Qualcomm

Although Qualcomm and, to some extent, Rockchip, have long been on some laptops running Windows and Chrome OS, respectively, the arrival of the Apple Silicon M1 showed how the market for ARM-based desktops and laptops is still wide open to competition. There are, however, only a few big names that could probably be a good fit for that kind of device and it seems that Samsung's biggest Exynos gamble will be heading to laptops first instead of smartphones.

Continue Reading

With the introduction of its XR1 platform, Qualcomm indicated that AR would be something of a big focus for it, and now it has announced a new AR Smart Viewer reference design. We've already seen Smart Viewer reference designs from Qualcomm in the past, but those focused more on a combined AR and VR experience. This new reference design seems to be focused wholly on AR, and as a result, it has more versatility than so-called “Simple” AR Smart Viewers that connect to a smartphone and are aimed primarily at streaming media.

Continue Reading

Currently, there's a global shortage of semiconductors used in many industries that has seen some major industries in the US grind to a halt. The semiconductor shortage has particularly hit automakers in America hard, causing several major companies to cease production. The Biden administration has promised to make aggressive moves to address the global semiconductor shortage.

Continue Reading

Qualcomm today announced its fourth-gen 5G modem, the Snapdragon X65 5G. While the X65 offers a number of upgrades over its predecessors, the biggest upgrade is support for 5G speeds up to 10 Gbps. It'll probably be a while before we see mobile carriers actually attain those speeds and offer them consistently, but the name of the game for the X65 seems to be future-proofing for precisely that scenario.

Continue Reading

It's hard to argue that Qualcomm's 5G modems dominate the market, not just in phones but also in any computing or networking products that need to support the next-gen network. MediaTek, of course, didn't take that sitting down and has launched its own line of Dimensity mobile application processors or APs to give phone manufacturers another option, prompting Qualcomm to fire back with 5G-capable mid-range processors in the Snapdragon 6-series and even the 4-series. Now MediaTek is making the next move to strike at one area where Qualcomm used to be unchallenged, support for mmWave 5G.

Continue Reading

Qualcomm is firmly embedded in phones, and now it wants to dominate the car dashboard, with multiple launches today that should push 5G-connected vehicles, Alexa-powered infotainment, and eventually autonomous driving into the mainstream. Star of the show is the 4th generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms, designed to unlock features like augmented reality and artificial intelligence for the road.

Continue Reading

Qualcomm has revealed its newest mobile chipset, with the Snapdragon 870 5G slotting in just below the most potent Snapdragon 888 as the company expands its flagship series. Successor to the Snapdragon 865 Plus, it will give Android phone-makers another option in the price/performance balance, with manufacturers like Motorola, OnePlus, OPPO, and Xiaomi already onboard.

Continue Reading

Three star chip designers from Apple and Google formed a company called NUVIA in late 2019. They aimed to create silicon processing chips that'd eventually take on the likes of Intel and AMD, and raised a whole bunch of money in Series A and B funding and became a force to be reckoned with in a relatively short amount of time. Today, Qualcomm announced that they'll be acquiring NUVIA for $1.4 billion USD.

Continue Reading

Qualcomm has revealed the latest version of its in-display fingerprint sensor, promising faster and more accurate scanning for a technology brought back into the spotlight by the ongoing pandemic. Though for a while it seemed that facial recognition would replace fingerprint login as the preferred way to unlock your phone, the fact that such systems struggle with face masks has led to a resurgence in interest.

Continue Reading

Qualcomm is aiming to nudge 5G further down into the mass-market, with the new Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile Platform paving the way for more affordable Android phones that don't sacrifice support for fifth-generation mobile networks. Latest in the Snapdragon 4-Series, the new chipset has the potential to bring 5G within reach of sub-$200 devices, if manufacturers are of a mind.

Continue Reading

It's not that hard to see Qualcomm and MediaTek as the Intel and AMD of smartphones. Qualcomm pretty much has the lion's share of the smartphone chipset market while MediaTek's silicon is often regarded as the more affordable option at the expense of some performance. Like AMD, however, MediaTek is also making an even more aggressive push, especially in the mid-range 5G tier. It seems that some of that may have paid off, at least for the third quarter of 2020, though Qualcomm still holds one important piece of the pie.

Continue Reading

2020 saw some eye-popping technologies and gadgets loaded with the next-gen features. Like all times, there is something new on the horizon as we bid goodbye to this eventful year - 2021 brings a refreshing hope for the tech community. So what gadgets should you be eyeing in the early part of next year to stay abreast with the dynamic times? Here are the five best choices.

Continue Reading