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Samsung is building 256GB memory chips for smartphones
Your smartphone may soon have as much storage as a typical PC. Samsung has announced that it's mass producing 256GB embedded chips, double what it had last year, using the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0 standard. That gives them read speeds nearly twice that of typical SATA-based SSDs at 850MB/s, though write speeds are lower at 250MB/s. It also supports 45,000 IOPS, more than double the speed of last-gen UFS memory. Samsung's memory division VP says the company is "moving aggressively to enhance performance and capacity" of smartphone memory and SSD products, too.
Samsung reveals high-end, low-power chips for midrange phones
Samsung has announced that it's bringing its 14nm Exynos chips to cheaper smartphones. These are smaller chips that are both more efficient and more powerful, and given that the company is already putting the technology to use on competitors' chips (namely, Qualcomm's), it's no surprise to see the chip appear in more phones. Until now, Samsung's only put the FinFET-made (that's 3D-structured) 14nm processors in its best -- and most expensive -- phones. That's about to change.
Qualcomm's new chips will power up smartwatches, mid-range phones
Look inside just about any Android Wear smartwatch (plus a few running alternative OSes, no less) and you'll find one of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400-series chips thrumming away inside. The company's stranglehold on wearable gadget processors is pretty damned thorough, and it just might stay that way thanks to a new chip — the Snapdragon Wear 2100 — that was announced earlier today.
Samsung is making Qualcomm's latest mobile chip
Samsung says it's making new Exynos processors with low-power 14nm chips -- which is no surprise. What is, however, is that the company is also in charge of building Qualcomm's (maker of Snapdragon) latest chips with the same process. Samsung's FinFET 3D structures bump up both performance and reduce power use, which is what makes it ideal for the tiny processors embedded in smartphones. Samsung adds that its second-generation chips improve processor speed by up to 15 percent, and reduce power use by the same amount. Both its homemade Exynos, as well as Qualcomm's chips, have made appearances in Galaxy S phones, but this is the first time Samsung has announced that it would also be making its rivals' chip -- specifically the Snapdragon 820 that's being baked into smartphones now.
Report: Samsung will start building chips for AMD
With falling smartphone sales, Samsung has been trying to boost its chip manufacturing business. AMD, meanwhile, builds CPUs and GPUs for PCs and both major consoles, but doesn't have a fab business anymore. According to Korea's Electronic Times, that kind of synergy was too good to ignore, so Samsung will manufacture CPU and GPU chips for AMD on its 14-nanometer chip foundry starting in 2016. All of AMD's chips are currently manufactured by GlobalFoundries, an Abu Dhabi-owned firm that once belonged to AMD. Both Samsung and GlobalFoundries will reportedly manufacture AMD's latest "Greenland" GPUs and "Zen" CPUs using a 14-nanometer process, which will make them faster and more energy-efficient than previous AMD chips .
Samsung's 'premium' smartphone chip puts everything in one place
Samsung's next chip is a single square of silicon with a load of things your mobile computer needs. To start, the Exynos 8 Octa 8890 (memorable) is based on 14nm FinFET tech, whose 3D design means better power performance. The company has custom-designed the CPU around a 64-bit ARM design, and will apparently give a 30 percent improvement in performance and ten percent in power efficiency compared to the Exynos 7 Octa it replaces. ARM's Mali-T880 graphics processor also snuggles closely next to a high-end LTE modem. You know, like Qualcomm does.
Google is reportedly planning to standardize Android chipsets
Google is trying to take more control of its Android ecosystem by designing its own chips, according to a report from The Information (subscription). The search giant reportedly spoke with chip manufacturers about building Android device processors with features it covets, like a bigger CPU memory cache, quicker cameras and built-in depth-sensor support. It appears that Google is sick of Android device fragmentation, and feels that current hardware is limiting its ability to bring tech like Project Tango to market. It also wants to standardize Android hardware to better compete in high-end phones with Apple, which has seen record sales with the iPhone 6s.
Samsung opened a new huge office in Silicon Valley
Samsung's moving to the cool neighborhood. In a big way. It's just cut the (presumably giant, blue) ribbon on a new campus that houses 700 employees, with enough capacity to reach 2,000 of 'em. Mere miles from Apple's own HQ, the facility signifies Samsung's increased efforts to mix in the same circles as locally established tech giants, including Google and Facebook -- and hopefully further stoke those innovation fires. Samsung has been in the area since 1983, but the new center will help the world's second biggest chipmaker to complement how well it's dominated memory. (It'll also be closer to its renovated chipmaking complex in Austin.) The campus unifies Samsung's until-now scattered Valley presence: work on R&D in semiconductors, LEDs, and displays will all go down in the same place, as well as support staff from areas like sales and marketing -- which likely means even more people looking to live in the Bay area.
AMD spins off Radeon graphics into new division
AMD has formed a new Radeon graphics division and put its highly-regarded CTO, Raja Koduri, in charge. The Radeon Technologies Group will run quasi-independently of AMD with the goal of recapturing market share from NDVIDIA and "staking leadership positions in new markets such as virtual and augmented reality," according to CEO Dr. Lisa Su. Koduri is a key figure in the graphics industry who developed the first DirectX 9 graphics cards. He later helped Apple build its Retina program during a tenure as graphics CTO before returning to AMD in 2013.
Samsung is building chips that will give smartphones 6GB of memory
Your next smartphone or tablet could have double the memory and run much faster thanks to new chips from Samsung. The company just revealed that it's mass-producing 12Gb (1.5GB) DDR4 RAM modules for mobile devices from its 20nm fab plant. The chips take up the same space as the company's 6Gb modules, meaning that companies can double a device's memory in the same space -- or make smaller phones that still have 3GB of RAM.
You won't buy IBM's 7nm chip, but it's a big deal for computing
While Intel is finally getting its 14-nanometer sized chips out to the public, IBM today announced an even more impressive silicon breakthrough: The production of the first working 7nm chip. It's particularly impressive since it took years for chip makers like Intel to move from 22nm chips to 14nm, which offer better power efficiency and faster overall speeds thanks to their denser manufacturing. IBM's 7nm chip, produced together with partners including GlobalFoundries (which is taking over IBM's semiconductor business) and Samsung, will offer similar benefits, but the road to get there was vastly more complex than 14nm chips. IBM says it's using silicon germanium in electricity-conducting channels on the chip, as well as a new lithography method, dubbed Extreme Ultraviolet, to print finer circuits (which are around 10,000 times thinner than human hair). Perhaps most intriguingly it also keeps Moore's Law, the notion that computing power will double roughly every 18 months, alive for the next few years.
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 plots a mobile coup with $1.5 billion investment in Chinese chipmakers
While Intel is prominent in the mobile world, it's often playing catch-up with the undisputed king of the market, ARM (and as a result, Qualcomm). But that doesn't mean it's not willing to spend money to reverse that trend. The company has announced that it's paid $1.5 billion for a 20 percent share in two of China's biggest mobile chipmakers, Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics. The deal will see Spreadtrum jointly create and sell a range of Intel-based system-on-chips (SoCs), which Intel says will power devices from the middle of next year. It gives Intel the boost it needs to begin competing against its more established rivals, but also offers the chance of cracking the world's biggest smartphone market (where Qualcomm is currently facing an antitrust probe). While Spreadtrum is known for low-cost chips that power Mozilla's Firefox OS smartphones, there's every chance this deal could see Intel make more of a splash in the booming Android market.
Driving with Google Glass could earn you a ticket
California is technology's spiritual home in the US, where Teslas roam free, and Google Glass is already a social norm. Well, unless you're a member of the San Diego law enforcement that is -- as one unlucky driver just found out. That commuter was Cecilia Abadie, and she's (rather fittingly) taken to Google+ after being given a ticket for driving while wearing her (soon to be upgraded) Explorer Edition. The official charge is "Driving with Monitor visible to Driver (Google Glass)" meaning even CHiPS know full well what's the latest word in wearable tech. Abadie posted the message in the hope that someone with local smarts might be able to clarify the legal merit of the ticket. We're staying out of it, but if you know your California state laws, then jump on the source and get in the mix. In the meantime, at least our protagonist still has the tools to complete her commute. [Thanks Matt]
Qualcomm outs global LTE chip, claims a world first
Global flavors of LTE bands can be a hassle for travelers and firms making multiple versions of the same device, but Qualcomm says its solved that quandary with a new radio chipset. Dubbed the RF360, the silicon is hailed as the world's first mobile chip that packs support for global LTE, which translates to connectivity for LTE-FDD, LTE-TDD, WCDMA, EV-DO, CDMA 1x, TD-SCDMA and GSM / EDGE -- breaking down the barriers separating roughly 40 different LTE bands. Not only does it lend globetrotters a hand, but Qualcomm claims the component carries a few other "world's first" features that allow manufacturers to build thinner products with improved antenna performance, battery life and connection reliability. The outfit also unveiled the WTR1625L chip, which stakes claim to an industry first by sporting carrier aggregation alongside international LTE compatibility. Hardware made with the RF360 isn't expected to arrive on shelves until the latter half of 2013, but for now you can mosey past the break for the nitty gritty details and a video to walk you through them.
AMD hires chip experts from Qualcomm and Apple, aims to move beyond the PC
Even more transfer news from chipmakers, although this one isn't quite as litigious. AMD has hired two senior engineers with experience at both Qualcomm and Apple. The hires have been confirmed by AMD, which added that the new recruits would help the chipmaker expand into new markets -- though the spokesperson didn't specify what these markets would be. Charles Matar, with expertise in low-power and embedded chip design will join from Qualcomm as AMD's new vice president of SoC Development, while Wayne Meretsky, formerly of Apple, was named vice president of software IP development. AMD still derives around 80 percent of its revenue from PCs, a market that continues to slow as smartphones and tablets continue to flourish. Both will likely be involved in the development of whatever AMD's planning for after Temash.
Reality Absorption Field: What happens in Vegas
A few years ago, a senior Apple executive was once told that, even though Apple did not exhibit at the annual Las Vegas spectacle that is the International Consumer Electronics Show, its presence seemed to linger in the arid air and in the clouded minds of many attendees. "We love that," he replied. But cashing in on the media attention around CES is but one reason that the the tech show from which Apple abstains has relevance to it. At this year's CES, for example, there were several trends that had relevance to Apple's business both from a cooperative and competitive perspective: Displays The main attraction in the CES circus is almost always television, historically the largest consumer electronics category. The show has long hosted advances in TV sets and their AV peripherals. Following in the footsteps of HD and 3D, 4K dominated the announcements of major consumer electronics companies at the 2013 show. Even with Apple's television set still a rumor, the heightened resolution represents an answer form HDTV manufacturers who have seen Apple boast that the iPad's Retina display contains more pixels than their living room behemoths (even though a 4K TV currently costs about 40 times what an iPad costs). Radios But it's not all a competitive story. The availability of TVs that can accommodate the iPad's Retina Display could add value to future versions of AirPlay. Of course, that would be helped by a bigger wireless pipe between the iDevice and the TV, and new Wi-Fi standards were on display at CES. 802.11ac -- the 5 GHz-only successor to 802.11n -- products are slated to be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance with this year. And right before the show, the Wi-Fi Alliance noted that it had merged with the WiGig Alliance; the combined work on short-range sharing in the 60 GHz range which should facilitate the sharing of multigigabit video in the same room, again providing more options. Alas, the Alliance is also again providing more options for future Apple TV products. On the other hand, the alliance is also gearing up to throw its weight behind Miracast, the AirPlay competitor that is already supported by some smartphones. Chips Speaking of competition, the number and kinds of products that compete with Apple's that are shown at CES varies. Following the release of the iPad, there were scores of tablets shown by exhibitors, nearly all of which flopped in the marketplace. With the exception of Lenovo, though, almost all major PC vendors shy from the hallways of the Las Vegas Convention Center. And with Microsoft now leaving CES, that left Intel to carry the PC banner. The giant chipmaker employed some marketing mojo regarding the evolution of higher-efficiency chips that will benefit all of its hardware partners, including Apple, of course. Intel also continues to work toward expanding its role in tablets and smartphones, but it will face competition from ARM-based rivals, including Nvidia's Tegra 4. The new processor includes an impressive 72 graphics cores that should keep Apple on its toes as it evolves beyond today's A6. ---- Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Opinions expressed in Reality Absorption Field are his own.
Apple hiring former Texas Instruments chip designers for Israeli R&D center
Texas Instruments' loss is looking to be Apple's gain. In its efforts to shrink its global workforce by some 1,700 jobs, TI recently let go 250 of its employees in Israel previously tasked with designing chips for mobile devices. According to The Next Web, Apple has snapped up "dozens" of them to staff its R&D facilities in Hertezliya and Haifa, Israel. The new hires were previously working on TI's OMAP (Open Multimedia Applications Platform) hardware and wireless chips used for WiFi and Bluetooth purposes. At Apple the new hires will work under the auspices of the recently formed Technologies group, which is overseen by Bob Mansfield. It's the component of Apple that will be responsible for semiconductor design going forward and is comprised of the folks responsible for silicon including the A6 and A6X used in the iPhone 5 and fourth-generation iPad, respectively.
Samsung denies rumor of increased cost of chip production
Word's been going around that due to the recent friction between Apple and Samsung on the end product front, Samsung has decided to charge Apple even more for another one of its businesses: The chip assembly line. Apple depends on Samsung to make a few different components for its devices, and the rumor mill was saying that Samsung was making things harder for Apple on that supply side. But Samsung has now said that prices haven't changed, for Apple or anyone else. A spokesman for Samsung says that prices on the chips Apple is using "are set at the beginning of the year and aren't changed easily." That's not exactly a denial of the friction we've heard about, but it does make sense that Samsung wouldn't change any deals already in place. Any deals in the future, however, might be strained, to say the least. Apple is not a company that likes to depend on any other companies, especially competitors (just look at the recent replacement of Google Maps for an example of that one). So even if prices for Apple haven't yet changed, odds are that both Samsung and Apple are looking for ways to change this agreement back to their own advantage.
Mansfield may lead Apple away from Intel chips in Macs
Bloomberg is reporting that Apple's Technologies group, headed by senior vice president Bob Mansfield, is exploring advanced versions of the chipsets used in the iPhone and iPad lines for use in the company's future desktops and MacBooks. The outlet cites three people familiar with Apple's research initiative as confirming the plans. According to Bloomberg, the switch isn't likely to happen for at least a few years, but its sources insist that Intel getting the boot is "inevitable" as Apple eventually wants to put its desktops, MacBooks and mobile devices on equal footing in terms of capabilities and compatibility. This shouldn't come as a surprise to most Mac fans who've witnessed the steady increase in iOS features making their way into OS X in recent years. Abandoning Intel for its own internally developed silicon makes sense in terms of Apple's financial and patent interests. However, such a drastic move would have far-reaching implications for developers and legacy software, so it's not likely something the company is taking lightly.
