Qualcomm will shift to a new 7nm system-on-chip design for its next, 5G-capable flagship mobile platform, though the company isn't quite ready to spill the beans completely on what it has planned. The new SoC - which Qualcomm says it expects to be the first 5G-capable mobile platform for premium-tier smartphones and more - is currently sampling to device partners.
While the idea definitely had lots of appeal, Microsoft’s Windows 10 on ARM, specifically on Snapdragon, fell flat on its face during its first generation. It was largely attributed to performance problems which was, in turn, attributed to the not-so-recent Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 used in that first batch. Back in June, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 850 that would fix that mistake. Benchmark sightings, however, aren’t exactly encouraging.
Mid-range, or as Qualcomm would call them “high-end”, smartphones are killing it. While majority of media coverage is lavished on premium smartphones with premium prices and eccentric designs, devices on the middle tiers continue to offer better bang for buck value when it comes to balancing performance, battery life, and price. That’s why it’s no surprise that Qualcomm continues to saturate the market with chips on this range, like the newly announced Snapdragon 670, that is going to give OEMs a headache in trying picking out a chip for their next-gen phones.
It’s probably a bad time to launch a new smartwatch these next few weeks, unless you’re Samsung or Apple. That’s because any smartwatch you put into the market will be running on a mobile platform that is effectively two years old. Even older if you consider that the Snapdragon Wear 2100 is based on a modified Snapdragon 400 chipset. And in about 30 days, that wearable processor will be rendered obsolete now that Qualcomm itself is teasing when the long-overdue successor, tentatively known as the Snapdragon Wear 3100, will be unveiled.
This week the next Razer Phone was revealed - sort of. A Razer official made clear that the device would definitely be revealed and released within the year, which allowed us to narrow down the timeframe within which the device could be revealed in full. Razer VP Chen Xiaoping suggested this week that Razer Phone 2 should be delivered to China by December of 2018 - cutting it close!
Earlier today in Chicago, Motorola took the stage to announce a phone that is instantly familiar: the Moto Z3. You've seen this phone before, or at least most of it, as it's almost exactly the same as the Moto Z3 Play, which launched back in June. The major difference between the two is yet to come, but when it arrives next year, it will indeed be quite the differentiator.
There's a new Android smartphone on the block, and as always our attention turns to the Motorola Moto Z3 specifications to see how it holds up at this point in 2018. Announced today as the first 5G-upgradable smartphone - courtesy of a 5G Moto Mod, rather than the onboard radio - the Moto Z3 straddles a tricky line between the cutting-edge and the familiar.
Qualcomm just can’t seem to catch a break these days and continues to find itself at the center of controversy. Its biggest headache right now is its fight with Apple over patents and royalties. But it may now be feeling the repercussions of challenging what is also one of its biggest customers. Qualcomm has practically and publicly admitted that Apple’s upcoming iPhones won’t be using its LTE modems. Instead, they will be using Intel’s, which Qualcomm has just recently mocked using Ookla’s Speedtest as evidence.
Just recently Samsung released a short ad that mocked the iPhone X’s slower download speeds, at least compared to the Galaxy S9. That ad based its boast on Ookla’s recent “Speedtest Intelligence” report. Now that same report is being used by Qualcomm to also flaunt its latest Snapdragon 845 with its latest X20 LTE modem. But while it specifically mentions Intel LTE modems as the target of its campaign, it is also making a slight jab at its latest new enemy: Apple.
Today, Qualcomm announced a pretty big breakthrough in the realm of 5G hardware. The company revealed that it has developed a fully-integrated 5G NR millimeter wave (mmWave) antenna module, along with sub-6 GHz RF modules for use in smartphones and other devices. This is an exciting development, because while mmWave offers super high frequency (and, in turn, big increases in speed), there are some roadblocks to implementation.
Oppo has a new Apple AirPods rival, the Oppo O-Free, fully wireless Bluetooth headphones that it'll be offering alongside its unusual Find X Android smartphone. The new headphones cut the cables completely, with no wires between the lozenge-shaped left and right earbuds.
First the headphone jack disappeared, next the headphone cables altogether: at least, if Qualcomm has its way with a new Bluetooth audio chip. Announced today, the Qualcomm QCC3026 may not have a name that's music to the ears, but it promises to make wireless headphones cheaper and more reliable - to the point where they're likely to supplant the bundled wired headphones most new smartphones include in the box.