Items tagged with Snapdragon
Yesterday, we brought you news of the new 3DMark WildLife graphics benchmark, which is the latest cross-platform test from the folks at UL Benchmarks. UL explains that WildLife is primarily tasked with measuring GPU performance across platforms, and two distinct tests are available. The standard WildLife test is designed to give feedback on how a game performs over a short period of time. With mobile games, people typically play in brief spurts when they find some free time; be it on the bus, on the subway, or a quick battle royale session on your lunch break, but not always. The 3DMark WildLife Stress Test, on the other hand, shows how a device performs over a longer stretch...
Read more...
While we are still in the early stages, more and more PC manufacturers have jumped aboard the Windows on Arm train. First we had Microsoft's initial offering, the Surface Pro X. Then Samsung joined the fray with the traditional-looking Galaxy Book S, with battery life that lasted for days. Now Lenovo has crashed the party with the Flex 5G, a machine with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx 5G system on a chip (SoC) stuffed inside a versatile, a do-it-all convertible 2-in-1 design. Reviewing an Arm-based Windows PC every few months gives us a glimpse into the evolution of the Arm ecosystem. At first, there weren't many production-ready apps—even Microsoft's Edge web browser was in its beta infancy...
Read more...
And overwhelming number of Android smartphones rely on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. While there are other SoC vendors out like Huawei and Samsung, Qualcomm alone captured roughly 40 percent of the overall smartphone market during 2019. With that wide penetration comes greater scrutiny when it comes to any security exploits that could affect Snapdragon chips. To that end, the researchers at Check Point have discovered over 400 vulnerable pieces of code within the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) chips found within Snapdragon SoCs used in hundreds of millions of Android devices. The 400 pieces of flawed code have been broken down into six separate security flaws, which are represented...
Read more...
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are hot topics in virtually all tech sectors at this moment in time. The technology is gaining traction in many industries, from massive social networks that are analyzing mountains of data, to the tiniest of IoT smart home and mobile devices. Even during our everyday workflow here at HotHardware, we currently utilize a few key AI-enabled applications to enhance our content. Further, if you’ve ever talked to a smartphone for speech-to-text messaging or for Google Assistant recommendations, AI has impacted your connected experiences as well. For those that may be unfamiliar with how machine learning and AI technologies work, we should probably...
Read more...
Always-on, always-connected PCs like the Samsung Galaxy Book S -- the kind of machines that are ready to go first thing in the morning and last all day and night, while never losing an internet connection thanks to cellular connectivity -- are a potential game changer for some users. Manufacturers have tried to make this happen with tablets, but haven't entirely been successful. Half-computers like the iPad Pro may have been "blessed" with $300 keyboards, but iPadOS can be pretty limiting for real work. This seems like a job for full-blown Windows and a proper clamshell, but x86 notebooks don't offer that same level of battery life. So, what are your options? These days, Microsoft would...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
TCL is a name that we are used to seeing in the Smart TV segment with its lineup of Roku TVs, but the company also produces smartphones under different brand names. TCL has now unveiled a new smartphone that marks its first "branded" foray in the segment, and the device is a solid mid-range offering. It's called the Plex, it has a 6.53-inch FHD+ display, and runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC. TCL stepping into the smartphone market isn't exactly a complete surprise, the company has some experience making smartphones for BlackBerry and Alcatel. The Plex has a front selfie camera is a 24MP unit that peeks through a hole punched in the screen and is set off to the left side. The camera...
Read more...
Right now the chipset that reins sumpreme in the high-end flagship smartphone performance department is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 SoC. Despite that chip still being quite new, there are already rumors of a next-gen chip coming that will bring even more performance to the table of course, as well as additional Qualcomm-powered 5G capabilities. We have reported on the existing of the rumored Snapdragon 865 before, but today some new rumors have just turned up. The new rumors come from Roland Quandt over at Winfuture. He claims that Snapdragon 865 is what Qualcomm employees are calling the next-gen SoC (SM8250). Quandt claims that there are two versions of the new SoC with one going by...
Read more...
On paper, the Lenovo Yoga C630 WOS (Windows on Snapdragon) laptop doesn't seem to stand out much, save for perhaps the somewhat unique system processor under its hood. Regardless, as an affordable, always-on, always-connected convertible PC with middle-of-the-road specs and benchmark scores (more on this later), you might be forgiven for thinking that there's little reason for this machine to be remarkable in any significant way. And yet, the Lenovo Yoga C630 is impressive indeed. This machine is always connected (with a mobile data plan), it boots up (and shuts down) almost instantly, it breezes through typical office tasks, streams YouTube and Netflix videos with nary a stutter (on both...
Read more...
At CES 2019, Qualcomm is showing off some of its in-vehicle prowess with the unveiling of multi-tiered third-generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit platforms that include Performance, Premiere, and Paramount classes. Those classes represent entry-level, mid-tier, and supercomputing platforms respectively. Qualcomm says that its new platform is designed with a modular architecture to let automakers customize options for their buyers. The new Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms are the first-announced scalable AI-based platforms claims Qualcomm, and it notes that the platform is designed to "transform in-vehicle experiences." Those experiences will include in-car virtual assistance, natural...
Read more...
Qualcomm is making a hard push into traditional laptop territory through the Windows on ARM initiative that it and Microsoft kicked off a couple of years ago. The company's latest effort on the hardware side is its new Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform. We were able to see the new platform in action at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Technology Summit in Hawaii on a couple of pre-production laptops. You may recall that the first Windows on ARM devices ran on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor, followed by its Snapdragon 850 SoC. The Snapdragon 8cx represents a new naming convention to help differentiate Qualcomm's computing and smartphone products, the latter of which the company pretty much dominates....
Read more...
Nearly a year ago, HTC first revealed its Vive Focus, which is a standalone virtual reality (VR) headset powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 SoC. At the time, the device was said to be limited to the Chinese market. Today, however, HTC has announced that the Vive Focus will be available in 37 markets across North America and Europe. The headset will be available to developers priced at $600, while enterprise versions will be priced at $750. That pricing puts the Vive Focus right smack dab in the middle of the original HTC Vive (priced at $499) and the Vive Pro (priced at $799). In addition to availability in the United States, HTC announced that Vive Enterprise Advantage professional...
Read more...
Vertu is a name that had been around for many years before the company filed for bankruptcy about a year ago. The problem for Vertu is that it catered to a crowd of wealthy individuals that could drop $10,000 on a smartphone with specifications that were often mediocre; and that is a very small market. Vertu is back with a smartphone that is much cheaper than its past offerings called the Vertu Aster P. This device is on pre-order in China right now for 35,800 Chinese yuan, which works out to a bit over $5,100 when converted, with a ship date of October 30. That is a lot of money in a world where people complain about an iPhone selling for over $1,000. Apple is famous for its design and style,...
Read more...
Back in early June, Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon 850 Mobile Platform, which will form the basis for second-generation "Always Connected" Windows 10 PCs. As expected, Lenovo is the first out of the gate with a new 2-in-1 convertible based on Snapdragon 850, which shouldn't come as a surprise given that it was part of the freshman class with the Snapdragon 835-powered Miix 630. This year, however, Lenovo is launching the Yoga C630 WOS (Windows on Snapdragon). Thanks to the Snapdragon 850 processor running the show, Lenovo is promising a 30 percent boost in overall performance compared to the previous-generation Snapdragon 835. We've seen some early benchmarks that show some performance...
Read more...
Qualcomm is being light on details, but it today announced that its next-generation Snapdragon Mobile Platform is now shipping to customers. We had heard earlier this year that the chip was in production, so it makes sense that the first samples would be heading out so partners could qualify the chip for use in their upcoming products. The next-generation SoC is built on a 7nm process after staying at 10nm for two generations (Snapdragon 835 and Snapdragon 845). It was initially reported that the chip would carry the designation Snapdragon 855, but a recent report suggests that it will instead be called the Snapdragon 8150. Qualcomm is reportedly switching up its naming scheme to differentiate...
Read more...
Qualcomm has rolled out the world's first fully-integrated 5G NR millimeter (mmWave) and sub-6 GHz RF modules for smartphones and other mobile devices. The new chips include the QTM052 mmWave antenna and the QPM56xx sub-6GHz RF module family. The new chips have a compact footprint, pair with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem, and deliver modem-to-antenna capability across several spectrum bands. "Qualcomm Technologies’ early investment in 5G has allowed us to deliver to the industry a working mobile mmWave solution that was previously thought unattainable, as well as a fully-integrated sub-6 GHz RF solution," said Cristiano Amon, President, Qualcomm Incorporated. "With 5G, consumers can...
Read more...
It's been quite a while since Qualcomm announced a new SoC aimed primarily at the wearables/smartphone market, and today the company is launching the Snapdragon Wear 2500 platform. Unlike the previous Snapdragon Wear 2100, this new platform is being targeted primarily at smartwatches designed for children. Snapdragon Wear 2500 has integrated 4G LTE connectivity along with all the supporting tech that device makers will need to build smartwatches for kiddos. Wearables for kids do have traditional smartwatch features integrated into them like smartphone connectivity and in some cases, they can act as a smartphone themselves for making calls. The big feature that many parents want is the ability...
Read more...
At Computex a couple of weeks ago, Qualcomm unveiled its next gen Snapdragon platform targeting "always-on" laptops. That came to us in the form of the interestingly named Snapdragon 850 - a mere 5 digits higher than the 845, a chip which currently graces top-end Android smartphones, such as the OnePlus 6, and Samsung Galaxy S9. Features-wise, both the Snapdragon 845 and 850 are nearly identical, but the latter will be clocked a bit higher to deliver better performance for laptop convertibles. What's slated to offer even more performance apparently, however, is something called the Snapdragon 1000, a chip that has been enjoying its time in the rumormill spotlight these past few days. Whereas...
Read more...
There are some slick laptops out there that run the Snapdragon 835 Platform with Windows 10; machines such as the HP Envy x2 pictured below. The big issue for many users with those Windows on Snapdragon devices, however, is that the platform is unable to run 64-bit apps. Microsoft has shed some light on the timeframe to fix that glaring omission and will announce the SDK for ARM64 apps at the BUILD developers conference. When the new SDK launches, devs can recompile their apps to run in 64-bit on ARM-based PCs. 32-bit performance has been found to be generally acceptable with current Snapdragon 835-powered systems, but it remains to be seen how they will fare with 64-bit apps. These...
Read more...
Though the company has been evangelizing its next generation Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform for a while now, Qualcomm is lifting the veil today on the new SoC's benchmark performance profile. As we showed you back in December, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 is based on a bleeding-edge 10nm LPP FinFET manufacturing process with Samsung, and an entirely new architecture that promises significant gains in power efficiency and performance. Snapdragon 845 is a grounds-up silicon redesign from Qualcomm, targeted at a new breed of flagship smartphones and other premium mobile devices. At the heart of the Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform is the new Kyro 385 CPU, which features four high-performance cores operating...
Read more...
In this episode of HotHardware's Two And A Half Geeks webcast, Marco, Dave and Paul kick around NVIDIA's monster Titan V machine learning beast of a GPU (in the flesh!), the HP Spectre x360 with Kaby Lake R, Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered Windows laptops, Ryzen Mobile (Raven Ridge) performance, Intel Kaby Lake R in-depth, Net Neutrality and the Break The Internet campaign, hints on our upcoming Holiday Giveaway and a whole lot more! 05:15 - NVIDIA's Monster Titan V GPU 16:15 - HP Spectre x360 (2017) with Kaby Lake R 24:04 - Qualcomm Snapdragon Windows Laptops 38:00 - AMD Ryzen Mobile (Raven Ridge) with HP's Envy x360 44:25 - Intel 8th Gen Core Mobile Performance Review: Kaby Lake R Explored...
Read more...
For the folks at Intel, all eyes are likely on Qualcomm today. While Intel has faced the toughest competition in recent years from AMD's Ryzen, Ryzen Threadripper, and EPYC family of processors, the company will soon be encountering a separate attack from Qualcomm. As we have reported multiple times, there is a new wave of Windows 10 PCs coming that will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835, ARM-based processors. This improbable feat is made possible by Microsoft's support for full x86 emulation in Windows 10, which is why Snapdragon 835 (and future ARM-based SoCs from Qualcomm) will be able to run the operating system. And these PCs won't be limited to running Universal Windows Platform...
Read more...
