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Samsung's new phone processor has hardware for on-device AI
Samsung has announced its latest system-on-chip (SoC), the Exynos 9 Series 9820 processor, geared specifically towards managing on-device artificial intelligence applications. Unlike its predecessors, this processor contains an AI-accelerator, or NPU, that means AI-related processing can be carried out directly on the device, rather than sending the task to a server. This adds up to seven times faster performance.
Qualcomm claims Apple stole trade secrets and sent them to Intel
The ongoing dispute between Apple and Qualcomm continues as Qualcomm seeks to add new charges to a current lawsuit it's pursuing against Apple. CNBC reports that Qualcomm is now alleging that Apple stole "vast swaths" of trade secrets through their partnership and used that information to help Intel improve its chips. The company is looking to amend allegations made against Apple in a lawsuit filed last November.
Alibaba will build its own AI chip to support self-driving cars
Chinese internet giant Alibaba is doubling down on its chip manufacturing with a dedicated subsidiary, co-founder and chairman Jack Ma said at an event in Hangzhou this week. The company wants to launch its first self-developed AI inference chip in the second half of 2019, supporting its move into self-driving vehicles and smart products. The move follows the company's announcement back in April that it had begun testing its own autonomous vehicle technology.
Huawei's 7nm Kirin 980 chip could give Qualcomm reason to worry
The race to deliver a seven-nanometer chip is heated, and Huawei has just proclaimed itself the winner. The company just unveiled its Kirin 980 CPU here at IFA 2018, and says it is the world's first commercial 7nm system-on-chip (SoC). But that's not the new processor's only claim for the record books: The 980 is also the first to use Cortex-A76 cores, dual neural processing units, the Mali G76 GPU, a 1.4 Gbps LTE modem as well as support faster RAM. Whew. That's a lot.
Qualcomm's 7nm Snapdragon chip will be ready for 5G phones
Qualcomm is keeping up its habit of using bleeding edge manufacturing for its mobile processors. The chip designer has confirmed that its "upcoming flagship mobile platform" will include a system-on-a-chip (read: the next Snapdragon) built using a faster, more efficient 7-nanometer process. You won't hear details about the chip itself until the fourth quarter of the year, but it will play nicely with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem -- conveniently, just in time for the arrival of the first mobile 5G networks.
TSMC says virus that shut down its plants is a WannaCry variant
Over the weekend, chip manufacturer TSMC reported that some of its fabrication plants had to be shut down because of a virus that had infected the company's systems. While some were able to resume operations quickly, others were out of commission for up to a day. Now, TSMC has blamed a WannaCry variant for the disruption. Bloomberg reports that the company has resumed full operations but shipment delays are expected.
Qualcomm's latest chip will power affordable wireless earbuds
At CES this January, Qualcomm introduced the QCC5100 chipset built to improve battery life, reception and processing power of wireless earbuds. Now the company has announced a cheaper version, the QCC3026, intended to make it easier for device companies to make their own entry-level and mid-tier Bluetooth-connected audio devices -- especially as proprietary buds bundled with phones.
New Snapdragon chips bring dual cameras to more mid-tier phones
With certain exceptions, mid-range smartphones haven't been keeping pace with the bells and whistles of higher-end handsets -- you can still expect 'just' a single rear camera and 1080p video recording. Qualcomm might soon fix that. It's launching the Snapdragon 632, 439 and 429 systems on a chip, all of which promise to make dual cameras (plus a few other features) more commonplace.
Smart prosthetic ankle can adapt to uneven ground
Prosthetic limbs have evolved considerably from the rudimentary wooden appendages of just a few decades ago. They can be bionic, brain-controlled and loaded with features -- and even mimic the sense of touch. But they're still a way off truly replicating the real thing, largely because of issues imitating the many subtle movements and sensations that come naturally to real limbs. Now, however, a new prosthetic ankle is overcoming these challenges.
Tiny MIT chip helps bee-sized drones navigate
You may have seen drones that behave like bees, but drones the size of bees are another matter. How do you help it navigate when virtually any conventional computing power would be too heavy and power-hungry? Make it incredibly tiny, that's how. MIT scientists have developed a new navigation chip, Navion, that's small enough (about 0.03 square inches) and power efficient enough (24mW) that it can fit in a honeybee-sized drone, yet powerful enough to process camera images at 171 frames per second.
Qualcomm is finally releasing a new smartwatch chip
It's been two years since Qualcomm released its latest smartwatch chip, so the company can't blame people for thinking that it already abandoned the market. Apparently, though, that's not the case: Qualcomm's senior director of wearables, Pankaj Kedia, told Wareable that the company is launching a new smartwatch system on a chip (SoC) this fall. Come holiday season, several manufacturers will already have Wear OS smartwatches wielding the power of the new chip available for sale.
Facebook is just crazy enough to make its own processors
Facebook is forming a team to build its own semiconductors, according to job listings and sources that spoke to Bloomberg. The social media company would be joining other tech titans that have recently invested in building their own chips, from Google poaching an Apple processor designer to reports of Amazon making custom hardware to improve Alexa-equipped devices. And, reportedly, Apple.
AMD releases chip patches to address Spectre variant two
AMD has released a microcode update to address variant two of the Spectre chip flaw, which makes computers vulnerable to attacks that could reveal sensitive information such as passwords. It's been released alongside Microsoft's monthly "Patch Tuesday" update, which contains Spectre variant two mitigations for Windows 10.
MIT’s low power encryption chip could make IoT devices more secure
The Internet of Things hasn't ever been super secure. Hacked smart devices have been blamed for web blackouts, broken internet, spam and phishing attempts and, of course, the coming smart-thing apocalypse. One of the reasons that we haven't seen the same sort of encryption as the web affords, however, is that such protection is energy-intensive. MIT is working on a new chip, however, to perform this sort of public-key encryption that only uses 1/400 as much power as a software solution would. In addition, the chip uses about 1/10 as much memory and executes processes 500 times as fast.
Qualcomm rejects Broadcom's revised takeover bid
Broadcom will have to try again in its bid to take over Qualcomm. The Snapdragon chip-maker has rejected a revised proposal to buy all of its outstanding shares, stating that it "materially undervalues Qualcomm and falls well short of the firm regulatory commitment the Board would demand given the significant downside risk of a failed transaction." As a refresher, Broadcom had originally offered to pay $130 billion to acquire all of Qualcomm back in November. That sum was rejected, so Broadcom followed up this month with a revised proposal that valued Qualcomm's shares at $82 each.
Qualcomm hopes Samsung deal will fix its antitrust woes
Troubled chipmaker Qualcomm has struck a deal with Samsung that may quash its hefty antitrust case in South Korea and ward off a rumoured hostile bid takeover from rival Broadcom. While the exact terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, the new patent cross-licensing agreement stipulates that Samsung "will be withdrawing" its interventions in Qualcomm's appeal against its $854 million fine from the Korean Fair Trade Commission.
Congressman requests Meltdown and Spectre briefing from chip makers
US Representative Jerry McNerney sent a letter to Intel, AMD and ARM today requesting a briefing on the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities and the companies' handling of them. McNerney, a California representative and member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said, "I am looking to better understand the nature of these critical vulnerabilities, the danger they pose to consumers and what steps your companies plan to take to protect consumers."
AMD is deploying a patch for the second Spectre CPU vulnerability
While Intel is at the center of the Spectre/Meltdown fiasco, AMD's chips are also affected by the CPU vulnerabilities. The company previously said that the risk of exploit using variant 2 was near zero due to its chips' architecture. But in its latest announcement, it said that because both variants are still "applicable to AMD processors," it also plans to release patches for the second variant to be absolutely safe. AMD already provided PC manufacturers its fix for the first Spectre version, and Microsoft has begun rolling it out. The chipmaker also said it's working with Redmond to address a problem that delayed the distribution of patches for its older processors.
World's coolest chip runs at near absolute zero
How do you find out what happens to physics near absolute zero (aka 0 kelvin), the temperature where particle motion virtually stops? Scientists at the University of Basel might have just the device to do it. They've developed a nanoelectronics chip that they can successfully cool to a record-setting, bitterly cold 2.8 millikelvin. The trick involved a clever use of magnetic fields to eliminate virtually all sources of heat.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 doubles down on cameras and AI
The next-generation mobile processor that you'll most likely find in many of next year's major flagships is here. At its second annual tech summit today, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 845, which is its latest "premium" mobile CPU. The chipset will retain the same 10nm footprint as its predecessor, but feature revamped architecture that brings about new features like 4K HDR video capture on smartphones and improved AI processing. That's in addition to the typical performance and power-consumption upgrades we see each year. Qualcomm said it's focusing on AI, immersion, security, connectivity and performance with the new chipset.
