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Chinese smartphone maker Meizu’s shipments will reach more than 20 million units this year, up more than 350% from 2014. Vice president Li Nan stated that Meizu will shift its focus to improve user experience and satisfaction in 2016, instead of boosting sales. He said that Meizu will ramp up its smartphone shipments by 25% to 25 million units in 2016. He also stated that the company looks to make a breakthrough in high-end models.
From a colleague at SEMICON Japan:
The hottest topic of discussion at SEMICON Japan 2015 was the IoT, with new applications for sensors (such as a 3D sensor), CCD module, RFID, big data management (such as the Cloud), smart robots, driverless cars, and “Pepper” (a "smart robot" with a heart) that is already on sale!
Technology talk at SEMICON included 3D wafer level system integration, copper through silicon vias (TSV) formation, wafer thinning, thin wafer handling, TSV-interposers with high-density redistribution and assembly, interconnection technologies, and systems in a package (SIPs).
Also discussed were fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP) and panel level packaging (PLP). These will grow in use due to increasing multifunctional demands. As a result more circuits will be designed into the chips, eliminating the need for some PCBs. Apple is reported to already have approved this technology for their A10 project (iPhone 7). TSMC is one of the suppliers already qualified by Apple. ASE, UMTC, Uni Group (China), and Samsung are all reported to be trying to get approval by Apple for this technology and application.
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Gene Weiner is president of Weiner International Associates. To contact Gene, click here.
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