Iran Resumes Natural Gas Supply to Iraq at 5 Million Cubic Meters Daily

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released data showing that from July 1 to 31, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China totaled 970,000 units, down 2% YoY and down 4% MoM, with year-to-date cumulative retail sales reaching 5.675 million units, down 12% YoY; from July 1 to 31, wholesale of new energy passenger vehicles by producers reached 1.463 million units, up 24% YoY but down 1% MoM, with year-to-date cumulative wholesale reaching 8.251 million units, up 8% YoY. From July 1 to 31, the retail penetration rate of the national new energy market was 64.4%; the wholesale penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles by producers was 65.3%.

Samsung unveiled the V10 Bonding V-NAND (BV-NAND) prototype and the industry’s first conceptual models of zHBM and zNAND-O architectures at the Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) conference held in Santa Clara, California, US. The BV-NAND chip features over 400 layers and adopts a novel wafer bonding architecture to enhance memory density and performance. Compared with the previous-generation V9 NAND, it delivers approximately 58% higher memory density, along with significant improvements in read, write, and I/O performance, meeting the demands of AI systems for higher-capacity, more energy-efficient memory solutions. For the zHBM and zNAND-O architectures, Samsung achieves greater data capacity in a smaller footprint by vertically stacking memory cells. Unlike conventional HBM, which is packaged side-by-side with AI processors, zHBM stacks memory vertically on top of the AI accelerator, thereby shortening data transfer distances, increasing bandwidth, and boosting energy efficiency. Samsung stated that its wafer bonding technology is expected to deliver more than 10 times the memory density of conventional HBM5, improve energy efficiency by 3 times, and reduce thermal resistance by more than half.

Independent tech journalist Tim Culpan pointed out that the A20 Pro processor wafers produced by TSMC’s N2 process are showing good yield and sufficient capacity, with processor production basically ready, and that this process is not a bottleneck affecting iPhone shipments. However, due to a severe shortage of DRAM supply, the completed processor wafers cannot be subsequently packaged, leading to inventory buildup and putting pressure on Apple and its supply chain’s stockpiling. With only weeks to go before the release of the iPhone 18 series and the foldable iPhone Ultra, Apple and its supply chain assemblers are urgently seeking more mobile DRAM chip supply. In terms of DRAM supply, Apple currently relies primarily on Micron Technology, while also sourcing from SK Hynix and Samsung.