare. Given the product lines of the respective companies in 2014, Qualcomm's revenues are based on both integrated SoC and separate modems, while Intel's sales were mostly separate modem chips, while the other players mostly shipped a mix of integrated SoCs and modem chips.

Comparison with 2013

Comparing with the reports that Strategy Analytics issued for 2013, Qualcomm saws it baseband revenue share remain relatively stable at 66% compared to 64% in 2013. MediaTek saw its AP market share increase from 10% in 2013 to 14% in 2014, and its baseband share increased.

Tablet processor market in 2014

According to another report issued by Strategy Analytics, the market for tablet processors grew 18% in 2014 to $4.2 billion. The top-five revenue share positions were occupied by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung LSI. Apple led with 27% share (which must be an estimate), followed by Intel with 17% and Qualcomm with 16% share.

Notable is the absence among the top five of traditional leaders in the Chinese white-box market such as Rockchip and Allwinner. This most likely reflects in increase in brand name tablet shipments at the expense of the white-box tablet market, the low selling prices of white-box tablet processor and the encroachment of MediaTek and Intel into that segment.

Source: Strategy Analytics (Smartphone AP market share), Strategy Analytics (cellular baseband market share), Strategy Analytics (Tablet processor market share)

According to a recent article published by DigiTimes Research, tablet applications processor unit shipments to Chinese manufacturers grew by 4.7% in Q4 2014 to reach 34.7 million units. However, shipments are estimated to decline by 24% in Q1 2015 when compared to Q4 2104. Year-over-year, shipments are expected to drop by about 8%, which marks the first time quarterly tablet processor shipments in China experience a year-over-year decline. Excess inventory from Q4 2014 is given as a cause for the decline in shipments.

MediaTek leads Chinese tablet market in Q1 2015

Based on information published by DigiTimes Research, MediaTek, Rockchip, Allwinner and Intel were the top four providers of tablet processors in China, in that order, in Q4 2014. For Q1 2015, MediaTek is estimated to expand it market share by about 1% to reach 28.5%, although absolute shipments will decline significantly due to the overall market decline.

Rockchip, who was the market share leader for most of 2014, is estimated to see its market share remain stable in Q1 2015, registering a 0.6% increase according to DigiTimes Research, who did not supply a market share figure for Rockchip, although it is probably in the region of 25%. DigiTimes mentioned that Rockchip's new chips launched at the end of 2014 (which includes the Cortex-A7-based RK3126 and RK3128) have not yet reached strong shipments.

Meanwhile, Allwinner continues the trend of a steady decline a market share, being expected to have a share of 15.6% compared to 17.6% in Q4 2014. This allows it to be passed by Intel in terms of market share, with Intel's market share estimated to rise from 15% to 16.3% in Q1 2015.

Intel's global market share has increased and is significant, especially revenue share

It should be noted that in terms of global market share, Intel has a stronger position than what would be inferred just from the Chinese market due to a strong position at brand-name tablet manufacturers outside of China, such as Asus and Acer. The other chip players in the Chinese tablet processor market, especially Rockchip and Allwinner, have a weak position outside of China. Due to the higher-end nature of Intel's product mix, Intel also has a higher revenue share, whereas the sales of companies such as Allwinner are mostly concentrated in low-end processors. It has been reported that Intel is abandoning its "contra-revenue" strategy of subsidizing tablet processor sales, which it probably can afford to do because its chip solutions are fairly competitive on their own.

Global brand names gain share, use different chip suppliers

In the global tablet marker, brand name manufacturers are gaining share and dominate the dollar value of the market, also for semiconductor content. Apple and Samsung, who lead the global tablet market, use a lot of in-house chip solutions (100% in the case of Apple). Samsung also uses suppliers like Qualcomm and Marvell, who otherwise do not have a strong position in the Chinese tablet market.

MediaTek used to have strong market share among Taiwanese tablet manufacturers such as Asus and Acer. However, its market share their seems to have been eroded significantly by strong adoption of Intel's Atom SoCs at these manufacturers (who have strong ties with Intel through PC manufacturing).

Popular tablet SoCs as of Q1 2015

By analyzing the tablet models offered on Chinese e-commerce portals, one can get some idea of what SoCs are currently used the most in tablets from China. I took a look at the tablet offerings on Banggood.com.

Rockchip's RK3188 (which probably means the RK3188T variant in most cases) is still widely used. Originally a mid-range performance segment SoC, there are indications that Rockchip built a significant inventory of this SoC (which is not particularly cheap in terms of manufactuing cost) last year, and the chip has been used in cheaper models as well. Rockchip's RK3126, which is more cost-effective than RK3188, is slowly starting to appear in new tablet models.

Meanwhile, Rockchip's high-end RK3288 is used in several models from Pipo, Teclast and FNF, and these seem to be reasonably popular for a high-end product. I have some concerns about power consumption and battery life regarding these products due to the processor cores used in the SoC.

The most popular MediaTek chips used in tablets are SoCs with 3G connectivity such as the low-end dual-core MT8312 and quad-core MT8382 (the equivalent of the MT6572 and MT6582 smartphone SoCs), as well as the more performance oriented octa-core MT6592/MT8392, which provides good performance and battery-life and has moved down to lower-priced tablet models. Additionally, the new 64-bit MT8752 with 4G (equivalent to the MT6752 smartphone SoC) is starting to appear in new models (Cube, Teclast). For WiFi-only tablets, the MT8127 (which has a relatively powerful GPU for a cheap SoC) is used in some low-to-mid-range tablets.

Allwinner's A31s, which was released in 2013 but perhaps its last successful product introduction, appears to be still used for production. Low-end tablets are available with the A23 and A33 SoCs, although the A33 does not seem to have been very successful and has been affected by weakness in the low-end segment of the tablet market.

Allwinner's new octa-core A83T has started to appear in a few new models, and is probably replacing the high-end A80 Octa which is likely to have had low profit margins.

Finally, Intel's Z3735F, Z3735G and Z3736F Atom SoCs are widely used in tablets, although most prominently in higher-prices models that come equipped with Microsoft Windows.

Update (15 March): 3G smartphone chip inventory unloaded onto Chinese tablet market

In an article published on 13 March 2015, DigiTimes Research reported that due to a high inventory level of 3G smartphone solutions in China, such chips will be unloaded onto the Chinese tablet market by players such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum.

3G-enabled chip solutions for tablets are usually very similar to similar solutions for smartphones. For example, MediaTek's smartphone solutions have commonly been used in tablets, while MediaTek's official 3G-enabled tablet solutions most likely consist of a chip virtually identical to the smartphone version, with the main difference being a different model number (e.g. MT6582 vs MT8382). That MediaTek would target any excess inventory of 3G smartphone chipsets at the tablet market is not surprising.

However, I am little sceptical about the volume that may be involved. The Chinese tablet market is clearly contracting in the near term, and the volumes in the tablet market are considerably smaller than the smartphone market, even the declining 3G part of the smartphone SoC market. To put things into perspective, MediaTek's quarterly 3G smartphone chip shipments were on the order of 70 million in Q4 2014, while its 3G tablet chip shipments were probably in the range of 5 to 10 million.

The article also mentions Qualcomm, which in the past has not been a major player in the Chinese white-box tablet market. It mentions rumours that Qualcomm may form a partnership with Allwinner (which has been consistently losing market share) to penetrate the tablet market in China. The article also states that while Intel has introduced 3G tablet solutions, Intel's solutions are unlikely to be widely adopted until Intel introduces the 4G version of its Atom x3 (formerly SoFIA) platform.

Sources: DigiTimes (Q1 2015 China tablet AP market article),  DigiTimes Research (smartphone chips inventory unloaded to tablet market)

Updated 15 March 2015.

At the Mobile World Congress this week, several new mobile SoCs are being announced.

MediaTek announces cost-reduced MT6753 for smartphones

MediaTek anounced two mobile SoCs, the MT6753 for smartphones and the MT8173 for tablets.

The MT6753 appears to be a cost-reduced version of the successful MT6752, equpped with "WorldMode" modem technology. By offering compatibility with the CDMA2000 standard, it gives customers worldwide greater diversity and flexibility in their product layouts, according to MediaTek. Features include an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T720 GPU with an unspecified number of cores. ARM's Mali-T720 GPU is positioned at a significantly lower performance bracket than the Mali-T760 used in the MT6752, positioning the MT6753 below the MT6752 in terms of cost and performance.

The MT6753 is described as being compatible with the previously announced MT6735 for entry-level smartphones. The MT6735 has four Cortex-A53 cores instead of eight but otherwise has a similar configuration with a Mali T720 GPU.

High-performance MT8173 tablet SoC uses small big.LITTLE clusters with Cortex-A72

The MT8173 is a high-performance tablet processor (without integrated modem) that utilizes ARM's new Cortex-A72 core in a big.LITTLE configuration. By using only two Cortex-A72 cores (clocked up to 2.4 GHz) as well as two Cortex-A53 cores, the chip has a lower cost than would be the case with the four-by-four core configuration commonly used for big.LITTLE designs, while still providing good performance.

The Cortex-A72 core, the successor of Cortex-A57, appears to be seeing quick adoption as Qualcomm has already announced performance-segment smartphone SoCs (Snapdragon 618 and 620) featuring the core.

MediaTek has previously used a similar two-by-two big.LITTLE configuration in its MT8135(V) tablet SoC, which has two Cortex-A15 cores and Cortex-A7 cores. This chip was used in Amazon tablets but otherwise did not see much adoption.

Other features include a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, which is part of Imagination's Series 6XT family, with higher performance and efficiency than the G6200 GPU used in chips such as the MT8135 and MT6595.

Other tablet SoCs not yet publicly announced by MediaTek

Meanwhile, tablet product announcements by Lenovo also refer to the MT8161 and MT8165 SoCs, which have not been announced. From the specifications of the Lenovo Tab 2 A8 which is using it, the MT8161 appears to be a tablet SoC without modem with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running up to 1.3 GHz, while the MT8165 (used in the Tab 2 A10) is a similar SoC with the CPU running up to 1.5 GHz. The 4G version of the Lenovo tablets come equipped with the MT8735 (Tab 2 A8) and MT8732 (Tab 2 A10). These chips are the tablet versions of the MT6735 and MT6732 smartphone SoCs.

MT6795 renamed to Helio X10

In a closed-door presentation at MWC, MediaTek also presented the Helio X10 smartphone SoC, featuring a 64-bit octa-core CPU up to 2.2 GHz, 120 Hz display refresh rate and H.265 video encode up to 4K2K @ 30 fps. A photograph of a slide taken at the presentation strongly suggests that Helio X10 is nothing other than the delayed MT6795 SoC, whose specifications closely match. Devices using this chip are likely to have already started production. MediaTek also talked about the Helio P series, a high-performance platform, which will make its way into devices before the end of the year.

Qualcomm gives preview of next-generation Snapdragon 820 SoC

In a press release, Qualcomm has given a preview of the Snapdragon 820, which utilizes Qualcomm's new custom 64-bit CPU architecture for mobile devices called Kryo. The chip will start sampling in the second half of 2015 according to Qualcomm, with devices becoming available in 2016. It will be manufactured on a next-generation FinFET process (which probably means TSMC's 16FF+, but Samsung cannot be excluded). In the press release, Qualcomm does not mention whether the chip will conform to ARM's ARMv8 instruction set architecture.

In conjuction with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm also announced the Zeroth hardware/software platform focusing on device intelligence features including video and audio recognition techniques (such as visual object and face recognition).

Intel introduces tablet and smartphone SoCs with integrated modem

Intel has finally introduced SoCs with an integrated cellular modem in its Atom system-on-a-chip product line. The former SoFIA platform has been renamed to Atom X3 and features multi-core 64-bit Atom processors with integrated 3G or 4G LTE modem technology. The following products are available:

• Atom X3-C3130, which has dual-core Atom CPU running up to 1.0 GHz and integrates a 3G modem. It features Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Maximum display resolution is 1280x800. It appears to be in the same market segment as MediaTek's previous-generation 3G SoCs such as MT6572 and MT6582 and other SoCs that are already on the market.
• Atom X3-C3230RK, which was developed by Intel partner Rockchip following the agreement announced last year. It has quad-core Atom CPU, integrates a 3G modem and features a Mali-450 MP4 GPU.
• Atom X3-C3440, a quad-core Atom CPU platform that integrates a Cat 6 LTE 4G modem. It has an Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. This product appears to be one that is most likely to succeed in the market.

All feature a 32-bit memory interface with support for LPDDR2 (and DDR3/DDR3L with the X3-C3230RK). These are the first Intel products that have features (such as the integrated modem) that make them specifically suitable for the smartphone market. They also target cellular-enabled tablets.

The 3G products are a little behind the times, and their success is uncertain. It will be interesting observe whether Rockchip was able to develop the X3-C3230RK in time (one would expect Intel to have greater expertise/resources so that the other products will appear on the market first).

One notable fact is that these are among the first SoCs to integrate an ARM GPU core with a non-ARM CPU.

Intel announces first 14 nm Atom SoCs for tablets and all-in-ones

Intel also rolled out its first 14 nm Atom SoCs, the Atom x5 and x7 processor series (formely codenamed Cherry Trail) with  Intel Gen 8 graphics, targeting tablets and small screen all-in-ones.

Intel has also introduced a new stand-alone modem chip, XMM 7360, which support LTE Cat 10 and download speeds up to 450 Mbps, as well as wireless connnectivity products (including WiFi/Bluetooth, GNSS/GPS and NFC solutions).

Sources: MediaTek (MT6753 announcement), MediaTek (MT8173 announcement), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 820/Zeroth platform preview), Intel (MWC announcements), Intel Atom x3 Processor Series Brief

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of Q4 2014 and made projections for future periods. Both companies are seeing challenges that are already affecting their revenues and market share now or later in 2015.

Qualcomm lowers forecast for 2015 due to weakness at major customer

In their financial report for Q4 2014, Qualcomm lowered their outlook for 2015, citing as one of the reasons reduced demand from a major customer as that customer has not selected the Snapdragon 810 processor for an upcoming flagship product. This is widely believed to refer to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6. In fact the trend of increasing use of in-house Exynos processors already started last year, as models such as Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Note 4 already saw increasing use of Samsung's own Exynos processors, including modem technology in some cases.

Qualcomm also mentions a share shift among major OEMs that will result in relatively more modem chips as opposed to SoCs (clearly referring to Apple, which only uses Qualcom's modem chips), as well as heightened competition in China. Recently, Qualcomm also recently announced a resolution of the anti-trust investigation by authorities in China, which amounts to a reduction in the patent royalty rate it charges to customers in China.

Qualcomm's total market share currently still strong

At the moment, Qualcomm's market share for smartphone SoCs is still strong as shown by unit shipments and revenues for Q4 2014 and Qualcomm's estimates for Q1 2015, although its product mix has shifted to lower-end products. In comparison to competitor MediaTek, Qualcomm is doing much better in terms of maintaining or growing unit shipments (with Qualcomm in fact seeing a 14% increase in unit shipments in Q4 2014), suggesting that Qualcomm is taking market share from MediaTek as products such as Snapdragon 410 and the new Snapdragon 210 take over large parts of the low-end cost-sensitive market (especially in China) where MediaTek's 3G solutions where previously dominant.

MediaTek losing market share despite successful new products

Meanwhile, although MediaTek has seen widespread adoption of its new MT6752 and MT6732 SoCs with integrated LTE modem for the cost-sensitive mid-range market, the company saw lower unit shipments in Q4 2014 and predicts a 10 to 18% revenue decline for Q1 2015, suggesting its smartphone SoC shipments are under pressure. Given the fact that the new 4G chips have higher selling prices than existing 3G chips, the revenue decline probably reflects a relatively dramatic decline in shipments of existing 3G solutions, with resulting loss of total market share, although price reductions may also play a role. MediaTek has been affected especially by the late introduction of integrated 4G solutions and the lack of a low-end 4G solution and to a lesser extend the delayed introduction of the high-end MT6795.

Captive mobile SoC use becoming more important

Within the total smartphone SoC market (and also in the tablet maket), captive supply (whereby a smartphone manufacturer uses its own SoCs in its smartphone models) is becoming more important, which affects the market opportunity for companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. I already mentioned Samsung's increasing use of Exynos processors, which has a significant impact as Samsung is one of the two largest smartphone manufacturers. A major Chinese manufacturr, Huawei, is also increasingly using SoCs from its own HiSilicon division, also extending to lower end models. Apple's gains in market share also has an effect (especially on the high-end market) since it uses proprietary SoCs.

In the tablet market, the low-end and Chinese white-box market is seeing a sharp reduction in shipments in Q1 2015, with market share shifting to brand names (where captive solutions are more important, such as at Samsung) as total shipments are estimated to decline dramatically. This greatly affects traditional players in the tablet SoC market such as Rockchip, Allwinner and MediaTek. Intel's strategy of subsidizing tablet SoCs has also had an impact. According to DigiTimes, the total tablet market will decline 30% sequentially in Q1 2015, with estimates of a decline of 12% for the whole year 2015.


Sources: DigiTimes (tablet market article), DigiTimes (MediaTek results), Qualcomm, MediaTek

Kelly from Gole presents their latest Gole1 Mini PC, featuring an Intel processor. I launched the Gole1 for them 7 years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0E9Zp4Ffc The device boasts various connectivity options such as Micro SD, USB, HDMI, and gigabit Ethernet. Kelly mentions that this product was initially launched seven years ago, with several updates and models released over the years. The latest version is currently priced at around $250 USD, with discounts for bulk order.

They also do Rockchip CPU based products, the interviewee reveals that it is specifically designed for this product. They mention future releases, with plans for Gole2, Gole3, and Gole4 models, drawing a comparison to the iPhone’s naming convention.

Kelly also discusses their history of manufacturing PC sticks with gigabit Ethernet and numerous USB ports for over five years. They emphasize the price difference between using the RK3588 and Intel processors, stating that the former is slightly more expensive, about $10 USD per unit. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact them directly for the best deals.

When asked if they are the best factory for such products, the interviewee suggests testing their samples to determine their quality. They claim to have sold over a million pieces in the last seven years, with a particular focus on the new product introduced within the past two years.

Regarding the Mini PC’s stability, the interviewee assures viewers of its reliability and performance, emphasizing its fanless and compact design. They also showcase a Mini PC without a display, highlighting its affordability.

The interview moves on to other products, including waterproof and drop-proof Rock tablet PCs, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, with both Windows and Android OS options. The interviewee notes the stable RK 3399 CPU, and introduces the RK 3588 as the new and versatile processor, suitable for Mini PCs.

The video briefly features a live show of a Mini PC with an RK 3558 CPU, followed by an all-in-one PC with various ports, enabling connections to different devices. The interviewee also mentions a Russian customer’s substantial purchase of their products.

They conclude the interview by discussing a unique industrial tablet and the increasing popularity of such products at their https://www.golerugged.com despite economic challenges in some regions The interviewee acknowledges that the fanless design can cause some heat but assures viewers that it does not affect the device’s functionality. The company remains hopeful for continued growth in orders and mentions that their Shenzhen-based factory is constantly busy, with a dynamic R&D team consistently generating new ideas to market.

Distributors can contact Kelly at Gole here:
kelly@golechina.com
+8613427901718

Filmed at the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair using my Panasonic G9 (I would like to update to the G9ii) with 12-60mm Leica https://amzn.to/3ZXlPDQ and the Saramonic Blink500 ProX B2R https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvi1DeQspd43hydxLddBjU8Z