Qualcomm

Qualcomm recorded a hefty 40-percent drop in quarterly profit for its fiscal Q3 2017, with the chip-maker blaming its ongoing legal spat with Apple for biting into revenues. The news comes as four new companies - all closely tied to Apple's supply chain - have filed new antitrust complaints against Qualcomm, while it itself has expanded its demands for an iPhone import ban to Europe. Still, Qualcomm warned that, until the royalty war is over, the financial horizon is still looking unsettled.

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The iPhone is under attack, with Qualcomm demanding that Apple be blocked from bringing the best-selling smartphone into the US while a patent battle is waged. Qualcomm has filed a request with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to not only investigate its claims of intellectual property infringement, but bar their import into the country. Of course, those versions of the iPhone that use Qualcomm's cellular systems wouldn't be on that list.

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Our OnePlus 5 review focuses on the real-world use of the smartphone with special regard paid to design and the use of the device's camera. The value of this smartphone is in its ability to perform at or above the level of its competitors whilst costing just a bit less than the most popular smartphones on the market. While the OnePlus 5 costs more than its predecessors, it also has a few features that make it just a bit more premium, too.

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When we're talking about mobile processors, a lot of attention is paid to the high-end, like Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835. The mid-range is just as important to many phone manufacturers, however, and Qualcomm wants its processors to feature in those devices as well. With that in mind, Qualcomm has launched its new Snapdragon 450 at Mobile World Congress Shanghai.

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Although fingerprint scanners hiding underneath glass displays is quite the hot topic in smartphones these days, the dream isn't actually new. It has been around a few years back and some even had nearly working solutions. One of those is Qualcomm and it is now reminding everyone of that. At MWC Shanghai, the mobile chip maker will be showing off its latest ultrasonic fingerprint scanner running underneath the display of an actual commercial smartphone. And, in a way, it will be showing Samsung what it might be missing out on.

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Qualcomm's mobile processors usually follow clear lines. The 200 series on the very low end, followed by 400, 600, and then the 800 flagship platform. Things might get a bit hazy if and when the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 comes around. Although part of the lower mid-range line, the still unannounced processor supposedly shares more in common with the higher, though now somewhat outdated, Snapdragon 625, potentially giving birth to a new line of wallet-friendly smartphones that not only perform well but also last longer.

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The number of smart speakers looks set to grow exponentially, with Qualcomm cooking up a turnkey platform to speed up manufacturers getting the next Google Home or Amazon Echo to store shelves. Dubbed the Qualcomm Smart Audio Platform, it's a combination of a low-power Snapdragon processor, AllPlay music streaming, and wireless connectivity, all on one chipset. To that, Qualcomm bakes a "Far Field Voice" multi-microphone system.

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Samsung's Galaxy Note series has for years been the phone-maker's launch pad for brand new hardware, and on the Galaxy Note 8 that's rumored to include a new processor. The smartphone is expected to launch later in 2017 and hopefully put to rest the flammable reputation of its ill-fated predecessor. While we've seen rumored spec lists for it, now there's word that Samsung and Qualcomm might be working together on something particularly special.

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Apple's legal spat with Qualcomm might seem like background noise easily tuned out by iPhone users, but it could have a big impact on how well the iPhone 8 performs. The two companies are currently embroiled in a patent argument over cellular radio standards, with Apple threatening to withhold royalty payments that it claims are extortionate. Now, the new iPhone might end up less capable on next-generation networks as a result.

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Intel was never going to be pleased at Microsoft and Qualcomm's plans to run Windows 10 on Snapdragon processors, and now it's dropping heavy hints that it could all end up in court. The latest attempt to squeeze Windows on ARM into the mainstream, the announcement between the software giant and the mobile chipmaker will eventually see processors like the Snapdragon 835 running Windows 10 on models from ASUS, HP, Lenovo, and more. For consumers, that's only going to be a good thing. For Intel, not so much.

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Qualcomm is boosting its charging technology, unveiling Quick Charge 4+ for getting juice back into your phone's battery even faster. The technology, which launches today on the nubia Z17 Android smartphone but is likely to be featured on a number of flagships in the coming months, promises faster recharging but also greater safety while that happens. Given high-profile issues surrounding exploding batteries in phones like the Galaxy Note 7, that's likely to get some attention among increasingly safety-conscious users.

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This week Andy Rubin (co-founder of Android) and crew revealed the Essential Phone (with Android inside). They revealed the device with a few details early on in the day, then held a press conference later in the day with a few details on how and when the device would be made available. While the smartphone with Android and a Qualcomm processor under the hood can potentially work with most mobile carriers in the United States, the actual real-world situation is a bit more complicated.

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