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Highlights of the day: Chinese DRAM dream

DIGITIMES staff 0

China has shown strong ambition to raise its IC self-sufficiency. Although Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have been victorious following a consolidation of the global DRAM industry at the expense of Taiwanese makers, Chinese newcomers seem to be undeterred by the dominance of the top-3. In the flash memory market segment, order visibility has improved, thanks to significant demand for 5G and AIoT applications. And the coming of the 5G era is prompting phone vendors to upgrade their device designs, with Samsung and Huawei likely to adopt VC cooling solutions for the 2020 smartphone lineups. But it remains to be seen whether next year's iPhone will all come with OLED screens, as the LCD iPhone 11 has seen unexpectedly strong sales.

China DRAM rise looming, may reshape global market in 5-10 years: The global DRAM market, now over 90% controlled by three major players Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron, is likely to experience a structural shakeup in the next 5-10 years, with a new DRAM business unit set up by China's government-backed Tsinghua Unigroup expected to pose the largest potential threat to the top-3.

Flash memory demand for 5G, AIoT picking up: Flash memory chipmakers have seen demand for 5G and AIoT related applications ramp up with order visibility stretched through the first quarter of 2020, according to industry sources.

Samsung, Huawei embracing VC cooling solutions for smartphones: Use of vapor chamber cooling modules for smartphones is set to expand significantly in 2020 as Samsung Electronics and Huawei are likely to have all of their 5G phones slated for launch next year equipped with VC-based heat-sink solutions, according to industry sources.

Apple reportedly increasing component orders for LCD iPhone: Apple reportedly has ramped up component orders for its LCD-based iPhone 11 that has seen better-than-expected demand but reduced those for iPhone 11 Pro Max that has seen flat sales, accordig to sources from Taiwan's IC supply chain.