Tag Archives: apple

Will Apple Lag Or Leapfrog Samsung With Cell-Capable Watch?

Apple might add cellular connectivity in its next-generation smartwatch, as it races with rival Samsung to make the devices more functional. The Apple Watch has relied on a user’s nearby iPhone for wireless connectivity. Samsung’s Gear S2 users can read and reply to text messages and listen to voice messages but do not yet have Internet access or Web browsing. Apple is revving up new features amid disappointing demand for its initial device, says a Wall Street Journal  report . Apps may run directly on the Apple Watch’s own processor. The new Apple Watch is expected to debut in September, along with the iPhone 7. That same month, Samsung is expected to take off the wraps of the next generation Gear S3 at Europe’s IFA 2016 show, in Berlin. Both Apple and Samsung have been active in an industry standards-setting group called GSMA. The industry group has been developing standards for electronic SIMs embedded in consumer electronics such as phones, as well as for the Internet of Things. The reprogrammable software does the same job as the SIM (subscriber identity module) card, often found under the mobile phone battery. Samsung’s Gear S2 smartwatch features a built-in e-SIM, also called smart SIM. A 9to5Mac report last year speculated that Apple plans to add videoconferencing capability to its smartwatches. Apple’s move into e-SIMs or soft SIMs could be a problem for wireless service providers such as AT&T ( T )  and Verizon Communications ( VZ ). That’s because with e-SIMs consumers could shop for the best wireless data plan and switch service providers much more easily.

Apple Supplier Integrated Device Rated Buy; Discount ‘Unwarranted’

Apple ( AAPL ) Watch supplier Integrated Device Technology ( IDTI ) is outgrowing the broad chip market with “superior” financial returns, a Needham analyst wrote Monday as he initiated coverage of the stock. But Integrated Device stock hasn’t recovered from a Feb. 2 nosedive that saw shares plunge 27% on the company’s massive March-quarter guidance miss. Wall Street had set the high bar after Integrated Device acquired privately-held ZMDI in December. Shares are now down 23% for the year. Intraday on the stock market today , Integrated Device stock was down more than 1%, near 20, despite Needham analyst N. Quinn Bolton’s buy rating and 26 price target. Integrated Device stock trades at an “unwarranted” discount to rivals, Bolton wrote in his research note. The company leads in its bread-and-butter wireless charging market with design wins at Samsung, Apple, LG, Ikea and Marriott ( MAR ). Bolton estimates the market will be a $500 million opportunity by 2020. By 2019, the market for memory interfaces — which improve computer memory bandwidth in servers — will grow to a $452 million opportunity from $144 million in 2011, Bolton estimates. “Though we expect a pause in Integrated Device’s memory interface revenue in 2017 as Broadwell-based servers ramp, we forecast a resumption in growth in 2018 as Intel ‘s ( INTC ) Purley platform ramps,” he wrote. Sales of high-performance, energy-efficient analog/mixed-signal chips will grow to $138 million in 2018 from $5 million in 2014, he says. Integrated Device diversified into that segment with its ZMDI acquisition.