Samsung will return as processor supplier for the next generation of iPhones, providing as much as 75 percent of chip production, said reports Monday. Samsung reportedly beat rivals Qualcomm and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) for the A9 processor contract. TSMC had supplied the 64-bit A8 for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, while Samsung supplied system on chips for the previous-generation iPhone 4 and 5 series of smartphones. Samsung will also supply the processor for its upcoming Galaxy S6 smartphone, due in March, according to reports.

Samsung said it began producing the first 8-gigabit GDDR5 DRAM based on its 20-nanometer process technology. CE applications for the GDDR5 DRAM include graphics cards for PCs and game consoles, the company said Thursday. Combining eight of the 8-gigabit (Gb) chips achieves the same density as the 8 gigabytes (GB) needed for the latest game consoles, Samsung said. Two GB of graphics memory can be created with two of the new chips, which together can process up to 64 GB of graphical images per second, equivalent to roughly 12 HD DVDs, the company said. Samsung said it will continue to expand production volume at various densities including 4 Gb and 6 Gb and higher for both high-end information technology and value-driven markets.

Toshiba’s Semiconductor & Storage Products group is using this week’s CES to preview the world’s first SDHC memory card with built-in near-field communications functionality, the company said Thursday. Cards will be available for sale starting next month in 8-, 16- and 32-GB sizes, it said. “In order to find out what is stored inside SD memory cards, you usually need to put them into PCs or digital cameras,” Toshiba said. The new product uses NFC technology to “exchange data simply with a touch,” it said. Holding an NFC-enabled Android smartphone with the Toshiba Memory Card Preview app installed over a new memory card lets one preview on the smartphone screen the available storage space on the card, it said. The smartphone also displays up to 16 thumbnails of the photos stored in the card, it said. The free app will be available at the Google Play store when the memory cards are released for sale, Toshiba said.

Silicon Image warned Thursday of a 10 percent year-over-year revenue decline due to a reduction of mobile design wins at one of its largest customers, which wasn't named. The decline in the mobile segment is expected to be offset by strength in CE business due to “continued penetration” of MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) in mainstream TVs and of HDMI 2.0/MHL 3.0 in 4K Ultra HD TVs. Despite the drop in revenue, Silicon Image expects to remain profitable in 2015 with operating margin as a percent of revenue “flat to slightly up for the year.”

4MOD Technology will demonstrate at CES its Cube remote control that uses Integrated Device Technology’s Qi-based magnetic induction transmitter and receiver solutions, the companies said Tuesday. Wireless charging is key to the design of the remote control, which charges wirelessly when placed on its matching base. The Cube incorporates the IDT P9038 single-chip WPC 1.1 5V wireless power transmitter in the base unit and the IDT P9025B single-chip wireless power receiver in the remote control, IDT said. 4MOD’s remote control enables users to control the functions of an entertainment system -- including TV, video, music and radio -- with gestures, the company said.

Lattice Semiconductor announced availability of mobile field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) that are said to boost performance in voice detection and battery life in smartphones. Accurate and reliable voice detection and command recognition are important for smartphones, but “sound processing with a power-hungry processor quickly drains batteries when random sounds are misinterpreted as human speech,” said Joy Wrigley, Lattice product line manager, Monday. The Lattice “near-zero latency” iCE40 FPGAs improves reliability of voice-activated functions while extending battery life, she said.

Toshiba bowed a wireless hard drive designed to work with a Chromecast streaming media stick. The one-terabyte Canvio AeroCast ($219) enables consumers to “cast” video to an HDTV using Toshiba’s Google Cast Ready app, Toshiba said Thursday. Users upload and back up content from their mobile devices to the Canvio AeroCast for “secure, centralized storage,” the company said. Access to stored files is via the hard drive's Wi-Fi connection, the company said. Battery life is five hours and the AeroCast can connect simultaneously with up to six devices, the company said. Toshiba is also shipping the Canvio Cast wireless adapter ($79), which enables users to wirelessly upload, share, download and stream a hard drive video library to a connected mobile device.

Freescale Semiconductor announced the first 15-watt Qi-compliant wireless charging technology Monday, opening the way for wireless charging of larger mobile devices including tablets, large-format smartphones and portable industrial and medical equipment. The 15 watt wireless transmitter and receiver ICs charge tablets that have higher capacity batteries than smartphones, while also enabling faster charging of smaller form factor devices by delivering higher power, Freescale said. The technology supports the Wireless Power Consortium’s Qi standard and the Power Matters Alliance standard, the company said. It includes two 15 watt ICs: the WPR1516 receiver chip and accompanying MWCT1012 transmitter chip.

Integrated Device Technology announced a new family of magnetic induction wireless power transmitters for next-generation wireless charging products to be used in wearables, furniture and smartphones. The P9235 and P9236 transmitters are compliant with the latest Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Qi standard, and the P9234 is a Power Matters Alliance (PMA)-compliant device, it said Thursday. IDT is also introducing a proprietary-mode device that operates at up to 1 MHz of resonance frequency, allowing for a smaller coil, IDT said. The P9230A dual-mode transmitter supports WPC and PMA standards, it said. IDT customers are designing wireless power transmitters into a variety of applications, including mobile phone charging pad stations and wearable applications, said Arman Naghavi, general manager-analog and power division. The new lineup offers customers “greater programmability, ease of use and reduced overall development cost for faster product introduction,” he said. Although this round of transmitters doesn’t support Rezence, the standard from the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), an IDT spokesman told us the company is working with a limited group of qualified customers on magnetic resonance charging. IDT said in September it's working with Intel on developing wireless charging solutions based on magnetic resonance that are expected to be in the market next year. Capabilities touted by the A4WP charging technology include simultaneous charging of lower and higher power devices and the integration of charging devices into tabletops, the companies said. Meanwhile, 17.5 million cars with wireless chargers are expected to sell in 2020, IHS said Thursday. The global market for in-car wireless charging is projected to top $600 million in 2020, it said.

DisplaySearch sees the display driver chipset market rising to $7.3 billion globally in 2018, up from $6.4 billion in 2012, the company said Wednesday in trumpeting sales of a new research package called the Driver IC Technology and Market Forecast Report. Growth will be based on higher average selling prices for higher resolution panels and more integrated functions in the driver ICs themselves, it said. "Increases in OLED panel shipments for LCD TVs and smartphones are also helping to stimulate growth." Demand for smartphone panel source driver ICs is expected to triple between 2012 and 2018, with revenue reaching $325 million in 2018, it said. "Semiconductor makers are increasingly adding functions previously used on CPUs for small and medium panel driver ICs."