Intel has made waves in the server SSD market with the reveal of its Optane SSD DC P4800X Series this March. Based the company’s in-house 3D XPoint memory, the DC P4800X Series is scheduled for shipments in the second half of 2017. “3D XPoint greatly outperforms NAND Flash and will help Intel reinforce its leading position in the high-end segment of the SSD market that has become increasingly competitive,” said Alan Chen, senior research manager of DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. “In the future, the product roadmap of 3D XPoint could include client-grade SSDs and storage-class memory (SCM) devices. Intel naturally wants to expand the adoption of this technology in other areas as to create flexibility in pricing and consumption of in-house production capacity.”
Global smartphone production volume for the first quarter of 2017 totaled 307 million units, a drop of 23% from the previous quarter, according to market intelligence firm TrendForce. Smartphone brands, especially those based in China, lowered their production volume forecasts through the first quarter as demand slowed down significantly due to the conventional seasonal effect.
United Semiconductor Xiamen (USCXM), China-based subsidiary of major foundry UMC, is reported to begin production on the 28nm technology licensed from its parent company this second quarter. As international semiconductor companies set up fabrication plants in China, the country’s domestic foundries will face intensifying competition in terms of technology, market share and recruitment of technical personnel. According to the global market intelligence firm TrendForce, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corporation (HMLC) are the two leaders among Chinese foundries in the development of the 28nm processing. The existence of foreign-owned fabs in China will pressure these two domestic manufacturers to further accelerate their timetables for this technology.
Following LCD and OLED, micro-LED is now one of the next-generation display technologies that are in the spotlight. Besides companies working in the global display supply chain, major technology brands including Apple and Sony are increasingly involved in the development of micro-LED as they are drawn to its possibilities. Currently, those that are engaged in this field aim to bring down the production cost. The latest research from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, finds that the potential scale of the future micro-LED market – one that would replace the entire current LCD display chain including BLU, polarizer and other components – could reach US$30~40 billion.
Prices of LED replacement light bulbs continued to fall this March, according to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. Compared with February, the global average sales price (ASP) of 40-watt equivalent LED light bulbs dropped 3.6% to US$6.6, while the global ASP of 60-watt equivalent products had a smaller decline of 0.9% and came to US$8.1.