tddi – Scalper1

Synaptics rocked by Apple iPhone chip report

Synaptics (SYNA) stock has been hammered by reports that Apple (AAPL) is internally developing an integrated touch controller/display driver (TDDI) chip for use in future iPhones. Synaptics, a leader in touch interface technology, has been pushing TDDI integrated circuits as a key growth driver. Renesas SP Drivers, recently acquired by Synaptics, has been a longtime iPhone supplier. Apple’s homegrown TDDI chip also will have an integrated fingerprint sensor, DigiTimes reported Monday. Synaptics has been working on an integrated fingerprint-TDDI system since it acquired Validity Sensors in November 2013. By using one chip with touch controller, display driver and fingerprint sensor technology, Apple could make an iPhone without a physical home button, DigiTimes said. The first iPhone without a home button likely is more than two years away, a source told AppleInsider. The elimination of the home button would be a radical redesign to the iPhone,…

CES could provide boost to Synaptics, others

The massive Consumer Electronics Show, officially called International CES, opens next Tuesday in Las Vegas and it could give Synaptics (SYNA) a boost, Cowen and Co. said Tuesday. The maker of touch-interface technology for mobile devices and PCs is among the companies that could get “a CES bounce on design win news,” Cowen analyst Robert Stone said in a research note. Companies announcing the use of Synaptics components would validate the trend toward smart displays and the ramp of area fingerprint sensors for smartphones and other devices, he said. Synaptics is poised to benefit from greater use of touch display driver integration (TDDI) with in-cell screens, which could cut the cost of touch displays by 50%, he said. TDDI screens are expected to be in 70 million devices in 2015, 140 million in 2016 and reaching 470 million units in 2018. That represents a compound annual growth rate of 88%,…