Up next for HDMI 2.1 specifications is gaming, with set-top boxes and others to come later, its New York media event was told Thursday. A Microsoft upgrade for Xbox One X is enabling some features, said HDMI Licensing Administrator President Rob Tobias. The 48 Gbps high-bandwidth fixed-rate link signaling technology, a replacement for transition-minimized differential signaling, is under development, he said, and “toward the end of the pipeline.” HDMI 2.1 semiconductor and IP core technologies have been announced by AMD, LG, Lattice Semiconductor, Texas Instruments and others. The chips are “enablers” for TVs, PCs and set-tops to bring next-generation technologies to market, said Tobias. For 2019, he said “brand-name” HDMI 2.1 SoCs supporting set-tops, streaming media sticks and other products are expected to be announced.
The installed base of iPhones in the U.S. reached 181 million units in Q3, a 3 percent increase from Q2 and a 14 percent increase from Q3 a year earlier, said Consumer Intelligence Research Partners Thursday. The installed base is “leveling off,” it said. It estimates more than four in every 10 iPhones in circulation are at least 3 years old: “These phones reflect the huge impact of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which at the time represented the first new form factor in four years.”
More used smartphones for buying this year on Election Day than Nov. 6, 2017, Adobe Analytics reported Wednesday: Consumers logged in remotely while researching their vote or used it as a “search-and-shop device,” totaling 25 percent of e-commerce Tuesday, a 28 percent rise. Daily November online sales have topped $1 billion, though growth is slightly below forecasts at 12.7 percent, the researcher said: Mobile device shoppers drove 52 percent of e-commerce visits Tuesday, for 33 percent of revenue, led by smartphone usage.
Research firm eMarketer ratcheted up its holiday sales forecast Tuesday, eyeing the first $1 trillion-plus season, benefiting from the maximum number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Analyst Andrew Lipsman predicted 5.8 percent retail sales growth, the highest since 2011. E-commerce will remain the growth king, jumping 17 percent to $123.7 billion, predicted Cindy Liu. She noted e-tailers' market share e-tailers battle to compete against Amazon (see 1811020019 or 1811050040). Mobile shopping from smartphones and tablets will jump 44 percent, reaching 5.4 percent of holiday sales, said the analyst.
Samsung added free ad-supported programs Danger TV (adventure short videos), Outside TV (adventure sports and outdoor lifestyle movies) and RiffTrax (scripted, humorous audio commentaries to accompany TV programs and movies) to its TV Plus service, said channel provider Wurl TV Monday. They join Wurl’s Fail Army and Pet Collective channels in TV Plus. Wurl plans to launch channels on all smart TV platforms.
"Cords are a thing of the past,” as holiday-shopping popularity of wireless charging and security will attest, with Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday weeks again delivering “the biggest gain,” said NPD's Stephen Baker. Superior screen quality is the “it” feature this holiday, and will drive “more value, across more products, across more” uses, the analyst said.
Fitbit shares closed up 26 percent at $5.95 Thursday after the company reported 26 percent growth in its health solutions business, higher average selling prices and Versa smartwatch sales growth. CEO James Park noted the company went from owning none of the U.S. smartwatch market 14 months ago to becoming No. 2 behind Apple. Lines between smartwatches and trackers are starting to blur, said Chief Financial Officer Ron Kisling, saying the rate of decline in trackers narrowed and will improve. Q3 sales were little changed from year-ago quarter at $393.6 million as its profit reversed a loss.
SoundHound's music recognition feature is available for licensing via its Houndify voice artificial intelligence platform to brands and developers for use within their user interfaces or to access via voice queries, it said Wednesday. Partners that have deployed SoundHound’s music recognition include Hyundai, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, Korea Telecom, and Casio with its G-Shock watch. SoundHound said Houndify is the first independent AI platform that enables developers and business owners to deploy a conversational interface and retain control of their brands and users “while differentiating and innovating.”
ON Semiconductor announced Bluetooth SIG mesh networking support for its Bluetooth 5-certified RSL10 system-on-chip product line. It's targeted to smart home devices, among other applications, said the company.
Energous will demonstrate its WattUp wireless charging technology at the Telekom Design Gallery during Deutsche Telekom’s Trend Team event Tuesday at the telecom company’s Bonn, Germany, headquarters, said Energous Monday. Stefan Kohn, vice president of the Design Gallery, which showcases technology products and solutions, said “true wireless charging would fundamentally change the customer experience for mobile devices, as dead batteries are one of the biggest customer frustrations today.”