Samsung introduced a turnkey security solution for mobile devices that’s said to protect private data. The dedicated “tamper-resistant strongbox” stores users’ confidential and cryptographic data such as personal identification numbers, passwords and crypto-currency credentials separate from mobile memory such as embedded Universal Flash Storage, it said Wednesday. The S3K250AF-based Secure Element chip, used in Samsung's Galaxy S20 series smartphones, comprises a microcontroller, advanced hardware-level protection and an optimized secure operating system.

Silicon Labs will begin shipping ultra-low-power Zigbee SoCs for IoT products used in mesh networks next month, it said Wednesday. They’re the smallest, lowest power SoCs optimized for Zigbee Green Power applications and are targeted to Zigbee devices powered by coin cell batteries. Zigbee Green Power further reduces power consumption by decreasing the amount of data required for wireless transmission, it said. Target applications include smart home sensors, lighting controls and building and industrial automation.

Broadcom announced what it's calling the industry's first Wi-Fi 6E client device ahead of FCC-expected allocation of some of the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi. The BCM4389, targeted at flagship smartphones, will deliver over 2 Gbps of real-world speeds and up to five times better battery life, said the company Thursday. The chipset is said to improve audio performance and range for connected Bluetooth accessories. The BCM4389 uses a tri-band simultaneous connectivity architecture, adding to Wi-Fi and MIMO Bluetooth radios a third ultra-low-power independent radio to optimize Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance. Broadcom expects phones with the chipset to communicate with home routers, residential gateways, enterprise access points, and augmented- and virtual-reality devices.

Semtech launched LoRa Smart Home, a transceiver for low-power wide-area-network smart home, community and consumer applications. It’s said to provide broad coverage for indoor and neighborhood-area IoT devices connecting to sensors and actuators for safety, environmental and convenience use cases. The device is designed for battery-powered sensors with multiyear operation.

Commissioners will vote Jan. 30 on the FCC's proposal to incorporate new standards for smartphone handsets to be compatible with hearing aids, Chairman Ajit Pai said in a blog post Wednesday. The proposed changes would update rules to reflect American National Standards Institute 2019 specifications, he wrote. Americans with hearing loss should have access to advanced smartphones “like everybody else,” said Pai.

A new Silicon Labs Bluetooth SoC portfolio promises a combination of security features, wireless performance, energy efficiency, and software tools and stacks to meet requirements for high-volume, battery-powered IoT products, it said. The chipset can enable asset tracking tags with 10-year coin cell battery life, less than 1-meter accuracy and a low bill of materials cost of less than $1 in high volume, said the company. Built on Silicon Labs’ Wireless Gecko Series 2 platform, the EFR32BG22, the SoCs support the new Bluetooth 5.2 specification, Bluetooth direction finding and Bluetooth mesh, said the chipmaker at CES in Las Vegas. The three SoCs are slated for March availability.

Sensor company ams announced evaluation kits based on its NanEyeC miniature image sensor capable of 100,000-pixel resolution up to 58 frames per second. The NanEyeC camera is a full-featured image sensor supplied as a 1mm x 1mm surface-mount module, said the company. Applications include eye tracking in virtual reality headsets and presence detection, it said. The NanoVision board is available to customers on request; the company will demo the NanoBerry kit at CES, Venetian Tower Suite 30-236.

Global semiconductor sales were $36.6 billion in October, a 2.9 percent increase sequentially from September but down 13.1 percent from October 2018, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Tuesday. It’s projecting 2019 sales will decrease 12.8 percent before rising 5.9 percent in 2020 and 6.3 percent in 2021. Though the market “slumped somewhat” in 2019, “the recent trend is more positive, with month-to-month sales increasing in October for the fourth consecutive month,” said SIA.

Broadcom bowed a 3x3 Wi-Fi 6 chip for WLAN applications including Wi-Fi routers, residential gateways, wireless range extenders and set-top boxes. The BCM6710 has integrated RF power amplifiers, giving OEMs a cost-effective, high-performance chip for mass-market products, said the company Thursday, and it’s the first 3x3 Wi-Fi 6 solution supporting three transmit and three receive streams in 2.4-GHz, 5-GHz and future 6-GHz bands. The 6-GHz Wi-Fi capability paves the way for high-bandwidth, low-latency applications such as 4K video streaming, real-time immersive gaming, and augmented reality, it said.

Fraunhofer scientists developed a process that's cost-efficient and environmentally friendly for fabricating porous silicon layers as anode material in lithium-ion batteries, said the research institute Wednesday. Replacing conventional graphite materials with silicon “promises an almost tenfold increase in the specific charging capacity of the anode,” it said. The porous structure in the silicon provides adequate space for expansion during charging, and “thus capacity fade is minimized,” it said. “The porous structure can be manipulated and optimized to the specific battery requirements by adapting process parameters. The zinc can be collected and reused in the conceived process." Early test results “show an encouraging battery performance,” it said.