Apple supplier AMS hit by forecast doubts amid chip slowdown
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Apple supplier AMS hit by forecast doubts amid chip slowdown

Apple chip supplier AMS AG disappointed investors with its fourth quarter forecast, knocking 25 percent off the value of its shares despite the Austrian firm winning deals with other smartphonemakers.AMS shares hit a 20-month low on Tuesday after some analysts questioned whether the chipmaker specialising in sensors could achieve its $2.7 billion 2019 revenue target amid signs of weakening chip demand."Fourth-quarter guidance is disappointing," UBS said in a note, while Liberum analysts said they were sceptical about AMS meeting its 2019 revenue target and 2020 operating margin goal.AMS, which has invested heavily in research and development and in production expansion, is now tackling underutilised facilities, increasing competition and its reliance on Apple.Analysts forecast that to reach its 2019 revenue target, AMS needs two or three significant new deals, something that the company's chief executive Alexander Everke said was achievable."We have multiple wins and we do see that growth that you have just described. All the investments we have done... support the growth we indicated for 2019," Everke told an analyst call.AMS said its third-quarter EBIT (earnings before interest and taxation) rose to $60.2 million, or 13 percent of revenue, from $40.5 million last year thanks to increasing production volumes for a recently launched global smartphone platform.While it does not identify its customers, this was taken as a reference to Apple, which analysts estimate accounts for around 40 percent of AMS sales.After a delay of several months, production for Apple appears on track and analysts estimate that AMS's facial recognition sensors are in all three newly launched iPhones.FACING THE WORLDTo reduce its Apple dependency, AMS has been working on selling sensors to Android customers. This has become more important after the U.S. tech giant struck a $600 million deal with German rival Dialog Semiconductors this month.Swiss-listed AMS also announced new deals on Monday, including two with Asian smartphone producers for its Android time-of-flight solutions, a method where cameras capture a whole scene in three dimensions with a dedicated image sensor.AMS also said it has started to produce 3D face recognition sensors for two Android customers, including China's Xiaomi , the fourth-biggest smartphone maker.Huawei's new Mate20 Pro phones also use AMS sensors for facial recognition, analysts say, adding the second-biggest smartphone maker to the AMS customer list.AMS said it had secured a deal for OLED-display sensors, which are thinner and more flexible than LEDs, with a major Asian manufacturer, and is working on sensors that are capable of scanning surroundings in 3D, so-called world-facing 3D sensors, for a major smartphone manufacturer.After a strategic review, AMS said it plans to reduce its focus on environmental sensors, which detect temperature or moisture, but did not say whether this business would be sold.That leaves it with three main businesses: optical sensors, such as the ones used in the new iPhones, image sensors for applications in self-driving cars and audio sensors.
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Release time：2018-10-25 00:00 reading：1904 Continue reading>>
Forecasters See Slowdown Ahead
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Forecasters See Slowdown Ahead

　　The mood of semiconductor executives was upbeat at their annual gathering in this coastal town socked in with fog. The weather was an appropriate backdrop for the cautious optimism market watchers recommended here.　　Semiconductors should have another good year in 2018, but growth is slowing. Further out, a downturn may be coming for the industry and the broader economy — but just when and why is still not clear, speakers said at the Industry Strategy Symposium here.　　Gartner predicts after last year’s 22.2-percent revenue surge, the chip market will settle down to a still better-than-average 7.5-percent growth this year. It predicted the chip market will cool off in 2019 and 2020 with two basically flat years.　　In the current quarter, managers may tap the breaks on a market with too much inventory, but 2018 will pick up to 7.4 percent growth overall, according to Len Jelinek, a chief analyst at IHS Markit.　　Apple’s inventory has ballooned 128 percent, and inventories are up 44 percent at Cisco, 41 percent at Samsung and 29 percent at HP — far above revenue growth, noted Dan T. Niles, a veteran industry analyst and manager of the AlphaOne NexGen Technology Fund.　　Looking at the big picture, “this is the best global economy we’ve seen since 2007, all regions are doing well, but there are signs of a bubble,” Niles said, noting an overheated housing market in China, high bond prices in Europe and price/earnings ratios higher than any time since 2000.　　The U.S. stock market is on one of its longest bull runs since World War II, and all 45 OECD countries are reporting growth, Niles noted. He compared the current moment to early 1999, a time of expansion not far from a significant contraction.　　The global bull market can continue another 6 to 12 months, and the greatest political risks are with rising economic and political tensions between the U.S. and China, said Matt Gertken, an associate vice president at BCA Research. He predicted China will start economic reform in earnest this year, scaling back growth that has long been a global economic driver.　　Jelinek from IHS looks at 2018 with “cautious optimism” in part because these days a whopping 70 percent of semiconductors wind up in consumer products. They can rise or fall with macro-economic trends that influence consumer buying.　　Both IHS and Gartner expect prices for NAND flash will decline about 18 percent this year although unit sales for it and DRAM will continue to rise.　　Capital equipment this year spending will be about flat with 2017’s high level. It is led by Samsung, which is investing more than twice as much as its closest rivals, Intel and Samsung, said Samuel Wang, a research vice president at Gartner.　　Chip makers will cut capex nearly 20 percent in 2019 before China’s emerging fabs spur the next uptick in 2020-21. By 2021 China could triple the half a million wafers/month it currently ships, in part through alliances and shared fabs such as a $5 billion project now in discussion for Guangzhou, he said.　　The current capex spending comes in part from a race to 7nm among top chip makers. That could lead to an oversupply of capacity at the bleeding-edge node in 2019 given estimated costs of $200 million for a 7nm SoC, Wang predicted.　　In emerging markets, Wang forecast deep learning processors could grow to be a $16 billion market by 2022. Edge node chips for the Internet of Things will grow half as fast but could make up a $24 billion market by that time, Wang said.　　Although it’s something of a fad, chip executives need to keep an eye on bitcoin, Wang added.　　Bitcoin miners have shifted back to ASICs, giving TSMC a business of about $400 million a quarter. It’s a short-term phenomenon that may come and go over the next two years. However, leaders such as China’s Bitmain — which now has revenues of $3 billion — are looking at longer term opportunities in accelerators for machine learning and blockchain, Wang said.
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Release time：2018-01-18 00:00 reading：1072 Continue reading>>
Uncovering the iPhone Battery Slowdown
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Uncovering the iPhone Battery Slowdown

　　A battery problem with Apple iPhones has spawned eight lawsuits seeking class-action status against the handset maker, according to a Reuters report. The founder of a popular benchmark program shared his experience being among the first to identify the issue.　　The lawsuits generally claim Apple failed to inform users about known performance issues that could be solved with a battery replacement, rather than buying a next-generation handset. For the past year, upgrades of iOS have intentionally slowed processors to avoid unintended shutdowns when chips demanded power spikes an aging battery could no longer deliver.　　The problem came to light earlier this year for John Poole, founder of Primate Labs, the developer of Geekbench. He saw a spike in complaints about slowing performance from iPhone users coupled with 40 percent declines in Geekbench numbers.　　“Whenever a new version of the iPhone comes out, we get complaints about older iPhones that feel slow. Apple does more with new OSes, and older phone can’t necessarily keep up…it’s not nefarious, and we are used to a certain level of these complaints…[but] this year we saw more of those complaints coupled with decreases in Geekbench,” Poole said in an interview.　　When a user posted on Reddit that his iPhone’s performance returned to normal after he replaced its battery, “I started digging into the results and that’s when I realized there was something going on,” Poole said.　　He tapped into his database of 6 million Geekbench scores, plotting performance of different versions of the iPhone using different versions of iOS. Handsets using iOS version 10.2.1 and later revealed an anomaly. Rather than a single distribution around an average peak performance, they also showed the highest peak followed by multiple lower peaks.　　“The conclusion we drew was 10.2.1 introduced some change that effected performance in a systematic way in a significant number of phones,” Poole said.　　After he published his results, Apple publicly responded to growing questions with a statement posted by National Public Radio and other a Web sites:　　“Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.　　"Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We've now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future," Apple said　　The battery problem was a flip side of the iPhone’s lead in overall smartphone performance, Poole explained.　　“Apple chased single-core performance to an insane degree. They were far ahead of Android, but it came at a cost of power consumption — they require more voltage, and as a battery ages it cannot supply the needed voltage level,” he said.　　“I don’t think this is nefarious on Apple’s part. They made the right call, but they should have communicated it to users more clearly,” Poole said. Over the course of “about three months a lot of users thought their iPhones were broken and we could only say the phone was slow but we did not know why. It caused a lot of frustration for users,” he added.　　Indeed, even Poole’s wife experienced the slow down on her handset, “and she is not the most demanding of iPhone users,” he quipped.　　Now that Apple has confirmed the cause of the problem, users have a better understanding of their options. One teardown expert, iFixit, was quick to offer a set of 11 battery upgrade kits ranging from a $16.99 kit for the iPhone 4 to a $49.99 version for the iPhone 7 Plus.　　The crew at iFixit performed their own tests on four iPhone 6 and 6S models used by staff. The phones had inconsistent performance levels that varied from ten to 60 percent less than a new phone.　　“We swapped the batteries, re-ran the benchmarks and it was a night-and-day difference,” said Jeff Suovanen, a teardown analyst at iFixit who helped perform the tests and posted a blog on the results.　　“We’re used to seeing old phones with a new battery benefit from extended battery life, but having it increase performance is not something we traditionally see--but it’s a factor now,” he said.　　“I think Apple is doing all they can to manage the situation the best they can, but they flubbed the communications so bad it got people wondering what was wrong with their phones…A lot of people thought they needed to replace their phones prior to uncovering this issue,” Suovanen added.　　Meanwhile, Poole is investigating other Apple and Android products. So far he hasn’t seen other examples of the battery problem.　　Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy 6 he tested generally have “less aggressive single-core performance so they draw less power and tolerate an older battery,” he said.　　The issue came to light after the iPhone 8 and X designs were largely complete, “so will be interesting to see if this affects future phones. We will watch the performance distributions and may start publishing these charts routinely,” he added.　　Meanwhile, some users may aim for a windfall legal settlement from Apple. “Rather than curing the battery defect by providing a free battery replacement for all affected iPhones, Apple sought to mask the battery defect,” according to one complaint that Reuters quoted.
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Release time：2017-12-28 00:00 reading：1317 Continue reading>>
Toshiba, <span style='color:red'>WD</span> Settle Dispute, Extend JV
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Toshiba, WD Settle Dispute, Extend JV

　　Toshiba and Western Digital announced a deal to settle all ongoing litigation and arbitration, extending their existing partnership and NAND flash development and manufacturing.　　The deal, which was expected this week, extends the joint venture agreements between the firms to 2027 and beyond and gives WD the right to fully participate in Toshiba Memory's Fab 6 at its Yokkaichi Operations site, which will be devoted to the mass production of bit cost scalable BiCS 3D NAND.　　"It's really a very positive thing," said Jim Handy, principal analyst at Objective Analysis, of the settlement.　　Walter Coon, an analyst and director for technology, media and telecom at IHSMarkit, said a settlement of the dispute was in the best interest of both parties. "From the WD perspective, they had to get resolution to this [to secure future supply of NAND]," Coon said. "In the long term, even if they felt like they would prevail in the courts, I think the risk was too high."　　WD had maintained that the joint venture agreements between Toshiba and SanDisk — which WD acquired in 2016 — required Toshiba to seek WD's approval before it could sell its memory chip business. Toshiba announced in September that it reached an agreement to sell its memory chip business, Toshiba Memory, to a consortium led by private equity firm Bain Capital for $18 billion.　　WD had sought to acquire Toshiba's memory business when the Japanese conglomerate announced it would sell to offset massive losses incurred by its U.S. nuclear power business. But Toshiba repeatedly said it preferred other bids, reportedly owing to the Japanese government's desire to keep Toshiba's technology in Japanese hands. The structure of the Bain-led consortium — which also includes state-backed entities Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ) and the Development Bank of Japan, in addition to Hoya, Apple, Dell and South Korean memory chip vendor sk Hynix — means that Toshiba Memory will be more than half owned by Japanese entities.　　Western Digital initiated legal action in June to block the sale, an event which started a volley of litigation between the firms that threatened to undermine the sale to the Bain-led consortium.　　Both Toshiba Memory and Bain were also involved in the settlement deal announced Tuesday, WD said.　　"This agreement is a win for all parties," said Steve Milligan, WD's CEO, in a conference call to discuss the settlement on Tuesday. Milligan and other executives said WD hadn't wanted to initiate legal action, but did so only after they felt their concerns were not being heard by Toshiba.　　Handy said that Toshiba, after being rocked by an accounting scandal last year and reporting huge losses at its Westinghouse U.S. nuclear power subsidiary earlier this year, was reeling. "Toshiba was trying to do triage to the extent that they weren't giving the time and attention to WD that they thought they deserved," Handy said.
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Release time：2017-12-14 00:00 reading：1119 Continue reading>>
Toshiba Cuts <span style='color:red'>WD</span> Out of New Fab Investment
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Toshiba Cuts WD Out of New Fab Investment

　　Toshiba announced it would go it alone in buying equipment for a new fab at its Yokkaichi Operations manufacturing site, shunning NAND flash technology and manufacturing partner Western Digital (WD) in the latest dust up in a spate between the firms that threatens to hold up the sale of Toshiba's semiconductor business.　　WD said it still plans to participate in the funding for equipping the fab.　　Toshiba said Thursday (Aug. 3) that its recently formed memory chip subsidiary, Toshiba Memory Corp., negotiated with WD's SanDisk subsidiary on joint investment for equipment in the fab, but that the two sides failed to reach an agreement. Toshiba said it will spend about 195 billion yen ($1.76 billion) to move forward unilaterally with buying gear for Phase 1 of the Fab 6 cleanroom and construction on Phase 2 at the Yokkaichi site.　　Toshiba said it would spend an additional 15 billion yen ($136 million) to install equipment in Fab 6. The installation is expected to begin in December, Toshiba said.　　"This decision to move forward with a unilateral investment in Fab 6 does not impact production for the memory business, as Toshiba memory produces the memory," Toshiba said in a statement.　　Western Digital said in a statement that it has been in "constructive dialogue" with Toshiba over several weeks on planned investment in the companies joint ventures, including Fab 6. Those discussions are ongoing, WD said.　　WD said in the statement that the joint ventures between the two firms are governed by agreements that "set out a framework for any investment by the partners in NAND manufacturing capacity – such as the investment in equipment for Fab 6. The agreements give us priority to participate in joint investments in Fab 6 equipment through the JVs, and that is exactly what we intend to do."　　Fab 6 will initially produce Toshiba's 96-layer bit-cost-scalable (BiCS) NAND flash memory, demand for which Toshiba expects to remain high through this year and 2018.　　Toshiba and WD have been feuding since Toshiba announced it would sell its semiconductor business, including its stakes in the joint ventures with WD, to help offset huge losses suffered by its U.S. nuclear power subsidiary. WD, which has bid multiple times to buy the business from Toshiba, maintains that Toshiba needs its consent to sell to another party. The two firms have been litigating various related issues in multiple venues and are expected to have an arbitration hearing at the International Chamber of Commerce later this month.　　Toshiba in June named a consortium led by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) — a public-private partnership between the Japanese government and 19 corporations — as its preferred bidder for the memory chip business, which is expected to fetch at least $18 billion. However, a deal has not materialized and the Reuters news service has reported that members of the INCJ consortium — which also includes the Development Bank of Japan, private equity firm Bain Capital and South Korean memory chip vendor Hynix — want Toshiba to resolve the challenge by WD prior closing the deal.　　Reuters has also reported that WD's bid for the memory chip unit is among others still being considered by Toshiba's board of directors.　　Toshiba also said Thursday it would restore access to databases involved in the joint ventures for SanDisk employees after being ordered by a California court to do so. Toshiba said it is not obligated to provide access to information created after June 28. Toshiba is appealing the court's ruling.
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Release time：2017-08-04 00:00 reading：1295 Continue reading>>
TI’s Shrewd Robo-Car Strategy
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TI’s Shrewd Robo-Car Strategy

　　While Nvidia and Intel are busy sparring for glory as innovators of fully autonomous vehicle platforms, Texas Instruments, focused on ADAS, has kept its profile low.　　It’s not that TI is indifferent to autonomy. It’s just that TI, one of the leading automotive chip suppliers, sees a different way to get there. Its plan is to use its current ADAS-focused platform to eventually enable Level 4, Level 5 autonomous car.　　In a recent interview with EE Times, Brooke Williams, business manager in the automotive ADAS business unit at Texas Instruments, said TI has been actively participating in carmakers’ RFQs on models four to five years out. Some of the RFQs are for Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous cars. Others address ADAS features to achieve 5-star ratings. “We support all of their requests,” said Williams.　　Above all, TI’s priority is responding to “needs for system-level safety across the board” — all cars, all models, according to Williams.　　TI’s strengths lie in 30 years of ASIL D-level safety experience and a litany of TI technologies that include power management, analog devices, networking solutions such as LVDS and Ethernet, and sensors including radars, he said. The only automotive electronics devices TI doesn’t offer are CMOS image sensors and memory.　　This “system-level safety” argument might seem to be just TI talking points. But the company’s financial results demonstrate how well a modest strategy — focused more on Level 2 autonomous cars — has worked so far. TI reported in April better-than-expected first quarter revenue growth driven primarily by strong sales to the automotive and industrial markets.　　Phil Magney, founder and principal advisor for Vision Systems Intelligence (VSI), noted, “TI does not subscribe to massive architectural overhauls.” He pointed out, “For TI, it is all about incremental ADAS features which become the enablers to automation. TI is not concerned with L4 and L5 at the moment. In time their architectures will support advanced levels of automation but for now they are targeting automotive safety and convenience features because that is where the money is.”　　‘No wholesale change in platform’　　OK. So, today’s TI is all about ADAS.　　But really, what are the plans, if any, for TI to shift its current ADAS platform to Level 4/Level 5 autonomy? During the interview, TI’s Williams noted, “We don’t believe a wholesale change in the platform is needed” to add autonomy to cars.　　That view, however, has triggered a host of questions from automotive industry analysts.
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Release time：2017-06-13 00:00 reading：1371 Continue reading>>

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