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Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 packs 600Mbps LTE and smarter charging
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 hype train is getting to be a bit much (just ship the thing, already!), but you might want to take notice of the latest news if you're big on data speeds -- or simply want to charge your phone in a hurry. The company has revealed that its future system-on-a-chip will include the first processor to support super-fast 600Mbps LTE-Advanced, blowing past the 450Mbps record from before. It'll upload at a brisk 150Mbps, too, and this chip is the first to support unlicensed LTE (aka LTE-U). Oh, and did we mention that it'll allow for multi-gigabit 802.11ad WiFi? You probably won't get to use much of this technology in the near term, but it's good to have a ton of futureproofing.
Intel shows off its wearable 'Curie' chip using BMX tricks
At its annual Developer Forum Tuesday, Intel demonstrated a host of new use cases for its button-sized Curie wearable module. Intel has developed the tiny device as a low-power base for consumer and industrial wearables, debuting it first at CES in January and recently shipping the devices to OEMs. "If you have that kind of power in that kind of form factor, possibilities are endless," said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich.
MediaTek's Helio P10 offers octa-core and faster LTE on the cheap
It's only been half a month since MediaTek announced a 10-core mobile processor, the Helio X20, as its flagship product for next year, but the company is already prepping a slightly lesser model to stay true to its roots. Meet the Helio P10, the first member of the "premium performance" family (while the X family is for "extreme performance"). For the CPU alone, this 28nm SoC sits somewhere in between the X10 -- the one that's inside the HTC One M9+ -- and the X20 as it has eight 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores that go up to 2GHz. It's obviously not a proper powerhouse given the lack of Cortex-A57 cores, but that should be good news for your device's battery.
Yes, 10-core smartphones will be a thing in 2016
When MediaTek first launched an octa-core mobile processor back in late 2013, many folks -- including Qualcomm -- called it a gimmick, but said feature has since become quite popular amongst device manufacturers, to the point where Qualcomm eventually had to come up with its very own octa-core offerings. Just to stay one step ahead of others, MediaTek is now prepping the launch of a deca-core aka 10-core chip dubbed the Helio X20, which will succeed the octa-core Helio X10 (MT6795) that's already powering HTC's Asia-only One M9+ plus several upcoming Chinese flagship phones. MediaTek is sampling its new chip in Q3, and the first commercial devices to use it will arrive as early as end of this year.
Samsung-made chips reportedly power Apple's next iPhone
Samsung will reportedly power the majority of the next-generation iPhone according to Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper. The report says that the Korean company will claim 75 percent of processor chip production for Apple's next smartphone: Samsung one of a few companies that have the scale to provide high-end processors in the numbers that Apple needs for its iPhones. The Korean company was the one responsible for crafting the A7 SoC powering the iPhone 5S two years ago, although an apparent exclusive deal with TSMC meant that wasn't involved in Apple's two new phones in 2014. It's unlikely that Samsung and Apple are all-of-a-sudden BFFs, but, well, business is business. We've reached out to both companies for a response.
Intel's 14nm tablet processors are leaner, meaner and finally here
Intel isn't just coming to CES with fifth-generation Core processors for traditional PCs -- it has big news for the tablet crowd, too. The company is now delivering its first 14-nanometer Atom system on a chip, previously nicknamed Cherry Trail. The new processor should be both faster and offer more battery life than the Bay Trail-based Atoms you see today, thanks in part to both the more efficient manufacturing process and a big leap forward in graphics. Cherry Trail is using the same basic video architecture as Intel's other new CPUs (Bay Trail relied on 2012-era tech), so you'll have a better chance of playing 3D games and high-resolution videos on your tablet without hiccups.
With Qualcomm's Snapdragon 210, even the cheapest smartphones will get LTE
While Qualcomm's dominating the premium and mid-range smartphone space, MediaTek's been taking care of the other end of the spectrum until it launched its premium LTE octa-core chipset recently. In China alone, 40 percent of the smartphones shipped in 2014 Q3 are powered by MediaTek, versus 27 percent by Qualcomm, according to IDC (NVIDIA and Intel each had less than one percent share). Of course, emerging markets are where the money's at these days, so it's no surprise that Qualcomm's striking back by offering an LTE-enabled SoC, the Snapdragon 210, for the entry-level market. Better yet, Co-president Cristiano Amon told us in Hong Kong that Qualcomm's specifically aiming at the off-contract sub-$100 smartphones.
Huawei's first octa-core chip promises faster LTE than its rivals
While MediaTek's trotting its way into the premium smartphone market with an LTE octa-core chip later this year, Huawei's creeping up right behind with its own octa-core offering. Like Samsung's newer Exynos 5 Octa variants, Huawei's new Kirin 920 consists of quad Cortex-A15 plus quad Cortex-A7 CPUs that work simultaneously, as well as a powerful Mali-T628 GPU. But what makes this 28nm chip special is its integrated multi-mode LTE Cat 6 radio, meaning it can offer data speeds of up to 300Mbps on networks that are set up for carrier aggregation. These are already live or being tested in the likes of Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Germany.
AMD plays both sides of the CPU wars with chips that use the same socket
Typically, you can't reuse many parts when you switch processor technologies; if you change chips, you change the entire motherboard at the same time. That won't be true for AMD in the future, though. It's working on a common chip framework, Project Skybridge, that will let 2015-era ARM and x86 system-on-chip processors share the same pin layout. In other words, a basic motherboard design could handle both CPU types.
Intel's efficient 14nm processors to arrive on both enthusiast and entry systems
At IDF Shenzhen today, Intel briefly announced the 14nm successor to its budget 22nm Bay Trail processors. Dubbed Braswell, this new SoC architecture is mainly aimed at the likes of affordable Chrome OS and Android devices. It will also complement the higher-end Broadwell announced last September (and pictured after the break), though there's no word on availability for these two 14nm, 64-bit lines -- last we heard was that Broadwell's production had been delayed, with shipment still on track for the second half of this year. Fanless Core i7 systems just can't come any sooner.
Intel's SD card-sized computer may not be so tiny after all
Back at CES, Intel made a big deal of the fact that it could squeeze a Linux-based PC with Bluetooth and WiFi into the size and shape of an SD card. However, with just a few months to go before the launch of these miniscule Edison development boards, it looks like the chip-maker has changed tack. Instead of being based on the Quark SoC, which was specifically designed for wearables and the Internet of Things, the first Edison products will actually rely on a more traditional Atom chip -- in other words, the same sort used in many current Windows tablets and hybrids. An Edison PC based on Atom should deliver more grunt and connectivity options compared to Quark, and for less money, but it'd be too chubby to ever get accidentally jammed in an SD slot. That's why Intel has been forced to admit that, while it continues to work on Quark, the Edison devices coming this summer will be "slightly larger" than was first claimed.
China's Allwinner also has an octa-core chip, touts powerful graphics
Samsung, MediaTek, Huawei and even Qualcomm are now in the octa-core SoC game, but there's always space for more. The latest member is China's Allwinner Technology, who's best known for making the chipsets inside many low-end devices. Like most of its competitors, Allwinner's UltraOcta A80 silicon (pictured above on a development board) uses ARM's big.LITTLE heterogeneous multi-processing design, meaning it can simultaneously run on all eight cores -- four low-power Cortex-A7 and four high-end Cortex-A15. The chip also features Imagination Technologies' 64-core PowerVR G6230 GPU, which promises to deliver "a twofold increase in graphics" performance when compared to Allwinner's previous flagship SoC, the A31 series. We'll spare you from all the nitty-gritty, but you can learn more in the source links below. Expect to see the UltraOcta A80 in affordable devices "in the next few months."
Broadcom's new 5G WiFi chip promises up to twice the real-world speed
It's great to have speedy 802.11ac WiFi in a smartphone, but the technology doesn't always live up to the promise; busy hotspots and walls often slow it down. They may not be as much of a problem once Broadcom's new BCM4354 system-on-chip reaches handsets, though. It's the first mobile part to combine 802.11ac with 2x2 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) antennas, giving the wireless signal a more reliable path when there's a lot of interference. In other words, you're more likely to get close to the chip's 867Mbps peak speed -- Broadcom reckons that the hardware is up to twice as fast as a 1x1 MIMO design. Whether or not the BCM4354 is that quick in practice, you may not have to wait very long to try it out when the chip is already in production. Just who's using it isn't clear, but Samsung is boasting that the Galaxy S5 is the first smartphone to support 802.11ac with MIMO. We've reached out to Broadcom to check whether or not the 4354 is inside Samsung's latest flagship, and we'll let you know if it can confirm anything.
MediaTek's latest processor brings 64-bit to mid-range smartphones
You won't have to fork over a lot of cash to get a 64-bit smartphone this year -- at least, not if MediaTek can help it. The company has just unveiled the MT6732 (not shown here), a system-on-chip aimed at mid-range phone buyers who are willing to pay a little extra for high-end features. It centers around a 1.5GHz, quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor (sorry, no octa-core) that should offer both immediate speed gains and some futureproofing through its 64-bit code support. The chip also incorporates a Mali-T760 graphics unit that can handle both the latest OpenGL ES visual effects and general-purpose OpenCL computing. Its built-in modem offers 150Mbps LTE data on the right network, too. Unfortunately, you'll have to be patient if you want a device with the MT6732 inside. MediaTek isn't making the chip available to companies until the third quarter of the year, and finished hardware should reach the market shortly after that.
Broadcom's new chips could put fast LTE in your budget smartphone
While entry-level smartphones are getting to be quite good these days, few of them have fast LTE; many have to make do with either basic LTE or 3G. If Broadcom is successful with its just-revealed M320 and M340 system-on-chip designs, though, advanced 4G could soon be very affordable. The new chips respectively bundle dual- and quad-core processors with 150 Mbps LTE radios, making it easier for small firms to ship cheap handsets (Broadcom expects sub-$300 pricing) with speedy internet access. They're already integrated with Android 4.4 KitKat, too, so companies don't always have to fuss over software support. Broadcom isn't saying when phones with the new chips will reach the market, but it's currently delivering sample units to "leading" manufacturers.
Huawei joins the octa-core club with a high-spec mobile chip of its own
It's been a year since Huawei's Richard Yu's teased his company's octa-core HiSilicon system-on-chip, and according to the exec's recent Sina Weibo post (screenshot after the break), said product is finally ready. In fact, Yu revealed that his company's launched two new 28nm HPM chips. The octa-core model (likely the K3V3) features the usual quad Cortex-A15 plus quad Cortex-A7 big.LITTLE combo (as implemented by Samsung Exynos 5 Octa); and there's also a new quad-core Cortex-A9 model (likely the K3V2 Pro), which succeeds the 40nm K3V2 that features the same architecture. What's unclear is whether the octa-core chip will allow all eight cores to run simultaneously, but what we do know is that both chips come with a multi-mode LTE modem that will also handle both WCDMA and China Mobile's TD-SCDMA radios. Yu also made a separate post to say we're entering the era of 64-bit octa-core processor (Cortex-A53 plus Cortex-A57) this year, but the message was deleted soon afterwards. What a tease. Anyhow, we have a feeling that Huawei will be showing off its first device powered by its own octa-core chip at MWC next month. That's not to say Huawei's saying goodbye to Qualcomm and MediaTek, though -- Yu confirmed that he'll have more "high-end" devices that will feature chips supplied by these two companies.
Qualcomm to bet big on tablets and connected cars in 2014, says CEO-elect
At Qualcomm's CES press event, CEO-elect Steve Mollenkopf took the stage to share his optimistic -- and perhaps a slightly surprising -- vision of 2014. The exec believes that as OSes are becoming more robust and feature-rich, phone makers like Nokia, Samsung, LG and Sony will make a second coming in the tablet market. This becomes an opportunity for Qualcomm and carriers to cash in, with the latter coming up with more innovative and creative ways to bring in more subscriptions, such as by selling the smartphone and the tablet as a pair. Mollenkopf also name-dropped the Amazon Kindle HDX and the Nexus 7 tablets, which are all powered by his company's Snapdragon chips. "Remember, we look at the market as a long game, so when we look at OSes and how they're doing and how we're progressing, we can be nothing but pleased with how we think that's setting up long term," Mollenkopf said.
MediaTek launches world's first true octa-core mobile chip, first devices due end of year
Qualcomm's nightmare has finally come true. Earlier today, MediaTek officially introduced the world's first true octa-core mobile processor, MT6592, and the first devices to feature it are expected to arrive as soon as end of year. This 28nm chip packs eight low-power Cortex-A7 cores, and courtesy of the Heterogeneous Multi-Processing use model on top of ARM's big.LITTLE architecture (though it's actually "LITTLE.LITTLE" in this case), all eight cores can operate simultaneously -- at up to between 1.7GHz and 2GHz, depending on the bin. MediaTek pointed that Chrome can already make use of all eight cores, and likewise with some map apps, video players plus multi-window function. According to the company's figures, the MT6592 manages to beat what appears to be the quad-core Snapdragon 800 in benchmarks, power consumption (as low as 40 percent) and temperature. You can see the full detail in this article's gallery.
Intel delays Broadwell chips to early 2014 due to production yield problems
We hope you weren't dead set on buying devices using Intel's Broadwell processors, as the company has delayed production of the 14-nanometer CPU line to early 2014. Fixes for early manufacturing defects didn't work as well as expected, CEO Brian Krzanich says, limiting Intel's ability to produce enough functioning chips. The setback shouldn't affect Skylake, Broadwell's successor. Still, it's not good news for a semiconductor firm that's scrounging for good news in an unforgiving PC market.
Intel announces Quark system on a chip, the company's smallest to date
The hits keep coming from IDF. After showing off svelte new 14nm silicon built for laptops, CEO Brian Krzanich announced a brand new SoC series named Quark. It's the smallest SoC the company has ever built, with processor cores one-fifth the size of Atom's, and is built upon an open architecture meant so spur its use. Early on in his keynote, Krzanich said that Intel plans to "lead in every segment of computing," and Quark is positioned to put Intel in wearables -- and, in fact, he even showed off a prototype smartwatch platform Intel constructed to help drive wearable development. And, Intel President Renee James pointed out that Quark's designed for use in integrated systems, so we'll be seeing Quark in healthcare and municipal use cases, too. Unfortunately, no details about the new SoC's capabilities or specs are yet available, but we can give you some shots of Intel's wearable wristband prototype in our gallery below.
