Qualcomm Inc expects global shipments of 5G smartphones to more than double to between 450 million and 550 million units next year from this year, driven by increasing 5G network deployment worldwide and broader adoption of 5G technology beyond smartphones, a company executive told a virtual news conference yesterday.
The San Diego-based company said that more than five times more telecoms have commercially launched 5G services in the first 18 months of the 5G era, compared with wireless technology transitions to previous generations.
The momentum is to pick up speed in 2022, with the shipment volume of 5G-ready smartphones projected to reach 750 million units, Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon told reporters following the release of the company’s latest flagship 5G chip, Snapdragon 888.
Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei Times
To address the growing market, Qualcomm would build a broad product portfolio of end devices at prices between US$250 and US$1,000, the company said.
There are more than 700 5G designs that have thus far been launched or are under development based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips, Amon said.
A majority of them supports the sub-6 gigahertz band, he said, adding that Qualcomm’s strength goes beyond millimeter Wave (mmWave) technology.
Qualcomm is positive for the deployment of mmWave networks, as 5G technology is getting more broadly adopted in Japan, with more mmWave-based services to be offered next year, Amon said.
Qualcomm also has high hopes that China would build mmWave networks for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, he said.
Asked whether Qualcomm might be able to resume shipping 5G chips to Chinese customers, as US president-elect Joe Biden might take a more rational stance in the US-China trade dispute, Amon did not directly answer.
Chipsets have been driving 5G growth in China, and that would likely continue, he said.
Qualcomm’s business model of forging cooperation with Chinese customers creates more business opportunities, Amon said.
The company is pleased to see the emergence of new industry participants such as Honor (榮耀), he added.
Honor was originally a budget smartphone brand of Huawei Technologies Co (華為). Huawei last month sold Honor to a consortium formed by the Shenzhen Smart City Technology Development Group Co (深圳智慧城市科技發展集團) in a bid to refute a US ban.
Qualcomm did not disclose whether it would switch its foundry partner for the production of the new chip to Samsung Electronics Co, using the South Korean firm’s 5-nanometer technology.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) produced Qualcomm’s previous generation of 5G chip, Snapdragon 865, using its 7-nanometer technology.
Qualcomm said that it takes about three years to design and develop premium chips until production can start.
The company in the past started talking to its foundry partners about two-and-half years prior to production, it said.
Fourteen mobile phone makers have shown their interest in Qualcomm’s latest premium chip and Xiaomi Corp’s (小米) new flagship smartphone, Mi11, is to be one of the first devices powered by the Snapdragon 888.
STEADY: Prices are to rebound following inventory rebuilding demand, TrendForce said, with Samsung Electronics Co further trimming capacity as it slashes DDR4 lines The contract prices of DRAM chips are to rise by as much as 18 percent sequentially this quarter — the first price upticks in about eight quarters — driven mainly by inventory rebuilding demand for DRAM chips used in mobile devices and PCs, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) projected yesterday. The price rebound is led by a quarterly increase of mobile DRAM chips, which are to climb between 13 percent and 18 percent quarter-on-quarter this quarter, which has not been seen since the fourth quarter of 2021, the Taipei-based market researcher predicted. Likewise, the price of mainstream PC DDR4 DRAM is expected to bounce
CHINA NOT A FRIEND: ‘Newsflash: Democracy is good for your businesses,’ US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said as she gave a speech at a national defense forum US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Saturday urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and US allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security. Speaking at an annual national defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Raimondo called Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had” and stressed that “China is not our friend.” The world’s top two economies are locked in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry, in which her department plays a leading role. In October, Raimondo unveiled a series of restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China, including those used in the development of artificial intelligence
SOLID FOUNDATION: Given its decades of expertise in megatronics, manufacturing and robotics, Japan has the wherewithal to create its own AI, Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp plans to help build an artificial intelligence (AI) tech-related ecosystem in Japan to meet demand in a country eager to gain an edge in this emerging technology. The US company will seek to partner with Japanese research organizations, companies and start-ups to build factories for AI, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday during opening remarks in a meeting with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura. The company is to set up an AI research laboratory, and invest in local start-ups and educate the public on using AI, Huang said. Huang earlier this week met with Japanese Prime
A Hong Kong court postponed a court hearing on troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande Group’s (恆大集團) winding-up petition scheduled for yesterday until Jan. 29. Evergrande is trying to win support from its creditors for a plan to restructure more than US$300 billion in debt to stave off liquidation. The company’s lawyer told the court it was requesting an adjournment to “refine” its new debt restructuring plan. The Hong Kong High Court has postponed the hearing over Evergrande’s potential liquidation several times. Judge Linda Chan (陳靜芬) had said in October that yesterday’s hearing would be the last before a decision is handed down. Chan
RSS