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South Korea's SK Hynix weighs Japan chip plant, multi-trillion won investment: report. This could be the first large-scale semiconductor manufacturing investment in the Asian country by a South Korean chipmaker Published Fri, Aug 21, 2026 · 09:27 AM * This comes as SK Hynix looks to expand production capacity amid growing global demand for memory chips. PHOTO: REUTERS [SEOUL] South Korea's SK Hynix is considering building a memory chip plant in Japan's Miyagi prefecture and could invest tens of trillions of won in the project, the Hankyoreh newspaper reported on Friday (Aug 21), citing industry sources. The newspaper said SK Hynix is pursuing the investment in northeastern Japan as it looks to expand production capacity amid growing global demand for memory chips. It said SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently visited the area, which is one of Japan's designated semiconductor industry hubs. If the plan goes ahead, it would mark the first large-scale semiconductor manufacturing investment in Japan by a South Korean chipmaker, according to the report. SK Hynix did not immediately comment on the report. REUTERS Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services

Samsung NAND storage revenue jumps 71% to $23 billion as AI demand grows. 3 hours ago August 19, 2026 Research agency TrendForce published a new report on Q2 2026's NAND flash market. The sector is witnessing a tremendous boom amid AI demand, with Samsung retaining leadership, reporting a 71% QoQ revenue jump to $23 billion. According to TrendForce's latest report, Samsung Elec's NAND Flash revenue jumped 70.7% quarter-on-quarter to reach nearly $23.06 billion in Q2 2026, riding a wave of surging enterprise SSD demand tied to AI server buildouts. The broader NAND Flash market saw a genuine supply crunch in Q2, largely because AI server demand held steady even as smartphones and PCs stayed relatively soft. Despite the strong growth, Samsung's market share actually slipped slightly to 29.3%. SK hynix Group, boosted by its 321-layer process ramp and Solidigm's enterprise SSD orders, posted a massive 89.5% jump to over $14.27 billion. Micron did even better, with revenue up 99.2% to $11.85 billion, the fastest growth of any top five brand. Kioxia and SanDisk also posted solid gains. TrendForce expects smartphone and PC demand to stay weak in Q3 due to rising BOM costs, but AI server demand should keep NAND prices elevated since most suppliers are prioritizing DRAM and HBM. Discover more smartphone Mobile & Wireless Galaxy Z Fold Min-jun Kim is a Seoul-based writer who closely tracks the semiconductor industry, memory chips, foundry trends, and Korea's role in the global supply chain. He blends on-the-ground observations from Pangyo Techno Valley and Samsung/Hynix ecosystem with straightforward analysis for tech enthusiasts and professionals. When not writing, he's reading industry reports, visiting tech events, or debating the latest US-China-Korea chip developments over coffee in Gangnam. Discover more Android security updates Samsung news updates You may like. Samsung gives clear timeline on Galaxy S26 Ultra reddish tint patch release. 4 hours ago August 19, 2026 Samsung has finally put a date range on the reddish tint software patch for Galaxy S26 Ultra. A moderator responded directly to a user complaint about the reddish tint issue, confirming that a fix is in the pipeline and offering the clearest timeline yet. Discover more Android OS tips Smartphone comparison tool Samsung display technology According to the response, the reddish tint problem stems from a slight misalignment in the Galaxy S26 Ultra OLED display's software calibration values. That lines up with what Samsung had already told owners earlier, when it pointed to color calibration that had not been fully optimized for the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display technology as the root cause rather than any hardware fault. The moderator noted that the binary carrying the fix is currently with Samsung's verification team, and that the FOTA rollout is planned for August. More specifically, the update is expected to land in a build released after the internal version dated August 20. Galaxy S26 Ultra red tint display problem. Owners started noticing a reddish, rectangular patch sitting right in the center of their displays months ago, with the pattern showing up consistently enough that people worried about early burn-in on a phone barely out of the box. Samsung eventually clarified that the discoloration was tied to its Privacy Display feature and the panel's behavior under intense brightness for extended periods. Since then, Samsung has offered free calibration at service centers regardless of warranty status, while repeatedly promising an over-the-air fix without committing to a firm date. Until the FOTA update actually ships, a service center visit remains the only guaranteed way to get the calibration corrected right now. With Samsung now pointing to builds after August 20 internally, the wait for a remote fix finally looks like it's entering its final stretch. Samsung records growth despite Europe's smartphone market decline in Q2 2026. 16 hours ago August 19, 2026 Samsung managed to perform relatively well in Europe during the second quarter of 2026. The overall smartphone market fell by 10% compared with last year. However, Samsung saw a small increase in its shipments. The European market shipped about 35 million smartphones in Q2 2026. Higher phone prices and fewer discounts made people less willing to buy new phones. Economic problems and rising inflation also reduced consumer spending. Samsung benefited from the growing demand for premium smartphones. Many customers still wanted high-end phones even when they were trying to control their spending. This helped Samsung perform better than many other brands. Western Europe was mainly important for Samsung during the quarter. The region performed better than expected, with Samsung showing small growth. Apple also had a very strong quarter, helping the premium smartphone market. The situation was different in Eastern Europe. Customers there rely more on affordable smartphones, so higher prices had a bigger impact. Many Chinese smartphone brands also struggled as demand for cheaper phones became weaker. Samsung's strong position in both premium and mid-range smartphones can help it in the current market. Its wide range of devices allows it to target different types of customers. However, the company may still face pressure if the market continues to shrink. Counterpoint Research expects Europe's smartphone market to decline further in the coming quarters. Lower-end smartphone companies are likely to face the biggest problems. Samsung and Apple are expected to remain stronger than many other brands. Samsung's Q2 2026 performance was positive compared with the wider market. While Europe's smartphone shipments dropped sharply, Samsung managed to record small growth. Samsung raises 4nm and 5nm chipmaking prices as AI demand grows. 21 hours ago August 19, 2026 Samsung has quietly raised prices for some of its advanced chipmaking services, such as 4nm and 5nm, by as much as 15 percent for new orders, according to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter. Notably, Samsung's foundry business is finally catching a break, and it's coming straight from the AI boom. The move reflects how tight AI chip demand has become, and Samsung is now in a position to charge more for its capacity. Chinese and US customers see the biggest hikes. Interestingly, Chinese customers are absorbing the steepest increases. Prices for SF4 (4nm) orders from China and the US have gone up 10 to 15 percent month over month, while Taiwan-based customers (TSMC's home turf) are seeing smaller bumps of 5 to 10 percent. US export restrictions on chipmaking equipment have pushed Chinese firms to lean more heavily on foundries like Samsung, giving Samsung more pricing power in that market. The 5nm SF5 process has also seen prices climb 10 to 15 percent, while the older 8nm node is up nearly 10 percent. Samsung's foundry division has reportedly been losing money since 2022, struggling to close the gap with TSMC. But with TSMC's leading-edge capacity fully booked, customers are increasingly turning to Samsung and Intel instead. Google is also said to be in talks with Samsung for SF4 production, joining names like Qualcomm, Tesla, Apple, and Broadcom already on board. If pricing trends hold, analysts believe Samsung's foundry unit could turn profitable as early as next year. Samsung Galaxy S25 sees price hike of up to Rs 12,000 ($125) in India. 22 hours ago August 19, 2026 The title may have already blown your mind, but the news is Samsung Galaxy S25 flagship has seen a price hike in India, ranging from INR 4,000 to INR 12,000. Galaxy S26 series has already landed with a price hike over the Galaxy S25 series, and Samsung isn't keeping last year's flagship model more affordable than the latest. A retailer document shared by AbhishekYadav confirms that Samsung has revised the prices of the Galaxy S25 in India. The standard model is getting pricier in the market, with the bump going up to INR 12,000. Here is the breakdown of the revised List Prices (Inclusive of GST): * Galaxy S25 (12GB / 256GB): The price has been increased from INR 80,999 to INR 84,999, making it dearer by INR 4,000. * Galaxy S25 (12GB / 512GB): The premium storage tier takes the biggest hit, jumping from ₹92,999 to a whopping INR 104,999, which is a staggering increase of INR 12,000. The internal "Product Price Revision" document doesn't cite a specific reason for this aggressive pricing update. However, it's largely due to the memory crunch, which has made crucial components aggressively expensive. In comparison, the Galaxy S26 starts at INR 87,999, while the 512GB model costs INR 1,07,999. At present, Samsung is offering INR 8,000 off both storage variants for an unspecified period. Are you still planning to buy the Galaxy S25 5G at its new price, or are you looking at other alternatives?

South Korean chip stocks led an Asian semiconductor selloff on Wednesday as rising bond yields intensified concerns over Big Tech spending. The Kospi index plunged as much as 6.8%, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each falling over 7%. A Bloomberg gauge of Asian semiconductor stocks declined more than 2%. Japanese chipmakers also suffered, with Kioxia Holdings dropping up to 11%, while Tokyo Electron and Advantest also fell. The losses followed declines in US semiconductor and AI-related shares as inflation worries and rising government debt kept bond yields elevated. "Higher rates and geopolitical risk are making investors less willing to pay a premium for that growth," said Jung In Yun, chief executive officer at Fibonacci Asset Management Global.