China Scrambles to stem manufacturing exodus as 50 companies leave

I had been curious that this could be an issue. During the ASM trade tensions with China was an issue mentioned and discussed.

This is one possibility of why a 1 quarter delay could be extended. 

One of the many things to watch, I see it as a long-term positive, short term disruptive event.

Thanks Mike

Asia.nikkei.com


TOKYO/SHANGHAI -- China is racing to keep foreign enterprises in-country, dangling special benefits so that the advantages of staying outweigh the heavy tariffs imposed by the U.S.

A year into the trade war with Washington, more than 50 global companies, including Apple and Nintendo, have announced or are considering plans to move production out of China, Nikkei research has found.

And not just foreign companies. Chinese manufacturers, as well as those from the U.S., Japan and Taiwan, are part of the drain, including makers of personal computers, smartphones and other electronics.

Financial Times
Foxconn will start mass production of displays, car electronics and servers for the US market at its new plant in Wisconsin by the end of next year, Mr Liu said, and plans to invest $1.5bn and employ up to 2,000 people by the end of 2020. At the first investor conference Foxconn hosted in its 45-year history, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and largest assembler of Apple’s iPhone presented a new management structure designed to deal with the exit of Terry Gou, its founder, from day-to-day business as he runs for president of Taiwan.

Jerry Rig Everything -- Multiple verticals

Nice video, looks like it got a lot of attention in a very short amount of time.

Multiple verticals -- display only, Interactive display, Near Eye display, LiDAR

Samsung a new kind of display

This patent references multiple ways of delivering data to a screen -- to projecting imagery -- which is the key part of the Microvision thesis.

There is nearly endless demand to deliver imagery to consumers. They are all hungry for data, information to be delivered to them electronically. 

People also want those devices delivering data to them to be small and portable.

Microvision's tech uses lasers --- the most efficient way to produce light --- to deliver imagery to consumers. It can be small, portable, and if you want to hang it on a wall, or conceal it in plain site, it's the ticket.

Some larger devices that can be plugged in, hardwired and focused at a fixed distance may use other technology -- that's fine, there's a lot of room in the space.

When you want it tiny, portable and energy efficiency is key... MicroVision's tech rules.

Confidence is pretty high with me that at least one Major Player will use Microvision's Interactive Display. (Amazon) and also quite high that the contract that exists to produce the display only projection is Sharp/Foxconn (the world's #1 electronics maker)


Patently Mobile

Thanks Ron


Early last month the US Patent & Trademark Office published a granted patent from Samsung relating to a new kind of portable projector that could sit on a table, like our cover graphic illustrates, or be easily attached to a wall to show slides, pictures, videos or simply watch live TV. The projection system could be controlled by a smartphone or any other kind of computer such as a tablet, laptop, desktop, wearable device like a smartwatch or even a set-top-box.

(DMD / LCOS / DLP)

Furthermore, the laser scheme may include a light source that consists of a red light emitting device, a green light emitting device, and a blue light emitting device, an optical tunnel to which laser light emitted from the light source is incident, and a display device configured to project an image onto a screen using the laser light incident through the optical tunnel. The laser scheme may also include, as a projection module, a structure including a synthesis module for performing synthesis by transmitting or reflecting some colors of the laser light emitted from the light source and a speckle remover for removing speckles by irregularly changing a phase of the laser light synthesized through the synthesis module.


The sensor module may be an array of sensors that measure a physical quantity or sense an operation state of the electronic device and may convert the measured or sensed information into an electric signal. The sensor module may include, for example, a gesture sensor; a gyro sensor; an acceleration sensor;  an ultrasonic sensor; an infrared sensor; a Hall effect sensor; a proximity sensor; 140G; and an illumination sensor.

Sharp Laser Projectors

Generally this kind of article gets only a cursory scan. They're just keeping things in the news... 

But something on this one caught my eye. The Foxconn nod, and they plan to expand to over 20 models of laser projector.

Looks to me like there's room for a very small portable version.

Digitimes

Sharp's projector products are co-developed with parent company Foxconn Electronics and manufactured by production partner Herng Wei Enterprise using 3LCD technology, Chang noted.

Sharp's most expensive projector model, which comes with a WUXGA (1,920 by 1,200) resolution and a brightness of up to 6,000 lumens, is available at NT$90,000, Chang claimed

Sharp plans to expand its laser projector portfolio to over 20 models by the end of 2019 and aims to become a top-two vendor in the segment in 2020, Chang said.

Sharp

I wonder what they're up to?

It's not making LCD TVs...

And they're playing with lasers a lot... 


Reuters

Japan Today

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Sharp Corp, an Apple Inc supplier, said on Thursday it would not meet its mid-term profit target in the current fiscal year after a shift in focus, and that a U.S.-China trade war is impacting its relationship with clients.

The weak outlook comes as parent Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer, tries to cut dependence on smartphone maker Apple as handset sales plateau.

Sharp, which makes screens and camera modules for Apple’s iPhones, expects operating profit to rise 19 percent to 100 billion yen ($909.84 million) for the year through March 2020 versus a year earlier. That compared with a 92.5 billion yen average of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

Apples biggest manufacturer becomes its top rival

On the Motley Fool.... I suspect it's only a matter of time before the Fool talks about a cool new smartphone feature for smartphones from Foxconn/Sharp.

Foxconn’s Sharp overtakes Sony as the country’s second largest smartphone maker.

Leo Sun
(TMFSunLion)
Feb 20, 2019 at 6:30PM

Foxconn (NASDAQOTH:HNHAF), the Taiwanese contract manufacturing giant that makes Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones, has transformed its Sharp subsidiary into Apple's biggest rival in Japan over the past three years. Research firm Canalys claims that Sharp controlled 9.8% of Japan's smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2018, putting it in second place after Apple's 56% share.

Apple still holds a commanding lead, but Sharp's growth -- which helped it surpass Sony's (NYSE: SNE) 8.6% share during the fourth quarter -- could be a worrisome development for the iPhone maker. Is Foxconn quietly evolving from a longtime partner into a formidable rival?

What is Foxconn's strategy?

Foxconn, which has manufactured every iPhone to date, generates nearly half of its revenue from Apple. Therefore, slowing sales of iPhones are a major threat to its core business. To reduce its dependence on Apple and other contract manufacturing clients, Foxconn acquired Sharp in 2016 and revived the struggling consumer electronics brand by launching new OLED TVs and smartphones.

****

So why is Sharp gaining ground in Japan?

In the past, smartphone makers in Japan benefited from aggressive subsidies and carrier promotions. This made premium handsets like iPhones cheaper and more appealing. However, Japanese regulators now want carriers to stop subsidizing device sales with monthly subscriptions in a bid to simplify contracts and promote fair competition.

This means that the cost of iPhones, which are already at historic highs, will keep rising and cause Japanese consumers to either shun upgrades or buy cheaper devices from lower-end device makers like Sharp. However, Canalys also expects Sharp to struggle with the elimination of subsidies, which made its cheap devices even cheaper.

Sharp Spinning off Semiconductor Business

Pretty interesting... not sure what it means, but it deserves to be watched.



Japan Times


Sharp will set up two wholly owned subsidiaries that will absorb the semiconductor-related operations to be spun off, the company said Wednesday.

One of the two units will focus on semiconductors and sensors and the other on semiconductor lasers.
Sharp Chairman and President Tai Jeng-wu told reporters that the company’s management resources are limited in the field of semiconductors so he wants to tap overseas and domestic resources, showing eagerness to forge alliances with other firms including Sharp’s parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. of Taiwan.

Currently, Sharp manufactures semiconductor-related products at its plants in the prefectures of Hiroshima and Nara.

Sharp & Foxconn

When Foxconn made a bid for Sharp

Noticed this back in 2016, and somehow it get's posted as new news today. In 2016 we were sure, because of Robohon, that MicroVision had something going on with Sharp.

Maybe clickbait, or maybe for some other reason, it made the news feed.  This happens, but fairly infrequently... I'm not sure how or why it happens.


From Today Stocksbeat

New York Times 2016

Apple's Turmoil

Apple is in the middle of some turmoil.

They can't improve their phones enough to inspire a new flood of consumers for the new models.

That's good for us -- what phones need is a great new feature. 

Under all of that is that Foxconn has been rumbling for some time about making their own brand of smartphone (possibly through widely recognized name Sharp?)

If Apple has been treating Foxconn like they have often treated other suppliers, they may have created big trouble for themselves.


Apple Lacks and APP for Foxconn

Foxconn may import skilled workers to Wisconsin Plant

I'm sure they will have some special skills needed which won't be readily available in Wisconsin.

France24.com

NEW YORK (AFP) - 

Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn is struggling to find enough skilled workers for its planned facility in Wisconsin and may bring in personnel from China, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The report said Foxconn, which makes devices and components for Apple and other tech firms, is facing a tight labor market for the manufacturing plant, which is getting some $3 billion in incentives from the midwestern state.

The company has pledged to hire 13,000 workers at the southern Wisconsin site, but some reports say the total may be lower as Foxconn scales back its initial plans.

Interesting Smoking gun...

I suspect this was something that wasn't intended to be released like this.

There's some really interesting stuff on this, and it is another smoking gun, because it's Sharp, it shows known Microvision Products.

There are also a couple of components that look like they fit the Hololens picture. (At risk of having it wrong, I'm still posting it that way because it's a busy day.)

Thanks Geo & Joe

ZD Net -- Hololens Sensor

Source SocleTech  (Part of Foxconn )

Another smoking gun....

Putting this up before I get my translations -- but this looks like all of our verticals (possibly +1) in the same place, with a prime suspect for our 10 million exclusive projection agreement. More support for the Sharp/Foxconn theory.

My translations from Japanese are a little slow.

Request any readers fluent in Japanese to translate a little. The Katakana on item 3 (looks like interactive projection, and projection alone, the Kanji by the camera, and the 3D item at the bottom right I'm particularly interested in the particulars.)

Thank you Joe

シャープ 半導体レーザのご提案 (proposal of Sharp Semiconductor Laser)

Goertek Smart speaker with laser projector

From Goertek.

This is the kind of installation I've been looking for. A speaker with a projector that can be focused on the counter top or the wall (or ceiling.) One projector that can be aimed at multiple surfaces is where MVIS technology will shine.

I still have more reasons to believe that the 10 million partner for projection only is Sharp/Foxconn. It is still possible that they could build this and use remaining inventory, and purchase engines elsewhere. (Or use the interactive engine and build it themselves.)

I'm a firm believer that having one or two engine suppliers for the broad consumer electronics market is going to be the most efficient method to get this technology to the masses.

Many of these large electronics manufacturers have customers who are also their competitors.

(Samsung, for example, sells screens and components to Apple, as does Sharp. Foxconn seems to manufacture for everyone, while making it clear recently that they wish to come out with their own phone to compete with Apple -- even though they make something like 80% of iPhones.)

Thanks Joe and several others.

Goertek Industrial Design

Why little robots may be the next big thing in smart home tech

Sharp ahead of its time.


TechRadar

"What people really wanted was a robot from the movies, they wanted a robot that was always on. They didn’t want to pull out their phone in order to just play, this just created a lot of friction."

Vector operates completely autonomously and connects to the cloud which gives it a vast database of knowledge to answer questions. 

In short: it now does things that a virtual assistant does but Palatucci believes Vector has two big USPs that the current crop of Alexa and Google Assistant infused speakers doesn't have - mobility and personality.

"We aren’t trying to compete with Alexa and Google Home, Palatucci notes. "We are trying to create robots where the primary purpose is companionship, but at the same time they can do things that are useful."

Sharp seeks Rebirth as Apple-style tech brand

Sharp still has a lot of moving parts -- but we know there's a connection, and this is an interesting strategic development.


Nikkei Asian Review

Pulls plug on Appliance Production

Sharp Q1 operating profit Soars


Tai sees Apple, Sharp's biggest client, as something of a role model. The U.S. technology giant generates massive profits by specializing in product design and development while outsourcing production to contractors like Foxconn.

.....

In the "internet of things," Sharp will work to incorporate artificial intelligence and voice command features in home electronics to create new services that generate user fees.

Saw Mohammed Yesterday....

Mr. Moviphones.com 

Very nice guy, very sharp. Had a meeting with T-Mobile in the last few days. There is interest... but can't really make any predictions about how things will go.

Says that he's shipped phones to a number of major tech companies. (Google, Apple, etc.) So, at whatever level, they know things are on the radar.

Nod to Sharp/Foxconn.

(Based on e-mail question: Nearly every electronic device made has multiple manufacturers involved in the production of a product. Sharp makes parts for Samsung & Apple, and Sony..... Samsung makes parts for Apple and everyone else. Qualcomm makes parts for everyone.... so naming one company doesn't necessarily eliminate any others.)

Shipping everything he can get, but needs to grow organically unless he finds some capital.


.... Edit... Also said the DLP version he was considering isn't going to happen. They cant compete... 



He wasn't particularly happy with the people who set appointments with him the day before and didn't show.

Order the phone buttons going up.

Ronald Wayne

So a friend and I were having coffee the other day.

We discuss Microvision often.

At this point, everything is looking really good. We knew what was coming, and now it looks that at least one mass market product is imminent -- because there are several close at hand:

• Near-eye display (Hololens? Oclulus? Magic Leap? Glass) MSFT, FB, GOOG
• Interactive display? Smart speakers, smart displays? (AMZN, AAPL, GOOG)
• Home security?
• Auto LiDAR?
• Display only (Contract signed, best guess as to who is Sharp/Foxconn)

Rumors have also been circulating about a "surface phone" -- I sent a note to a tech reporter with a link to a surface phone post I'd done  more than a year ago.  When I did that an hour later, this document was gone.  It's back, but I suspect they hit some traffic limits. The background is interesting.

The amount of upward motion that could occur with this stock if these stories are confirmed or the suspicions widely circulated will be amazing. If one of them is confirmed, we're off to the races.

It's possible we start rising, and the tired investors will panic when there's a hiccup.

and that... reminded me of Ronald Wayne.

---

Ronald Wayne (born May 17, 1934) is an American retired electronics industry worker. He co-founded Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, providing administrative oversight for the new venture. However, he soon sold his share of the new company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800 US dollars, and later accepted $1,500 to forfeit any claims against Apple (in total, equivalent to $9,498 in 2017). As of May 4, 2018, if Wayne had kept his 10% stake in Apple Inc., it would have been worth over $93.1 billion, making him the second richest man on earth.^[1]

---

At the time, he seemed like a smart investor. He doubled his money in a short time, and he cashed out. Poor move.

A lot of Microvision's investors now are tired.

We have held the stock a long time... many of us have lost a lot of money and would like to get it back.

So, if we get it back and then some -- that's awesome, right? 

Not so fast.

Most of the rest of the people who find this company are going to find it after it gets mentioned in the same breath as some big names. Not before. Shortly after that it will start to rise... or it will before that.

some of the tired investors will be tempted to take the money and run... but if you're more patient, I think you'll do a lot better than Ronald Wayne.

Sharp Increasing Brightness

Thanks Joe & Fuzzie

This supports the Sharp/Foxconn theory. 

That's a lot of Lasers... 

Tech News

Sharp's 14th issued press release announced that it will start volume production in the beginning of October this year to achieve the industry's highest light output of green laser diode (LD, Laser Diode), with a monthly production target of 500,000. One sample will be shipped in early August this year, and the sample price will be 10,800 yen.

Sharp's green laser diodes, which will be mass-produced, have a light output of 130mW, which is 3.3 times higher than Sharp's current products and has a wavelength of 520nm. The higher the light output, the more vivid the color can be.

Sharp began mass production of green laser diodes in November 2017. At that time, the mass-produced product had a light output of 30 mW and a wavelength of 515 nm. The three primary colors of light are red, blue and green. In addition to the green laser diodes, Sharp also offers red and blue products.

Sharp pointed out that laser diodes can be used as light sources for laser displays such as head-up displays (HUDs) and head mounted displays (HMDs) and their use is continuously expanding.

Nikkei News reported that laser diodes are currently mainly used in projectors. However, under the demand for vehicles and other support, the laser diode market is expected to show a substantial increase in the future. According to Sharp, the market for monitors using laser diodes is about 26 billion yen in 2018, but in the future, such as demand for vehicles, it will increase to 4.45 trillion yen by 2025.

I originally sent this to a few on May 12.

A few of my friends got this email message from me on May 12. 

******************************************

Been noodling on the exclusive licensing contract, trying to figure out who it's likely to be.

At first the prime suspects were one of four:

• STM 
• Sony 
• Sharp/Foxconn 
• Goertek

I'm 90% sure that STM is either the only or the primary supplier of MVIS Mems and ASICS. The wording of the license doesn't make sense if the licensing is to them. (Why would they purchase these components from themselves?) [ STM / Microvision PR ]

Sony is possible, but given the language during the CC, I'd remove them from the list. (I'm expecting them to be in the "fast follower" category eventually

Which leaves Sharp/Foxconn and Goertek.

Goertek: I'm more dubious of Goertek in this case. They're not really a "tier1" supplier, although they do have some of those customers. They also removed some notes on their site a couple of months ago referencing Microvision and new things they'd be doing. (Removed at the request...)

Foxconn/Sharp. They've been doing a lot around Robotics, Robohon is still around, they're definitely a tier-1 supplier, they'd be worth the stealth. (Would anyone get excited if they announced Goertek? so why keep that a secret?) And the Moviphone guy was talkative at CES, and said that the next version of the phone would be made by Foxconn. (I never posted that publicly.)

There's also Sharp's Interest in mass producing Green Lasers. Sharp Mass Producing Green Lasers

So at the moment I'm thinking chances are Sharp/Foxconn 60% / Goertek 35% and one of the others at 5%

I'm interested if there's anything you can add to this line of thinking, anything I've missed or given more weight to than I should have.

Cheers

****************************************************

I have good reason (since then) to lower my chances of the company being Goertek to near zero.

Given that I'd say I'm about 95% for Sharp/Foxconn. With a 5% for some other surprise. I certainly don't know anything for sure.

Clearly Sharp is working closely with Foxconn.

Sharp is producing large quantities of green lasers, they are sticking with Robohon.



Foxconn wouldn't be a bad place to be.
From Wikipedia....

Major customers[edit]

Major customers of Foxconn include or have included:

(location is in parentheses)

• Acer Inc. (Taiwan)^[65]
• Amazon.com (United States)^[11]
• Apple Inc. (United States)^[66]
• BlackBerry Ltd. (Canada)^[67]
• Cisco (United States)^[68]
• Dell (United States)^[69]
• Google (United States)^[70]
• Hewlett-Packard (United States)^[71]
• Huawei (China)^[72]
• InFocus (United States)
• Intel (United States)
• Microsoft Corp. (United States)^[73]
• Motorola Mobility (United States)^[69]
• Nintendo (Japan)^[74]
• HMD Global (Under Nokia Brand) (Finland)^[66][75]
• Sony (Japan)^[76]
• Toshiba (Japan)^[77]
• Vizio (United States)^[78]
• Xiaomi (China)^[79]

ASM Very interesting

No details until I digest a little.... 

Familiar products, and how we could be incorporated into them.

10 Million contract more restricted than I originally thought.... meaning much more opening for growth and expansion....

Some emphasis from Mulligan on Machine Learning at the sensor... which I think is huge for at least a couple of reasons.

Based on conversations and our detective work. Joe and I are pretty confident that the 10 million contract is with Sharp/Foxconn. (Sharp is making tons of green lasers.... among other reasons.)