Samsung wants to dominate the global market for advanced semiconductors, unveiling plans to begin producing chips with a 2-nanometer spec in 2025 and launching into the even more advanced 1.4-nanometer market in 2027. The timeline takes the South Korean company beyond the 3-nanometer chip production it began in June. Samsung says it will more than triple production capacity in five years, positioning it to challenge Taiwan’s TSMC in terms of volume, and potentially surpass it in the high-end market for “smart chips.” TSMC said it will mass produce 3nm chips this year and start 2nm production by 2025. Continue reading Samsung 5-Year Plan Speeds Advanced-Chipmaking Timeline

Samsung Electronics America is refreshing Samsung TV Plus, a free ad-supported TV (FAST) and video on-demand service seen in 24 countries on 465 million TV and mobile devices. The main emphasis will be adding premium content that Samsung is looking to license from industry partners. Launched in 2015 as one of the first FAST services by a device manufacturer, Samsung TV Plus has nonetheless maintained a low profile, despite offering what is now more than 220 linear channels in the U.S., over 1,600 channels globally, and 50-plus O&Os spanning news, sports and entertainment. Continue reading Samsung TV Plus Targets Premium Content in FAST Relaunch

The global semiconductor shortage that has plagued the supply chain for the past two years is threatening to affect advanced chips for next-generation smartphones as well as impacting the data centers critical to powering their apps. High-performance chips with tiny transistors had to a large extent sidestepped the scarcities that impacted the auto industry, appliances and basic consumer electronics. Now everything from production volume to manufacturing equipment has analysts worried about whether the world’s top smart chip manufacturers — TSMC and Samsung Electronics — will be able to keep up with customer demand. Continue reading Chip Manufacturing Delays Threaten Next-Gen Smartphones

President Biden kicked-off his three-day visit to South Korea with a trip to a Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant, emphasizing an interest in strengthening supply chains and boosting competition with China in the technology sector. Biden remarked that the U.S. wants to shore-up business ties with allies including South Korea to offset the influence of  “countries that don’t share our values.” Located in Pyeongtaek, the plant churns out some of Samsung’s most advanced memory chips and is the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was present, marking the pair’s first in-person visit. Continue reading Biden Visits a Samsung Semiconductor Plant in South Korea

Nikon Corp. is restyling itself from a company that primarily manufactures cameras to one that supplies components to other businesses. Its consumer market share eroded by smartphone image systems, the Japanese company’s revenue also plunged, dropping by about 50 percent since its 2013 peak of $8 billion. In February, Nikon upped its revenue forecast for the year ended March 31 to $4.35 billion, more than $370 million of it projected as operating profit, thanks in large part to components, which is expected to earn more profit than any other division, nosing past imaging. Continue reading Nikon Offsets Shrinking Camera Sales with Tech Components

Businesses curious as to how 5G may impact operations would do well to look to South Korea, where as of November, 5G subscriptions reached 28 percent or about 20.19 million of total mobile subscriptions, according to RCR Wireless. The country not only has a substantial 5G base, but some of the fastest. Autonomous vehicles are already relying on 5G there, as are smart factories, and the proclivity consumers have shown for new technologies prompts experts to conclude the nation may lead the way in areas such as augmented reality, virtual reality and the metaverse. Continue reading South Korea a Case Study in 5G Deployment for Businesses

Several ultra portable projectors were on display at CES 2022. Among the more interesting short throw models were products from Anker, Hisense, Samsung and XGIMI, although the show also featured a range of projector types from the likes of BenQ, JVC, Panasonic, Vankyo and ViewSonic. Generating the most buzz in the short throw category was Samsung’s $899 projector, The Freestyle, that can project from 30 to 100 inches and comes equipped with a 1080p HDR-capable view and 360-degree audio. Also drawing media attention was Anker’s upcoming Nebula Cosmos Laser, which comes in 4K ($2,199) and 1080p ($1,599) versions, and is expected to ship by late March. Continue reading CES: New Ultra Portable Projectors Stand Out at Trade Show

TVs continue to gain computer functionality as Sony borrows a page from the monitor playbook by adding camera functionality to models in the 2022 Bravia XR lineup introduced at CES 2022. The Z9K Mini-LED (8K) and A95K HDR OLED (4K) will ship with Bravia Cam, which adds video chat and gesture control. The camera will also help with brightness settings, dialogue emphasis and sound balance by tracking the viewer’s position with regard to the screen. Bravia Cam is an option on other 4K models, including the X95K Mini-LED series, A90K and A80K OLED models, and the X90K LED. Continue reading CES: Sony Touts 8K, QD-OLED TVs, Bravia Cam for Gestures

Samsung announced a dazzling lineup of TVs at CES 2022, including the ultimate MicroLED, which one writer called “110 inches of entertainment insanity,” with a $150,000 price tag to match. The Neo QLED line and Lifestyle TVs also impressed. But one model generating a lot of attention wasn’t introduced as part of the company’s 2022 lineup. Rather, the Samsung Electronics QD-OLED that quietly earned the company a CES 2022 Innovation Award launched speculation as to whether Samsung was about to enter a race with Sony to get the first consumer QD-OLED to market. Continue reading CES: Samsung Promises QD-OLED Details in ‘Several Weeks’

Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger announced plans to build two semiconductor factories in Europe valued up to $95 billion, as part of an effort to ease the current worldwide chip shortage. Gelsinger added that Intel could expand the investment over a decade to the equivalent of “as much as €80 billion.” At an auto event in Munich, Gelsinger said, “this new era of sustained demand for semiconductors needs bold, big thinking.” Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. also plans to spend $100 billion in the next three years to increase chip production and Samsung is making similar moves. Continue reading Intel Announces Plans to Build Two Chip Factories in Europe

The smartphone industry is finally feeling the impact of the semiconductor shortage that has bedeviled the auto, PC and home appliance industries. Samsung Electronics, for example, expects a 20 percent drop in shipments from last quarter, due to problems sourcing key parts. Google’s Pixel 5a 5G device will only be available in the U.S. and Japan, even though last year’s models were given a wider release. China’s Xiaomi, which recently surpassed Apple to capture the No. 2 spot in global shipments, has raised the price of its flagship India device, the Redmi Note 10, to $174 from $161.  Continue reading Global Smartphone Industry Feeling Impact of Chip Shortage

Samsung debuted its TV Plus streaming service on the Internet, with the ability to cast videos to devices that support Google’s Chromecast to its mobile app. Previously, TV Plus was only available on Samsung’s smart TVs and smartphones. The web-based TV Plus apparently had a soft launch in May but had not yet been publicly announced by the company. With this expansion, TV Plus has become a rival to other free streaming services such as Pluto TV and Tubi. U.S. consumers will have access to about 140 streaming channels. Continue reading Samsung TV Plus Is Now Streaming Online After Soft Launch

Intel’s investment division Intel Capital led a new $18 million Series B investment round in IRIS.TV, a data technology company that offers an alternative to cookies and third-party identifiers. IRIS.TV, founded in 2013, analyzes the topics of individual videos of any kind or length, providing information for advertisers on contextual relevance rather than the viewer’s personal data. IRIS.TV’s tech works on videos on mobile phones and computers and, notably, for content on streaming television apps. Continue reading Intel Leads Investment Round in IRIS.TV Video Data Platform

Due to a global semiconductor shortage, the United States, European Union countries and Japan are planning to spend billions of dollars to build chip fabrication plants (“fabs”). These countries also face the fact that more than two-thirds of the world’s chips are made in Taiwan. China is offering subsidies to its domestic chip industry, as industry-leaders Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics plan to build U.S.-based fabs, potentially aided by significant U.S. government subsidies. Continue reading Countries Plan to Invest in New Chip Manufacturing Facilities

Intel’s new chief executive Patrick Gelsinger committed $20 billion to build two new semiconductor manufacturing plants in Arizona. Over the years, Intel has failed to keep up with the miniaturization of transistors, giving Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics the lead. These two companies now make chips for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia but Gelsinger — who hopes for federal incentives — vowed to regain enough ground with the new factories to rival them. Continue reading Intel to Spend $20B on New Chipmaking Factories in Arizona