TrendForce's latest investigations find that the global foundry industry recorded 1Q25 revenue of US$36.4 billion—a 5.4% QoQ decline. The downturn was softened by last-minute rush orders from clients ahead of the U.S. reciprocal tariff exemption deadline, as well as continued momentum from China's 2024 consumer subsidy program. These factors help offset the typical seasonal slump.

Looking ahead to Q2, the effects of tariff-driven early procurement are expected to fade and lead to a general slowdown. However, continued demand from China's subsidy program, along with pre-launch inventory builds for new smartphone models and stable AI HPC demand, are expected to support capacity utilization and drive a revenue rebound for the top 10 foundries.

Mid-way through last month, Tencent's President—Martin Lau—confirmed that this company had stockpiled a huge quantity of NVIDIA H20 AI GPUs, prior to new trade restrictions coming into effect. According to earlier reports, China's largest tech firms have collectively spent $16 billion on hardware acquisitions in Q1'25. Team Green engineers are likely engaged in the creation of "nerfed" enterprise-grade chip designs—potentially ready for deployment later on in 2025. Huawei leadership is likely keen to take advantage of this situation, although it will be difficult to compete with the sheer volume of accumulated H20 units. The Shenzhen, Guangdong-based giant's Ascend AI accelerator family is considered to be a valid alternative to equivalent "sanction-conformant" NVIDIA products.

The controversial 910C model and a successor seem to be worthy candidates; as demonstrated by preliminary performance data, but fresh industry murmurs suggest teething problems. The Information has picked up inside track chatter from unnamed moles at ByteDance and Alibaba. During test runs, staffers noted the overheating of Huawei Ascend 910C trial samples. Additionally, they highlighted limitations within the Huawei Compute Architecture for Neural Networks (CANN) software platform. NVIDIA's extremely mature CUDA ecosystem holds a significant advantage here. Several of China's prime AI players—including DeepSeek—are reportedly pursuing in-house AI chip development projects; therefore positioning themselves as competing with Huawei, in a future scenario.

Chinese tech news sites have alluded to the launch of Colorful's brand-new SMART 900 Mini PC in the region. Oddly, the company's various web presences and social media accounts do not mention this diminutive 4-liter (volume) product. At last month's Computex trade show, the TechPowerUp crew happened upon a preview unit—dubbed generically as a "Mini AI PC." The latest press material confirms Colorful's selection of AMD's top-flight 16-core Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU. The Team Red "Strix Halo" mobile series leverages "Zen 5" processor cores and RDNA 3.5 integrated graphics solutions. Colorful has joined a small club of Mini PC providers that deal in Ryzen AI Max-equipped hardware. GMKtec seems to be leading this pack; with last month's global release of configurable EVO-X2 Mini PC pre-builds (starting at $1499).

Zotac is readying a competing Magnus EA (2025) range; the TPU team encountered a 12-core Ryzen AI Max 390-equipped example at Computex 2025. In North America, Framework is still working on getting its "4.5L Mini-ITX" Desktop out of the door—hopefully by the third quarter of this year. Colorful's SMART 900 Mini PC design sports a high quality anodized aluminium chassis. An "excellent" heat dissipation solution is advertised as taking: "advantage of the metal body—ensuring that the system can maintain a low operating temperature and a relatively reasonable noise level under high load." Rival manufacturers have outlined memory configurations of 64 GB or 128 GB LPDDR5X, but Colorful has opted for an unusual in-between 96 GB setup. At the time of writing, no SMART 900 Mini PC pricing information was included in local media reports.

According to the Financial Times, new restrictions—affecting the supply of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software suites to Chinese companies—will cause major disruption within the domestic chip design industry. The US government's latest trade amendments are expected to impact Xiaomi and its freshly launched flagship XRING mobile chip family; the first iteration is a compelling first-party effort. Unlike many Chinese tech firms, the popular smartphone specialist can access pretty advanced TSMC node processes. Xiaomi's CEO—Lei Jun—announced his team's 3 nm design during pre-launch preview events.

Days later, closer analysis indicated a selection of TSMC's "N3E" node process. Digital Chat Station—a noted smartphone industry expert—summarized an uncertain future: "under this ban (of EDA tools), XRING chips will not be breaking through a 2 nm barrier, and can only revolve around the (current 'N3E') 3 nm node for a long time. XRING O1 will also be the only time in recent years that it can be on par with current-gen (proprietary) Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek mobile chipsets." Crucially, EDA software plays an important role in creating Gate All Around Field Effect Transistor (GAAFET) structures. TSMC's upcoming 2 nm node process is a GAA product. Tom's Hardware believes that several big Chinese tech players, including Huawei, are in the process of developing in-house EDA tools. Not long after unveiling their XRING flagship, Xiaomi outlined an extended Qualcomm chip deal.

AX Gaming—an offshoot of the better known Inno3D parent company—has introduced a brand-new X3W MAX product range. Due to recently updated trade restrictions, this Chinese NVIDIA board partner (and others) can no longer source top-flight "Blackwell" GPUs. Until the emergence of a nerfed GeForce RTX 5090D design, AX Gaming's latest lineup hits a ceiling with the GeForce RTX 5080 X3W MAX 16 GB SKU. Currently, TPU's GPU database lists an almost all-white non-MAX model—sporting an identical shroud design, and a similar-ish backplate. The MAX's unique selling point (USP) is a hidden power connection system, coupled with an unusual L-shaped custom power cord. Earlier today, Gigabyte introduced a flagship Stealth ICE model that seemingly takes a couple of cues from Sapphire's latest Nitro+ setup. AX Gaming has readied less potent GeForce RTX 5070 Ti X3W Max 16 GB and GeForce RTX 5070 X3W Max 12 GB options. It is possible that dual-fan (X2W) MAX relatives could appear at a later date; housing Team Green's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 GPUs.

Around mid-April, an unusual custom GeForce RTX 5090D design received international news coverage. Under normal circumstances, NVIDIA's board partners have not equipped modern gaming graphics cards with blower-style cooling solutions—typically, this type of treatment is reserved for workstation-grade products (operating at lower TDPs). Team Green's GB202 "Blackwell" GPU is in high demand, due to its AI-crunching prowess—even in slightly nerfed form. Smaller Chinese AI firms and well-heeled hobbyists seemed to be snapping up sanction-adjusted flagship gaming GPUs that are/were coupled with very unofficial blower-type coolers. A month and a half later, Olrak29 has placed a spotlight on a curious batch of bootleg-esque "RTX 5090 32G D7 Turbo" models. As implied by this identifier, these offerings seem to leverage the unpasteurized GeForce RTX 5090 (non-D) GPU.

Photo evidence was scraped from Goofish; a second-hand trading platform owned and operated by Alibaba. As of last month, industry whispers suggested another downgrade of the Chinese market-exclusive GeForce RTX 5090D design—following the complete cutoff of GB202 die shipments into the region. Given current global tensions and export restrictions, NVIDIA and Leadtek's Blackwell PRO W card series faces an uncertain future in China. The Goofish photo uploads indicate an impressive volume of unbranded "RTX 5090 32G D7 Turbo" stock. Stacks of boxes in the background are labelled with "NVIDIA RTX 4090 24G AIB BLOWER" or "NVIDIA RTX 4070 12G AIB BLOWER" stickers—perhaps as diversion tactics. According to VideoCardz and Tom's Hardware, Team Green is not expected to play detective—the North American corporation will probably not provide in-depth comments about elaborate "GPU smuggling" channels.

As many will recall, Zotac's GeForce RTX 5090 Solid graphics card series has had a storied career since launching earlier this year. One example served as the progenitor of "ROPGate"—as rooted out by original TechPowerUp investigations. Despite a ban of non-D variants in the region, Zotac GeForce RTX 5090 Solid OC retail units were reportedly available to purchase—via online auctions—in China. Late last week, a disgruntled Alameda County-based customer highlighted their purchase of a very disappointing package.

Taking to the official Micro Center subreddit, member "JamesFerg650" outlined a so-called "backpack scam," and directed frustrations at the long-running computer retail store. A more measured update was shared online later on: "yesterday after work I went to the new Micro Center in Santa Clara for the soft opening. Almost four hours after clock out time, I was home with my brand new Zotac 5090. I was so happy leaving Micro Center, I went out the door without a second thought and drove home smiling and singing along to my (favorite) music. All that build up became the biggest letdown when I opened my box to find three cross-body backpacks inside rather than my 5090."

GALAX's modular "Boomstar" series of GeForce RTX 50-series cards are not well known in the West, but a little bit of global coverage trickled out last month. The Chinese manufacturer often releases regional exclusives, and its latest LUNA (white) and NOX (black) options are prime examples. Lucky owners can attach/detach Boomstar shrouds and cooling fans via a convenient and fully magnetic system. According to their latest teaser/promo material, GALAX seems to be preparing another modular part. A snazzy mirror finish backplate design has turned up online—as pointed out by VideoCardz. So far, published renders show only white examples sporting reflective back surfaces. Current LUNA and NOX SKUs cover GeForce RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070 GPU tiers. Unfortunately, NVIDIA's slightly nerfed flagship "Blackwell" chip is no longer available in China—another GeForce RTX 5090D downgrade is pending. Up until recently, GALAX was promoting an impressive Hall of Fame record-breaking lineup. Looking at the other end of Team Green's "Blackwell" gaming GPU spectrum, a GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Boomstar model seems to be in the pipeline.

Earlier in the week, Yeston revealed a sci-fi/cyberpunk character-themed Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Game Ace SKU. Eager followers of the Chinese brand were wondering whether additional custom designs—based on AMD's Navi 44 XT GPU—were in the pipeline, possibly ready in time for an official June 5 launch. In Yeston's case, they expect to start shipping on June 7—exclusively for the Chinese market. Fortunately, several dual-fan "GAEA" and triple-fan "Game Ace White" models have turned up on Yeston's JD.com storefront. VideoCardz has pored over the fundamentals, and quickly realized that there are key differences—in terms of GPU clock speeds—when cross-referencing entry-level/barebones GAEA 16 GB and 8 GB card specifications.

The latter variant seems to exist as Yeston's absolute baseline MSRP option; its pre-order tag is 2499 RMB, including VAT. Curiously, pre-launch info seems to show the 16 GB sibling (2899 RMB, inc. VAT) possessing elevated boost and game clocks: 3230 MHz and 2620 GHz (respectively). The lesser model makes do with Team Red's reference figures: 3130 MHz and 2530 MHz (respectively). VideoCardz believes that this is an isolated case; they have not stumbled upon similar spec disparities between product family members—be it with other AIBs or within Yeston's stable. It could be safe to assume that Yeston's product pages contain inaccurate or placeholder numbers.

Three weeks ago, Kurnal and Geekerwan dived deep into Nintendo's alleged Switch 2 chipset. The very brave Chinese leakers are notorious for their acquiring of pre-release and early silicon samples. Last week, their collective attention turned to a brand-new Xiaomi mobile chip: the XRING 01. After months of insider murmurs and official teasers, the smartphone giant recently unveiled its proprietary flagship SoC. According to industry moles, Xiaomi has invested a lot of manpower into a special chip design entity—leadership likely wants to avoid a repeat of prior first-party developed disappointments. Despite rumors of disappointing prototype performance figures, mid-May Geekbench results pointed to the emergent XRING 01 mobile chip being up there with Qualcomm's dominant Snapdragon 8 Elite platform. Die shot analysis has confirmed Xiaomi's selection of a TSMC 3 nm "N3E" node process; also utilized by the latest Apple, Qualcomm and MediaTek flagships. Overall die size is 114.48 mm² (10.8 x 10.6 mm), with 109.5 mm² of used area; comparable to Apple's A18 Pro SoC footprint (refer to Geekerwan's comparison shot, below).

Unlike nearby rivals, the XRING 01 seems to not sport an integrated 5G modem. Notebookcheck surmised: "it is rumored to use an external radio from MediaTek. It isn't located on the actual die itself, and likely a contributing factor to why its size is so small." Annotations indicate the presence of off-the-shelf/licensed Arm CPU cores (ten in total): two Cortex-X925 units, four Cortex-A725 units, two Cortex-A725 units, and two Cortex-A520 units. Additionally, an Arm Immortalis-G925 MP16 iGPU was identified. A 6-core NPU—with 16 MB of cache—was highlighted, but it is not clear whether this is a proprietary effort or something bought in. Observers have noted the absence of SLC cache. GSMArena posited: "the Geekerwan team speculates that (Xiaomi's) omission of the SLC has hurt GPU efficiency—it's pretty fast, but it uses more power than the Dimensity GPU at peak performance. The more efficient CPU combined with the fact that the GPU rarely runs at full tilt makes for pretty good overall efficiency in real-life gaming tests." The XRING department's debut product is impressive, but industry watchdogs are looking forward to refined variants or full-fledged successors.

According to the latest rumor mill, AMD is preparing Radeon AI PRO R9700, a new GPU designed specifically for the Chinese market. The new Radeon AI PRO R9700 GPU will feature deliberately handicapped performance parameters that comply with the most recent US export regulations while still supporting the local industry's needs for tasks such as on-device inference and model fine-tuning. To adhere to Washington's restrictions, AMD has reduced the chip's compute throughput to remain below the critical threshold for controlled exports, yet it retains 32 GB of high-bandwidth frame buffer memory and full PCIe Gen 5 connectivity. These specifications are intended to ensure efficient data transfer, and when multiple R9700 cards are deployed together, they can deliver substantial processing capability despite the lower power per card.

This China-specific strategy follows a challenging period for AMD in that region, including an $800 million charge related to its MI308 accelerator after it was blocked under earlier rules. NVIDIA has also suffered, losing an estimated $5.5 billion in revenue when its H20 series was barred, and seeing its Chinese market share drop from roughly 90 percent in 2021 to about 50 percent today. These developments have created an opening for AMD to compete on both price and supply reliability. AMD's approach mirrors NVIDIA's release of a restricted-performance version of its Blackwell-architecture B20 GPU for China. Priced more competitively than previous China-compliant offerings, the Radeon AI PRO R9700 will arrive in the third quarter of 2025 alongside NVIDIA's B20. AMD intends to present its full AI silicon roadmap at the Advancing AI Summit on June 12, positioning the R9700 as a targeted solution for enterprises and research institutions rather than for hyperscale cloud environments.

Lisuan Technology announced this week on its official WeChat channel that it has successfully powered on its prototype G100 graphics card. The company describes the G100 as China's first domestically designed 6 nm GPU, marking a significant milestone in its effort to challenge established industry players. With the first silicon now operational, Lisuan is moving into driver development, software validation, and broader system integration testing. Although Lisuan has provided few formal specifications, rumors indicate that SMIC is fabbing the G100 die, currently the only Chinese foundry capable of producing a 6 nm node under US export restrictions. Rumors describe the performance as being on par with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4060 in mid-range gaming tests, alongside generous onboard memory, efficient power consumption, and support for DirectX 12, Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6. If accurate, these features could position the G100 for both gaming and general-purpose GPU workloads.

Founded in late 2021 by a team of former Silicon Valley engineers with more than 25 years of collective chip-design experience, Lisuan Technology is among the youngest entrants in China's graphics-chip sector. It follows Biren Technology (established in 2019) and Moore Threads (established in 2020) in their pursuit of a homegrown alternative to foreign GPU offerings. Beijing's push for semiconductor self-sufficiency has encouraged such ventures, and Lisuan insists its TrueGPU architecture is fully developed in-house rather than licensed from outside sources. The G100 was initially slated for a 2023 launch but encountered financial headwinds that nearly forced Lisuan into bankruptcy in 2024. A $27.7 million capital injection from the parent company, Dongxin Semiconductor, kept development on track through tape-out and early risk-production trials. Lisuan now plans to ship small volumes of G100 cards in the third quarter of 2025, with mass availability more likely in 2026.

Introducing the GameSir Nova 2 Lite wireless game controller—compatible with Switch, PC, Android, iOS and Steam via Bluetooth, wired, and wireless dongle connections. Co-designed with the fighting game champion and our brand ambassador, XiaoHai, the Nova 2 Lite delivers champion-grade quality—truly Champions for You. Whether you're exploring new ways to game or aiming to level up, the Nova 2 Lite offers a fresh take on competitive control—perfect for beginners and beyond. Now available for pre-order on gamesir.com.

Precise Execution. Instant Response.
GameSir Nova 2 Lite features ultra-low latency buttons and sticks, delivering pro-level input performance. Combined with a 1000 Hz polling rate, your commands are registered almost instantly, minimizing lag and giving you a competitive edge. What's more, it's equipped with a mechanical circular D-pad, expertly tuned by XiaoHai. Designed for quick reactions and accuracy in every direction, this D-pad elevates your gaming experience with superior responsiveness.

From the first moment you step into the brutal lands of Shu, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers makes one thing clear: survival isn't gifted, it's earned. Throughout your journey, you'll need to master an arsenal of weapons, spells, and abilities to overcome the harrowing challenges of this Soulslike action-RPG set in the waning years of the Ming dynasty. With the July 24 launch fast approaching, we're giving PlayStation players a closer look at some of the game's most defining tools of survival, power, and identity. We'll highlight just a few of the devastating weapons, arcane spells, and unique abilities you'll wield as you carve your legacy through ruin and revelation. These tools don't just shape your playstyle, they shape the legend of Wuchang herself.

A diverse arsenal of blades and brutality
Each weapon in Wuchang is tied to a piece of the game's world building, from sacred relics to myth-imbued prototypes. Every blade tells a story, and every strike leaves a mark. The Dragoncoil Lance, a Deluxe Edition spear, is a striking silver-white weapon featuring a traditional design. A coiled dragon motif wraps around the junction of the shaft and spearhead, symbolizing the wielder's courage and valor. Weapons in Wuchang each have their own unique skills, and with the Vortex Thrust skill for the Dragoncoil Lance, you can unleash shockwaves with devastating force, making it ideal for punishing multiple enemies at once.

Yesterday, members of the Bobantang discussion board disclosed intriguing insider knowledge. According to recent industry murmurs, AMD has informed motherboard manufacturing partners about the discontinuation of B650 chipset production. Chinese media outlets have jumped on this alleged revelation, with Western counterparts quickly joining in on the fun (hours later). ITHome and Unika's Hardware were the first channels to parse info from the Bobantang forum. Since a 2022 launch, Team Red's mid-range B650 board design has remained a firm favorite for many budget-conscious owners of Ryzen 7000 (plus 8000G and 9000) series desktop processors. A "direct" successor—B850—reached retail at the start of this year, but higher price points combined with relatively minor feature set advantages have discouraged a lot of buyers. The likes of ASUS, ASRock, Colorful and Sapphire have released (or previewed) new B650 chipset-based mainboard products in 2025—mostly in microATX form factors.

A Bobantang member has prophesized two major trends—the first being: "after AMD's B650 chip production line is shut down, its inventory is expected to be large. According to Team Red, the B650M series inventory sales plan will probably end in the third quarter (of 2025)." A second claim was outlined: "it is expected that the digestion time of the tail end stock of AMD's B650 series motherboard will be longer, at least there will be inventory to sell in the second quarter (of this year), but the inventory of B650M chips will become more and more scarce as time goes by." PC hardware watchdogs propose a fall in B850 pricing; likely expertly timed to occur shortly after the complete depletion of predecessor stock—by the fourth quarter of this year.

Last Thursday, Xiaomi revealed its proprietary XRING O1 3 nm mobile chipset. After months of rumors, the Chinese firm's highly anticipated first-party chip design was introduced during their special "A New Beginning" event—held in Beijing. During this multipronged product launch celebration, company leadership disclosed the underpinnings of their first-ever flagship processor. According to official descriptions, Xiaomi's pivotal XRING O1 SoC is built on: "a cutting-edge second-gen 3 nm process with 19 billion transistors, features a 10-core CPU and 16-core Immortalis-G925 GPU, delivering flagship performance with industry-leading power efficiency. It also integrates Xiaomi's fourth-gen ISP and a 6-core NPU offering 44 TOPS for advanced AI processing." Days prior to important ceremonies in China, a joint statement—issued by Qualcomm—detailed an extended Snapdragon chipset supply agreement. The XRING O1 processor line will drive forthcoming Xiaomi 15S Pro smartphones and Pad 7 Ultra tablets; reserved for initial "domestic market" launches. Qualcomm's current flagship offerings are technically superior to Xiaomi's fresh effort, but an ever-shifting political landscape could affect future shipments.

Lu Weibing—a company president and partner—has outlined a vision for XRING's eventual expansion beyond a flagship/high-end product tier. Last week's intro firmly positioned the 3 nm part as premium option that will power suitably expensive Android-based mobile devices. Weibing acknowledged that his team has jumped into the deep end: "(for) this platform capability, it is most difficult to work on smartphone flagship SoC, it has high power consumption demand and its technology is extremely complicated. If you can, then you should have the ability to work on flagship smartphone SoC. (Once you) move to work on other chips, it won't be that difficult." Industry moles posit that Xiaomi's XRING division is already a formidable force, in terms of staff headcounts and experience. The department could be absorbing some inspiration from Apple; namely their custom C1 modem chip. The firm's president painted a picture of things to come: "so we want to focus on the flagship SoC, and then we want to make a capable modem for the future. We have to work on 4G and 5G parts—together with 3G—leading to a complete matrix. So that is what we need to do at this stage." Early leaks have indicated the existence of a binned version of the XRING O1 SoC; present within early Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra tablet samples. In theory, these compromised chips could be deployed in unannounced cheaper products.

Roughly a month ago, Yeston introduced its new generation Game Ace design along with a mysterious no. 207 mascot. The Chinese manufacturer is best known for creating bright and sparkly graphics cards, but a couple of darker products have emerged from their HQ. Their latest offering—finished in varying tones of pink, purple and black—was debuted with GeForce RTX 50-series hardware. At the start of this week, the 2025 Game Ace lineup welcomed a new member. Yeston's social media accounts introduced a custom Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB model: "the black and purple cyberpunk RX 9060 XT Game Ace launched today. Would he be your choice?" In a reply to a follower's question, a company rep confirmed that the better known Sakura and Sakura Atlantis backplate/shroud designs are currently reserved for higher-end Radeon RX 9070 XT and non-XT options (within the RDNA 4 family). Game Ace will probably not escape the confines of Navi 44 (XT) hardware.

Unsurprisingly, the Yeston Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Game Ace SKU exhibits only minor visual differences, when compared to its "Blackwell" GPU-based relatives. We are looking at a fairly typical triple-fan + three 6 mm heat pipes cooling solution. A single 8-pin power connector is visible in some of Yeston's promotional renders. According to ITHome's inspection of specifications: "the boost frequency and game frequency under standard mode (STD) are 3230 MHz and 2620 MHz respectively, and the VAR mode further overclocks to 3230 MHz and 2780 MHz." Despite claiming that their freshly unveiled Game Ace model has reached launch status, the AIB likely has to conform with official AMD decree. Team Red's board partners will be releasing Radeon RX 9060 XT cards on June 5.

Prior to AMD's official unveiling of the Radeon RX 9060 XT series, Sapphire's Computex booth teased a forthcoming lineup of custom graphics card options. Hours later, the TechPowerUp crew inspected freshly wall-mounted specimens. To the surprise of many, the Hong Kong-based manufacturer is readying a premium Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB NITRO+ SKU for launch time (on June 5). The usual suspects—in PULSE and PURE guises—were also exhibited within the walls of the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre. Not long after the closing of ceremonies, Sapphire China's JD.com store has opened up pre-orders for six launch day products.

Yesterday, a VideoCardz investigative piece delved into pre-release price points (including VAT). Keen potential customers can secure finalized retail units via a deposit system; demanding a 50 RMB (~$7 USD) upfront fee. Unsurprisingly, the largest tag is affixed to Sapphire's triple-fan 16 GB NITRO+ model—3299 RMB (~$458 USD). This top-tier option sits 800 RMB above Team Red's suggested guideline. The AIB's barebones dual-fan Radeon RX 9060 XT PULSE 8 GB package adheres to official MSRP: 2499 RMB (~$347 USD). Their PULSE 16 GB model sits almost in the middle of the lineup—in terms of pricing—at 2899 RMB (~$402 USD). VideoCardz believes that another PULSE color/finish variant will emerge, at some point post-launch—bringing the total number of items up to seven distinct products.

The rising profile of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has supposedly attracted international scrutiny as-of-late. Despite dealing in commercial memory product lines—currently DDR5, DDR4, LPDDR5 and LPDDR4X—the Chinese manufacturer could be stepping up its game in the near future. According to a fresh DigiTimes Asia news report, the nation's "top DRAM supplier" could be freeing up production capacity—in favor of enterprise-grade third-gen High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM3). Industry moles believe that a major sacrifice will be made; namely CXMT's DDR4 line. Despite an alleged early 2025 ramping up of related activities, the firm's factories could refocus on new endeavors by mid-2026. Additionally, insiders reckon that company leadership is shifting commercial priorities: "by year-end 2025, DDR5 is expected to make up more than 60% of CXMT's output, alongside LPDDR4/5."

The move into more advanced memory technologies is reportedly the result of government instruction. DigiTimes outlined a new strategy: "as CXMT scales up, it's also shifting rapidly to DDR5. The company only began mass-producing DDR4 in late 2024, yet it's already expected to issue an end-of-life (EOL) notice by the third quarter of 2025. The speed of this pivot and retooling has surprised many across the industry. Industry sources say the sudden shift is policy-driven, as Beijing pushes key chipmakers to accelerate alignment with national goals, especially around AI and cloud infrastructure." Murmurs of CXMT's forthcoming exit from DDR4 production have spread across local chip making businesses; causing a sudden doubling of Nanya-branded 8 Gb DDR4 chip prices in China. The manufacturer's early journey into DDR5 territories looked promising on paper—around January 2025—but the latest DigiTimes report disclosed inside track info regarding troubled quality and yield issues. In particular, initial samples have reportedly exhibited unstable performance when crossing a 60°C (140°F) threshold.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Xiaomi Corporation are celebrating 15 years of collaboration and have executed a multi-year agreement. The relationship between Qualcomm Technologies and Xiaomi has been pivotal in driving innovation across the technology industry and the companies are committed to delivering industry-leading products and solutions across various device categories globally.

"Qualcomm Technologies has always been one of Xiaomi's most trusted and vital partners, supporting our journey from a startup to a global technology leader. We look forward to continuing the next 15 years of our collaboration and leveraging Qualcomm's cutting-edge Snapdragon platforms and technologies to deliver even more innovative and high-quality products to our customers worldwide," said Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi.

Yesterday, Lei Jun—the CEO of Xiaomi—finally introduced his firm's proprietary XRING 01 mobile chipset, via a couple of Weibo posts. In an initial afternoon short blog entry, the executive informed his followers with a happy unveiling: "I would like to share with you a piece of news: Xiaomi's self-developed and designed mobile phone SoC chip, named XRING 01, will be released in late May. Thank you for your support!" About a month ago, the company's oft-rumored return to in-house chip efforts was linked to a major corporate offshoot. The speculated "chip platform department" was likely established a while ago, given early May reports of the division's staff headcount exceeding 1000+. At the time, an "Xring" codename was mentioned by industry tipsters (in China).

In a follow-up "Weibo Text" bulletin, Xiaomi's head honcho recalled older project timelines and technological attempts: "even drinking ice for ten years can't cool your blood! Xiaomi's journey to making chips began in September 2014. Time flies, and more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye...Figures 2 and 3 are photos of Xiaomi's first chip launch conference in February 2017." Jun's did not provide any hints about the XRING 01 chip's underpinnings. Late 2024 leaks alluded to a reportedly troubled prototype—insiders connected this design to fairly new Arm Cortex architecture, and a TSMC 4 nm "N4P" node process. The vast majority of Xiaomi's modern flagship smartphone devices utilize top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. For example, the brand's latest Xiaomi Ultra 15 model is powered by the ubiquitous Snapdragon 8 Elite (Gen 4) platform.

According to a Financial Times (FT) news article, the US Government's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is considering an implementation of additional "export blacklist" entries. Roughly two months ago, a significant update affected the export trade of around eighty Chinese business "entities." Despite a recent "cooling off" of elevated tariff-related activities, significant political tensions still exist between the two powerhouse nations. According to five of FT's unnamed insiders, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT)—a rising star within China's growing memory manufacturing industry—is a potential candidate for "banishment." Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. are (allegedly) already categorized as blacklisted organizations.

Apparently, the nation's most prominent chipmaker and memory module producer (respectively) have managed to sidestep certain restrictions, via offshoot avenues. FT believes that the US administration is actively investigating several of these subsidiaries. CXMT seems to be an independent body, with no military connections—specializing in commercial DDR5 and DDR4 products—but its rising profile has attracted international attention. Around March 2024, Bloomberg heard rumors about the US BIS department's "weighing up" of sanctions, with CXMT in mind. The relatively young DRAM manufacturer (established back in 2016) still trails behind South Korean and Western competitors, in terms of technological advancements—but its initial DDR5 efforts have (supposedly) impressed local evaluators and early adopters.

Late last week, Intel's social media account dropped a major hint about a new family of Arc Pro GPUs turning up at Computex 2025. At the time, insiders shared very basic details about a rumored "B60" workstation graphics card—likely derived from familiar Xe2 "Battlemage" silicon. Team Blue staffers have recently teased a mysterious "B770" gaming solution, but this "higher -end" desktop option could emerge well after next week's important trade show (in Taipei, Taiwan). Intel and its board partners seem to be readying productivity-focused cards; theoretically spun-off from the existing B580 12 GB model.

April/May leaks have indicated pairings of Team Blue's "BMG-G21" GPU die and 24 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. On Monday, industry observers noted the very fresh registration of Maxsun Arc B580 "iCraft 24G" and "iCraft 24G OC" SKUs. Days later, VideoCardz has stumbled upon evidence of an "Arc Pro B60" product category. At the time of writing, this entry remains empty—within the manufacturer's "Intel" card inventory. Active "Arc B580" and "Arc B570" categories direct you to already launched (12 GB) iCraft and Milestone models. According to slightly older reports, Maxsun is expected to introduce/launch "gaming" Arc B580 24 GB variants at some point after Computex 2025. The immediate focus—for Intel and participating AIBs—seems to be an imminent unveiling of "Arc Pro B-series" cards.

Around late April, Chinese industry insiders started whispering about a possible halting of NVIDIA GB202 "Blackwell" GPU shipments into the region. Team Green's local board partners released custom "market exclusive" GeForce RTX 5090D 32 GB cards; featuring slightly downgraded flagship silicon. Since launch, Chinese hardcore gaming enthusiasts and DIY AI firms have observed impressive performance credentials, despite the presence of factory limited specifications. On May 6, reports suggested a complete halt of GeForce RTX 5090D sales in China. Fresher rumors indicate NVIDIA's engineering team return to the drawing board; with their alleged preparation of an even weaker GeForce RTX 5090D design.

A group of Baidu tipsters have discussed a key area of (further) compromise: VRAM capacity. The original GeForce RTX 5090D configuration was armed with 32 GB of GDDR7 VRAM; mid-May speculation envisioned a 24 GB variant. Earlier today, harukaze5719 highlighted an intriguing Weibo post. A Manli webshop representative has "confirmed" that revised GeForce RTX 5090D cards will become available around July. Up until recent events, this Chinese brand was selling flagship GPU-based Gallardo (black) and Stellar (white) models. A web chat session was captured and shared on Weibo—in addition, the sales agent disclosed their belief that (NVIDIA's) supply of GeForce RTX 5090D GPUs has been "insufficient since launch" time. On a semi-positive note, customers will not be greeted by price hikes. Manli anticipates "unchanged" price tags; albeit associated with lesser specifications.

A month ago, Sony increased its PlayStation 5 home console prices for EMEA and ANZ regions—affecting customers in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. At the time, industry experts surmised that company leadership was considering a similar strategy for a primary market: North America. Instead of freshly implemented 25% upward hikes for certain products/packages, reports suggested a 30% climb—for the North American market. Weeks later, company leadership has discussed this hot topic. During yesterday's (projected) earnings call with investors, top brass confirmed their consideration of "passing along" additional costs to consumers—in response to a reported/anticipated 100 billion yen (~$680 million) impact from US tariffs. They outlined a stockpile of PS5 consoles; enough units have been accumulated for roughly three months of supply—unaffected by adjusted conditions, in the States.

Despite this provision, Hiroki Totoki—Sony's president/CEO—is open to exploring alternative production avenues, in the face of looming extra charges. When asked about this matter, he replied with: "hardware can of course be produced locally, I think that would be an efficient strategy. PS5 is being manufactured in many areas, whether it is going to be manufactured in the US or not—it needs to be considered going forward." In efforts to navigate a trying situation, Nintendo has juggled its geographic manufacturing footprint—recent-ish developments have shifted away from a complete reliance on Chinese facilities. Industry insiders reckon that the bulk of US-bound Switch 2 units will be Vietnamese-made. Like Sony, Nintendo's executive team has publicly disclosed thoughts about future price hikes—maybe following the launch of its much-anticipated "next-gen" hybrid console. Earlier this month, Microsoft upped modern Xbox portfolio price tags—affecting customers across the world.