Items tagged with Qualcomm
Late in December, we got our first glimpse at the Google Pixel 4a, which is scheduled to arrive in the Spring to replace the well-received Pixel 3a. Renders of the device shows a smartphone with a punch hole cut-out for the selfie camera up front, a square pod on the back for a single camera, and a center-mounted optical fingerprint sensor. Today, new information is coming to light regarding the Pixel 4a family, and it will apparently be available in two variants. There seems to be some confusion as to whether there will be an "XL" version of the Pixel 4a made available this year, but some sleuthing by XDA-Developers has discovered references to a 5G variant. According to the report,...
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Microsoft Surface Pro X (left) and Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (right) - Similar But Very Different Beasts Microsoft's Surface Pro line of convertible tablets has long been one of the standards by which premium Windows hybrid convertibles are judged. The Surface Pro family has been around for years, but these latest tablet 2-in-1 devices come with a twist. First is the tried-and-true Surface Pro 7 with an Intel Core processor and a surprising amount of power for the form factor. However, the Surface Pro is now available with an Arm 64 system-on-a-chip (SoC) and platform from Qualcomm, to boost battery life and expand connectivity with Gigabit LTE, while still providing respectable performance. We're...
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Take a look at your smartphone. Is it an Android device? If so, there is a very good chance it is rocking a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor inside, as many Android handsets do. Smartphones are not the final frontier for Qualcomm, though, which also has big aspirations of making tomorrow's autonomous vehicles much safer than they are today. The way there, according to Qualcomm, is through its Snapdragon Ride platform. Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas today, Snapdragon Ride is a robust set of hardware and software tools for automakers to design self-driving cars around. It consists of a family of scalable, open autonomous driving solutions, including Snapdragon Ride Safety...
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We are fresh back from the 2019 Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit, during which the company revealed a number of new products and technologies. In addition to the XR2 5G next-generation VR platform, new Always-Connected PC processors, and the Snapdragon 765, which will target mainstream, 5G-enabled smartphones next year, Qualcomm also announced its flagship Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform. Just like its previous-gen predecessor, the Snapdragon 855 (and 855+), the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 platform will be the foundation for an array of premium Android smartphones released throughout 2020 (and beyond). Snapdragon 865 Chip Architecture - More Resources, Efficiency And Performance The Snapdragon...
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Smartphone OEMs have wasted no time pushing the envelope with specs and pricing in recent years. Devices like the iPhone 11 Pro and Galaxy Note 10 start at around $1,000 and can easily creep into the mid $1,000 range when you up the storage capacity (or add 5G in the case of Samsung's flagships). Likewise, Samsung is testing pricing limits with the Galaxy Fold, which is priced at $1,980. However, a new report from research firm NPD Group suggests that these uber-expensive smartphones haven't exactly been a hit with U.S. consumers. In fact, NPD's Mobile Phone Tracking service shows that fewer than 10 percent of Americans are choosing smartphones that retail for $1,000+. Given that some flagship...
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Last week, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765/765G Mobile Platforms that will power 5G smartphones in 2020. Surprisingly, the Snapdragon 765 and Snapdragon 765G received the most attention due to that fact that they 1) include 5G integrated directly into the SoC and 2) will allow vastly cheaper 5G-enabled smartphones to come to market. Today, Xiaomi's sub-brand Redmi is delivering on the promise of value-laden 5G-enabled smartphones with the Redmi K30 5G. This the first smartphone to be announced with the Snapdragon 765G, which is the gaming-centric version of Qualcomm's new mid-range 5G SoC. The Redmi K30 5G will pack in 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM...
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The smartphone industry is at the beginning of a transition period. For years, we've been spoiled by 4G LTE wireless connectivity and its relatively ubiquity, but 5G networks are starting to popup around the globe. There were a handful of devices that shipped in 2019 with 5G connectivity (Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5G, Galaxy S10 5G, etc.), but the big boom in 5G will occur in 2020. The vast majority of Android smartphones are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, and the company this week announced two new SoCs that are 5G-enabled: the Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform and Snapdragon 765/765G Mobile Platform. But the way they go about providing 5G is quite different. Snapdragon...
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Earlier this week, Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform, which alongside the Snapdragon X55 will power next year's flagship 5G Android smartphones. While the chip itself got the bulk of the attention, Qualcomm made another announcement that has huge implications for the mobile sector. Qualcomm announced that it will soon start delivering updates for its Adreno GPUs via the Google Play Store. This is huge news for smartphones, as GPU drivers typically are only updated once a year -- when a major Android release comes down (if at all). And even then, many OEMs don't even bother putting in the effort to ensuring that mobile GPUs are running current drivers from Qualcomm. With...
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Around this time last year, Qualcomm announced its 7nm Snapdragon 8cx platform to empower Windows 10 on ARM Always Connected PCs (ACPC). Since that time, Samsung announced the Galaxy Book S powered by the chip, while Microsoft recently released the Surface Pro X which uses a modified version (Microsoft SQ1). While the Snapdragon 8cx is aimed at the high-end of the convertible market, Qualcomm is expanding the family with two lower-cost entries: the Snapdragon 8c and Snapdragon 7c. Like the Snapdragon 8cx, these new Windows 10-centric SoCs feature integrated 4G LTE connectivity to power Always Connected PCs with all-day battery life. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx 5g 2-In-1 Laptop Reference...
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Companies like Qualcomm are trying their best to bring the future into the present with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) experiences. This requires a convergence of hardware and software. As it applies to the former, Qualcomm today announced its new Snapdragon XR2 platform. What exactly is it? Qualcomm is billing it as the world's first 5G-supported extended reality (XR) platform. As the name implies, it's also the second-generation XR platform. Building upon the first-gen XR1 platform, Snapdragon XR2 ups the ante with more capable hardware to drive "premium quality" experiences with "next level features." "The Snapdragon XR2 platform is packed with significant...
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Apple may have not been able to deliver the goods with respect to a 5G iPhone in 2019, but it’s not like 5G coverage is widespread right now in major markets. However, Apple is looking to blanket the market with 5G-capable iPhones in 2020 according to respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. According to Kuo, Apple will release no less than five new iPhone models during 2020. The first of which is the long-rumored iPhone SE 2, which will more-or-less be a retread of the iPhone 8, but with more modern internals. We’re likely to see an A13 Bionic-class SoC running the show along with the familiar 4.7-inch LCD display, Touch ID, single rear camera, and 4G LTE connectivity. The...
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Today 5G mobile networks are only offered in a few select locations, but broader rollouts are coming in 2020. That means that more 5G smartphones are coming to take advantage of those networks. With the legions of iPhone fans, many are hopeful that the 5G iPhones will land in late 2020. Qualcomm recently announced its latest SoCs, and while at the event for those new products, Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon talked about its plans with the relationship it has with Apple. Qualcomm and Apple have a multi-year licensing deal in place. According to Amon, the first 5G iPhones that launch will feature Qualcomm modems inside, but they may not implement all of the company's RF front end. That decision...
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We've already brought you an overview of Qualcomm's new flagship Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform, but the chip giant also has two "lesser" chips on deck for the mid-range to premium smartphone markets. The two chips are the Snapdragon 765 and Snapdragon 765G; the latter of which is a gaming-oriented SoC. Like the Snapdragon 865 + Snapdragon X55 solution that we've already discussed, the Snapdragon 765/765G are 5G-enabled solutions, but they are superior to the flagship SoC in one critical aspect. Whereas the Snapdragon 865 requires a separate 5G modem that increases physical space and power requirements for OEMs, the Snapdragon 765/765G have an integrated 5G modem. In this case,...
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Qualcomm yesterday announced its new Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765/765G Mobile Platforms, but the company was rather mum on specific details other than to say that both were 5G-enabled. Today, we're getting a full picture on what to expect when the first devices with these chips land next year, along with a clearer picture on the 5G modem situation with the respective platforms. Kicking things off is the Snapdragon 865, which is the flagship SoC replacement for the Snapdragon 855/855+. The Snapdragon 865 is paired with a separate Snapdragon X55 5G modem; which is an interesting development. It is not an integrated 5G solution, which means that flagship Android smartphone will still have...
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