Rumor has it Facebook is aiming to create their own semiconductors in the near future. That's chips, processors - the things in your smartphone that make it able to think. If Facebook did indeed take up arms to create chips, they'd be going up against competition like Samsung, Qualcomm, AMD, Intel, and a few more that'll be getting into the game soon - think Apple.
Huawei is probably thanking its lucky stars that it got off easy. The US government might be working to block sales and use of its products in the country, but it remains unhindered in making such products and selling them elsewhere, even indirectly in the US. Unfortunately for ZTE, it might be facing the worst challenge to its smartphone business yet. And while this single instance could be justified in some way, the sanctions imposed by the US government could pose problems for the entire mobile industry it left unchecked.
Fortnite's going to have a whole lot of hardware to roll on whenever it gets to Android. First the Razer Phone, now the Xiaomi Black Shark are both ready and raring to go at the dawn of this new mobile gaming renaissance. At this very moment we don't yet have access to the latter device - but we've got the specs, so you know what that means: pre-battle spec fight!!
The first confirmed hardware details of the OnePlus 6 have begun to spill, with the popular Android smartphone maker announcing what will be at the core of the upcoming handset. In the process, it has confirmed rumors that the OnePlus 6 will be a direct competitor to flagship smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S9 and the iPhone X.
The first reviews of the first Windows 10 on Qualcomm Snapdragon devices are out and they are anything but flattering. Microsoft and Qualcomm nearly promised the moon and more, which made not a few rather dubious if they could pull it off. And it seems those doubts were well-founded. Perhaps trying to do some damage control, Qualcomm has released three new ads that showcase the advantages of software and hardware combination, without actually addressing reviewers’ biggest complaints.
While VR and AR seem to have taken a backseat at CES and MWC, advocates and supporters are now making up for lost time. HTC has just revealed details of its VIVE Pro headset and Google has listed some of the new ARCore 1.0 apps available. Now Qualcomm is following suit, announcing its latest VR development kit, boasting of the latest VR technologies you can find in a standalone headset. And, of course, all of this revolves around the capabilities of the Snapdragon 845 mobile platform.
Just a few weeks ago, Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon 845 mobile VR platform. With its success in putting the Snapdragon platform at the center of a lot of smartphones out there, mobile VR seems to be a logical next step, but Qualcomm won't be going it alone. Today we're learning of new partnership between Qualcomm and Tobii that implements eye tracking in mobile VR/AR hardware.
It would appear that Broadcom's ambitions of buying Qualcomm are well and truly dead. Broadcom formally withdrew its offer to acquire Qualcomm today, just a couple of days after the Trump administration permanently blocked the merger from taking place. Broadcom has also withdrawn the nominees it named for Qualcomm's board of directors, which will be decided at Qualcomm's 2018 annual stockholders meeting early next month.
Broadcom's move to takeover Qualcomm just hit a permanent setback: President Trump has blocked the business plan, citing national security concerns. Broadcom, a Singapore-based company, has been attempting to nab Qualcomm for months, something the latter company has been resistant to. Under the legal declaration, Trump has blocked the "substantially equivalent merger, acquisition, or takeover" of Qualcomm by Broadcom.
The Qualcomm Broadcom saga is about to get a whole lot more complicated, with Intel reportedly hoping to buy Broadcom itself. The latest chapter in what has become an escalating - and confusing - war of words and investor wrangling, it could mean an unexpected derailment as Intel attempts to prevent a super-competitor in the mobile chip space.
Microsoft released the Surface Pro with LTE to the public this week after a bit of time up for sale as a business device. This machine was first put on sale for business customers in December of 2017, and is now available to the general public. This notebook tablet piece of Windows machine is up on preorder right this minute and will be going on sale at the start of May in-stores in the United States, Australia, and Canada.
A mobile processor like the Snapdragon 845 offers a lot of great features, but that top-of-the-line nature tends to limit manufacturers to using it only in their flagship phones. For more mid-range devices, we have the processors in the Snapdragon 600-series, and while those are decent processors, they can't quite do all that the 800-series can. Qualcomm is looking to give those mid-range phones a boost in capability today by launching the new Snapdragon 700-series.