processors

Intel knows you're obsessed with speed, so please feel free to add the Intel Core i9 and the Core X-series processors to your List of Gadgetry to Covet. Unveiled at Computex 2017 this week, the new chips are part of what Intel says is recognition that no, not all PC users are created equal. Indeed, when it comes to gamers, content creators, and people dealing in compute-intense segments like virtual reality, the needs are higher than the current Core i3, i5, and i7 range can deliver.

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The next big bit of Samsung technology is going to be very, very tiny. So tiny, in fact, that the company suggests they'll be leading the way to the product before anyone else - and that's a big deal. "The ubiquitous nature of smart, connected machines and everyday consumer devices signals the beginning of the next industrial revolution," said Executive Vice President of the Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics, Jong Shik Yoon. This week Samsung announced that they'd push the semiconductor industry forward with a variety of new sizes in process technology on a new roadmap for the company.

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Google is seeking a new way to make neural networking work efficiently - starting with the TPU. The TPU is a Tensor Processing Unit - to be compared to Intel's CPU or NVIDIA's GPU, made for processing data. Google's news here is their first-ever study published on how well their TPU works - compared, appropriately enough, to Intel's CPU and NVIDIA's GPU whilst neural networking.

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This week the folks at Qualcomm have announced their decision to change the way they present their hardware. Instead of calling the technology they create a "Qualcomm Snapdragon processor", they'll be calling it a "Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platform." This should serve to better differentiate the full scope of what Qualcomm does - that's essentially deliver a platform, yes, from which a smartphone (or other smart devices) can process, connect, and deliver data to the end user.

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AMD has always been Intel’s biggest rival in the PC market though, depending on where you stand, you might think that AMD has lost that battle recently. With the announcement of its new Zen-based Ryzen line of processors, however, AMD is pushing back hard. The first line of the series, the Ryzen 7, was squarely aimed at hard-core gamers and professionals. The Ryzen 5 line, on the other hand, is targeting the mainstream, bringing the same key features of the Zen architecture, but with lower clock speeds and a matching lower price tag.

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AMD revealed details surrounding their Ryzen Summit Ridge CPUs, including pricing - ready to take on their biggest competitors. This release includes the Ryzen 7 in models 1800X, 1700X, and 1700. These three cards are aimed at out-performing and under-pricing Intel Core processors across the board.

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Xiaomi may have surged rapidly into the public eye (and all that without - officially - a phone on sale in the US) but its next ambitions are even bigger: ousting Qualcomm from its devices. The Chinese company - which has everything from smartphones through smart TVs, and portable batteries to smart home gadgets in its line-up - is notorious for its loyal and vocal fans and aggressive pricing. Now, Xioami is reportedly turning to silicon.

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AMD is looking to take the fight to Intel, detailing its new Ryzen CPUs. AMD's Ryzen CPUs will be based on its "Zen" architecture, which was previously codenamed Summit Ridge. Even though we're finding out more about these processors today, they won't hit the scene until sometime in Q1 2017.

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Qualcomm has made a few major announcements today, including the reveals of its new Snapdragon 835 mobile CPU and Quick Charge 4. These product reveals are accompanied by the announcement of a new bounty program centered around the security of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors and LTE modems. All three announcements were made at the Snapdragon Technology Summit in New York City this morning.

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Qualcomm today revealed a new pair of Snapdragon processors meant not for smartphones, but for use in internet of things (IoT) applications. The processors, which have been named the Snapdragon 600E and the Snapdragon 410E, are being introduced by subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies, and the company is quick to point out that this is the first time stand-alone Snapdragon processors have been made available through Qualcomm's third-party distribution partners.

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Rumors of Intel Atom's death have been greatly exaggerated. And Intel has only itself to blame for that. Now it seems that the company is clarifying, or further muddling, its plans for its low-power processor line. Intel is, indeed, axing the Atom but that is true only as far as mobile devices, laptops, and even wearables go. It still has Atoms planned, newer ones based on its Apollo Lake architecture. Those, however, will be heading towards smart cars and smart appliances as Intel tries to make a grab for the IoT market instead.

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When Lenovo unveiled the first consumer Tango-enabled smartphone, the PHAB2 Pro, it was somewhat curious that the OEM went with a Snapdragon 625 instead of the highest end 820. Although we'll probably never really find out why, Qualcomm reveals that it has, in fact, made specific tweaks to make the SD652 work perfectly with Tango. Now it has done the same for the Snapdragon 820, its current flagship, and promises it will also be the case for future generations of the 600 and 800 chip series, opening the doors for more devices to dance their way to augmented reality as well.

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