Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to defend its top status in the global smartphone market this year despite challenges from Chinese brands, a report showed Wednesday. Worldwide smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 6.5 percent on-year to 1.38 billion units in 2021, and Samsung's market share is estimated at 20 percent, unchanged from a year earlier, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. US tech titan Apple Inc. is projected to remain second, with its market share also stayi

Tizen, a Linux-based operating system developed by Samsung Electronics Co., was the top smart TV streaming platform last year, a report showed Wednesday, thanks to its status as the world's largest TV vendor. Tizen accounted for 12.7 percent of global connected TV devices in use in 2020, up from 11.6 percent a year earlier, after the number of Tizen-supporting devices increase 21 percent on-year to 162.3 million, according to industry tracker Strategy Analytics. Samsung's TV platform was follo

South Korea's automobile and semiconductor business groups on Wednesday said they will join forces in developing key automotive chips domestically, as the global supply shortages of key automotive chips are anticipated to disturb the production of cars. The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association inked a memorandum of understanding to roll out joint research projects and seek ways to produce automotive chips domestically. South Korea is the w

Samsung SDI President and CEO Jun Young-hyun on Wednesday confirmed that the company was developing a new and larger form factor for its cylindrical battery cells for electric vehicles. After the Korean battery giant’s 51st shareholders meeting held in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Jun was asked by The Korea Herald on the progress of the company’s development of “4680” cells, which Jun answered, “We are doing our best.” Samsung SDI later explained that Jun’s an

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined global plant utilization rate stayed below 80 percent due to an extended coronavirus pandemic. Hyundai Motor's overall plant utilization rate stood at 84.1 percent and Kia's stood at 74.5 percent in 2020 as the pandemic affected vehicle production and sales, according to their 2020 business reports. Hyundai's and Kia's rates fell from 99.7 percent and 89.2 percent, respectively, in 2019, the annual data showed. In particu

South Korea's telecommunications regulator said Wednesday it will push for a law revision to set limits on user payments to livestream broadcasters amid reports of financial damage to users that splurge on the platforms. Many video streaming platforms, including YouTube and local rival Afreeca TV, operate live payments, in which viewers can tip broadcasters in real time, serving as a form of monetization. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said it will pursue legal revisions to prevent

Samsung Electronics Co. may suffer around 400 billion won ($353 million) in production losses due to a monthlong shutdown of its chip plant in the United States, analysts said Wednesday, amid growing concerns that the production halt could also undermine global smartphone production. Samsung's plant in Austin, Texas, has not been fully operating since Feb. 16 after a severe winter storm caused power outage in the region. The facility reportedly recovered power and water supply, but due to inspe

Unionized employees at Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business protest against a 2.5 percent raise in annual salaries in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. (Blind)

South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao, No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and others submitted preliminary bids on Tuesday to buy eBay Korea in a deal that could fetch some 5 trillion won ($4.42 billion) and bring a seismic change to the fiercely competitive e-commerce sector, industry sources said. Retail giant Lotte Group and Emart Inc., a discount store chain affiliated with Shinsegae Group, as well as private equity firm MBK Partners, joined the competition for the nation's No

Traditional retail giant and tech behemoth team up to gain upper hand against rising e-commerce players, such as Coupang

South Korea’s data industry grew 14 percent to 19 trillion won ($16.81 billion) last year, according to government data on Tuesday. According to a report from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Data Agency, the number of professionals in the data industry surpassed 100,000 for the first time. The report said the local data industry had expanded from 16.8 trillion won in 2019 to 19.2 trillion won last year. This figure takes local companies’ sales into account, as well

Hyosung Advanced Materials, the South Korea-based industrial materials producer, said Tuesday that the company would supply its airbags for an Amazon-backed self-driving car. According to Hyosung Advanced Materials, the company’s airbag development unit Global Safety Textiles signed a supply contract with Zoox, the robotaxi company acquired by Amazon for more than $1 billion earlier last year. Under the contract, GST will supply its one-piece woven airbag to Zoox, which is developing

Choi Hyoung-jin, a researcher at Samsung Research, the research and development arm of Samsung Electronics, was named to head a global research body on the sixth-generation telecommunications network, the tech giant said Tuesday. Choi has been appointed as chair of Vision Group on IMT towards 2030 and beyond (6G) at the International Telecommunication Union -- Radiocommunication during an online assembly held from March 1-12. The 6G Vision Group was launched at the recent ITU-R meeting.

Samsung Display said Tuesday that it has supplied for the first time its organic light-emitting diode displays for Asus’ newest gaming smartphone ROG Phone 5. The Taiwanese computer hardware company’s latest ROG Phone 5 sports the Korean panel maker‘s 6.78-inch OLED screen, which is designed to support seamless streaming of fast-rate high-resolution gaming content. Samsung’s mobile display that supports over a 120 Hz refresh rate has been certified as a Seamless Dis

But feud-ridden LH, indebted KNOC back out of hiring