The Japan-Korea trade tensions may be hitting Samsung's semiconductor business, but at least its foundry unit should be able to maintain normal operations in the meantime. It has been a bad year for the Korean giant: It has warned that it expects sharp declines in profits for the second quarter of 2019, and the unveiling of the Galaxy Fold turned out to be a marketing flop. But Samsung seems to be banking on foldable devices to help maintain its market leadership. Its major rival, Apple, reportedly is looking to introduce major upgrades to its mobile devices fo 2020 by adopting ToF rear cameras.
Japan export control to have limited impact on Samsung foundry biz: Japan's tighter export control on photoresists and two other critical materials used in South Korea's high-tech sector are unlikely to benefit TSMC much given the relatively small scale of Samsung's foundry business. The impact on Samsung's own-brand business will be more substantial, according to industry sources.
Samsung reportedly developing 2nd-gen foldable smartphones: Samsung Electronics is developing its second generation foldable smartphones although the vendor has not yet officially shipped its first foldable model, the Galaxy Fold, according to sources from Taiwan's handset supply chain.
Apple may adopt ToF camera VCSEL for iPhones in 2020: Apple has reportedly asked its supply chain partner to supply VCSEL components for use in rear ToF camera lens in its mobile devices to be released in 2020, according to supply chain sources.
