The Verizon Smart Locator was revealed today as a tiny piece of hardware that contains its own very simple processor. And that's it. This device has a pre-installed SIM card to connect to mobile data with Verizon, a Li-Ion battery that's 400mAh large, and can be recharged using a USB cord. It's a tracker - one that, unlike most trackers, is not limited to Bluetooth range.
There's a cool headset capable of both AR and VR, and Qualcomm's at the helm. They've created this "Qualcomm Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design" as a sort of guide for other manufacturers to make their own, to sell to you. As such, you probably won't be using this headset specifically, but the resulting headsets made by brands you've heard of before. Cross your fingers for soon.
Because of its immediate connection with mobile network carriers, 5G is often thought of as an upcoming revolution in smartphones. However, it's also promised to drastically change the face of computing, from traditional computers to the Internet of Things. So far, however, we've only seen smartphones and networking equipment with 5G capabilities and almost nothing else. At Computex 2019, Qualcomm and Lenovo announced their joint Project Limitless and their first baby, the world's first 5G-enabled laptop.
Thanks to the removal of headphone jacks on smartphones, Bluetooth headsets and earphones are becoming more and more common. With that comes expectations of standard functionality in addition to acceptable audio quality. Sometimes it's no longer sufficient to just sound good, these audio accessories need to be smart as well. To help prepare audio accessory makers for that reality, Qualcomm is updating its Smart Headset Platform to support two Google technologies that would immediately make Bluetooth headsets smarter.
Android Q 5G phones will be able to share more network data with apps, as Qualcomm and Google announce plans to maximize the usefulness of next-generation networks. Announced at Google I/O 2019 today, the collaboration will see Android developers gain improved APIs with more insight into the cellular network the phone is connected to.
Qualcomm and Apple have agreed to exit all litigation between themselves this afternoon. This goes for all court cases between the two companies, for all instances of litigation around the world. One would assume that some cases will take longer to vacate than others, but the point stands - Apple and Qualcomm have shaken hands and made friends again. At least in the interest of continued cashing in on the part of their combined growth.
Qualcomm is looking to distill some of the magic of the cloud and its Snapdragon processors into an AI processor, and Microsoft and Facebook are already onboard with the new Cloud AI 100. A custom-made chip designed to bring cloud-style AI processing to the data center, the new accelerator promises applications from mixed reality, to gaming, to personalization.
Qualcomm has a trio of new Snapdragon mobile platforms to announce, with the Snapdragon 730, 730G, and 665 targeting mid- to high-tier devices with an eye on value. The three new chipsets borrow tech from the category above while delivering increases in AI performance, computational photography, and a bump in gaming abilities.
Qualcomm may be best known for its smartphone processors but those are hardly its only silicon product. There is, for example, its LTE chips that is part of the legal battle between Qualcomm and Apple. And while Snapdragon chips haven't become as common in IoT as they are in mobile, Qualcomm is making a move to target a fast-growing segment of that connected home market. With the new QCS400 System-on-Chip (SoC) series, Qualcomm is making sure that its be the household name in the next generation of smart speakers that will be invading households in the years to come.
Don't be turned off by the VR-like imagery in this article - this goes way beyond games, VR, and AR. Qualcomm-made headsets are about to get simple, easy to use, and able to be utilized in a number of different ways. If what Qualcomm's got onboard with "Qualcomm Boundless XR for PC" is plausible, there'll be no need for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, or mobile VR headsets of any sort. Those brands might just be using Qualcomm's tech to replace what they've got today with what's common tomorrow.
Qualcomm just won one of its numerous court battles against Apple this week in San Diego, California, USA. This court case alleged that Apple infringed upon a number of Qualcomm patents with its smartphones iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X. Because the court found Apple's devices to have infringed upon Qualcomm's patents, the jury awarded Qualcomm around $31 million USD in patent infringement damages from July 6th, 2017 through the end of the trial.
Qualcomm has won a legal case against Apple in the Southern District of California, the company announced. The case involved a lawsuit Qualcomm filed against Apple in July 2017 alleging the company had infringed upon some of its smartphone tech patents. A jury awarded Qualcomm $31 million in damages for three patents involving 'popular smartphone features.'