Apple will update iPhones in China with new software next week that the company says will address the contentious features Qualcomm claims infringe its patents. Qualcomm secured a preliminary injunction against Apple importing or selling iPhones in China, after convincing a court there that iOS software features were copying its technologies.
The legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm is heating up and both sides are taking hits. The biggest blow this week, however, struck Apple when China rules to ban majority of its iPhones in one of the world's largest smartphone market and one that Apple has been wooing for years. Naturally, the tech giant isn't taking things sitting down. In its response to the ruling, Apple emphasized the chilling effects the ban would have on the entire mobile industry as well as China's smartphone market.
Next year, there will be a lot of talk about 5G coming from all players in the mobile market. Carriers and smartphone makers will race to be the first to offer 5G features while chip makers will flaunt their 5G-capable silicon. Amidst that frenzy, one key player will be relatively silent. Apple doesn’t seem to be hyping 5G plans for next but it isn’t because it doesn’t believe in the premise and promise of 5G. It’s just that it will be too busy making its own phone modem, 5G or otherwise.
Microsoft has ditched Intel and will use a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset for the upcoming next-generation HoloLens, but it's not the one you might have expected. The hotly-anticipated augmented reality headset is shaping up to dramatically improve the blending of virtual objects with the real-world, but of course all of that demands power - and power efficiency.
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Apple's iPhone has been hit with a preliminary injunction in China, after Qualcomm's legal battle with the smartphone-maker reached new heights this week. In a worst-case scenario, it could see imports and sales of nearly all iPhone models banned in the country. However, there are arguments as to just how encompassing the ban might actually be in practice.
Qualcomm may be ramping up for its Snapdragon 855 to show up pretty much across the board in Android flagship phones next year, but the new Snapdragon 8cx for Windows on Arm notebooks is arguably more exciting. The new flagship chipset aims to deliver laptops and 2-in-1s that last for multiple days, are always-connected, and are significantly more portable than rivals using Intel and AMD silicon. Read on for five things you need to know.
The first hole of the season is here! In the mix is the Samsung Galaxy A8s, one of a whole barrage of smartphones with "holes" in their displays coming in 2019. This device features what Samsung calls an "Infinity-O" display, with a hole cut into its display for a front-facing camera in lieu of a notch. Because we need the full frontal display, and we need the camera, and we cannot do without both!
What can you expect from "the most extreme Snapdragon" ever to be found in a notebook? Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx reference designs may not stand out at first glance - think sober Lenovo Yoga-esque convertibles, fanless and unobtrusive with their metallic grey casings - but make no mistake, this is a big deal in connected, ultra mobile computing.
If there are two things missing from Qualcomm's big Snapdragon 8cx announcement today, it's 5G and actual hardware. The chip-maker has been talking up fifth-generation networks all week at its Snapdragon Summit 2018, making it a key pillar of the Snapdragon 855 mobile processor which will start showing up in smartphones early in the new year. It's also had hardware partners on-stage to talk launch plans.
Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform, a new flagship "Extreme" chipset for Windows on Arm notebooks, tablets, and 2-in-1s that promises more connectivity, more power, and battery life in excess of 25 hours. The new platform also debuts Qualcomm's new nomenclature for that ecosystem of devices, borrowing technologies from Snapdragon for smartphones but shaping them for ultraportable computing.
It's easy to get caught up in the 5G hype. Blistering speeds and dramatically lower latency have networks falling over themselves to boast of bigger and more impressive roll-outs, and Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform is at the forefront of that 5G wave. The thing is, while 5G is clearly better than 4G - not least because it has an extra "G" in the name - in reality the Snapdragon 855 is actually much more important in several other ways.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 is about to be everywhere in the Android smartphone space come 2019, but we can break down the five reasons why you should be excited about that. It's faster than its predecessor, more power-efficient, and unlocks new camera features - read on for the five things you need to know.