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Qualcomm confirms loss of a 'large customer', probably Samsung
Qualcomm's presence inside many of the world's most popular mobile devices over the last few years has kept the money coming in (creating the need for the picture shown above), but today there was some bad news. In its Q4 earnings release, the company revealed (PDF) "Expectations that our Snapdragon 810 processor will not be in the upcoming design cycle of a large customer's flagship device." Uh-oh. Even though it didn't say who the large customer is, for years there have been expectations that Samsung would eventually stop relying on Qualcomm chips to run many of its Galaxy phones.
Qualcomm's 2015 chips may make you regret getting a new phone this year
Thanks to Moore's Law, anybody can predict that even the most powerful smartphones and tablets coming out right now (the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, for instance) will be made obsolete by whatever flagships get announced in 2015. These predictions fortunately don't have to be based off of speculation anymore, since Qualcomm just revealed the Snapdragon 810 and 808, a pair of 64-bit high-performance chipsets slated to show up in flagship Android devices early next year.
Qualcomm betting on octa-core tech and better LTE radio in China
Despite Qualcomm's odd stance on octa-core and 64-bit in the past, the company has clearly changed its mind since last week's launch of its Snapdragon 615, which includes both features. Qualcomm's marketing VP Tim McDonough, who briefly spoke to us after his meeting with Oppo at MWC, admitted that this new chip is partly aimed at the ever-demanding Chinese market. "It's very interesting. Consumers in China want octa-core. It's very high on their list; while in the US and Western Europe, it's totally other things that consumers want," the exec said. "So we've really recognized that if that's what Chinese consumers want, that is what our Chinese customers, our OEMs want, and Qualcomm has to care for that need; so that's what we're doing."
Qualcomm updates its top-end chip, reveals future 64-bit and octa-core Snapdragons
No, this isn't quite the flagship chip we've been waiting on, but it's a worthy stopgap. Qualcomm has upgraded its successful Snapdragon 800 processor and notched up its title to the 801. For now, it probably represents the peak of the 32-bit era of Android, with clock speed increases across the board, including a nearly 10 percent increase on the CPU side of things (2.5Ghz instead of the 800's 2.3GHz), a 30 percent increase for the Adreno GPU as well as faster memory. Speed increases like that are par for the course as silicon fabs get into the swing of each product generation, but it means it'll be worth looking out for top-end phones that makes use of the extra power -- not least Sony's Xperia Z2, which is due out next month. As for 64-bit chips, we've already seen the low-end Snapdragon 410, but now Qualcomm has also revealed plans for its mid-tier Snapdragon 600-series. The Snapdragon 610 and 615 will arrive in Android smartphones in Q4 of this year, regardless of whether Android is able to benefit from 64-bit processing by that time. Like the 410 and other devices that will be based on ARM's Cortex-A53, there's full backwards compatibility with existing 32-bit apps, so it's more about future-proofing than anything else. In the case of the Snadpragon 615, it's Qualcomm's first-ever octa-core silicon. According to Anandtech, it looks like the eight cores are divided into two "clusters" that are similar to ARM's big.LITTLE design -- in other words, each quad-core cluster may be designed to handle different sorts of tasks. But Qualcomm added that all eight cores can be operational at the same time, making it a more powerful alternative -- and a more direct threat -- to MediaTek's own octa-core offer.
LG's G2 mini is a smaller flagship by name, not by nature
LG's not left much to the imagination before this month's Mobile World Congress. After it confirmed the G Pro 2 last week, the Korean phone maker today officially announced a smaller version of its current Android flagship: the G2 mini. If you were expecting LG to take a similar approach to Sony, which crammed impressive specs into its Z1 Compact, the G2 mini has its fair share of drawbacks. In that regard, the device is powered by Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 400, the same chip found in the Moto G, while its smaller 4.7-inch display boasts a rather unflattering 960 x 540 qHD resolution. The handset also features 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera, 8GB of onboard storage, and retains the same unique backside as its bigger brother, where the volume rocker and power button are placed just below the rear camera. LG has, however, equipped the mini with Google's latest OS, Android 4.4 KitKat, and will port its custom knock-to-unlock and Guest Mode features over from the flagship G2. The mini is set to go on sale in Russia from March and roll out across Europe, the Middle East and Latin America shortly after. Given the specs, we're looking at a low-priced handset but we don't know yet how low LG will go. Hopefully it'll share more details at MWC next week. Update: Now that an official press release has dropped, it's clear that the version of the LG G2 mini destined for Latin America and the Middle East will come with an NVIDIA Tegra 4i chip rather than a Snapdragon 400. We're pretty sure this is the first appearance of that processor in a retail handset, but don't get too excited: the Tegra 4i isn't actually current-gen Tegra 4, but rather a bunch of less powerful Cortex-A9 cores with integrated LTE.
Qualcomm cans its 4K smart TV chip while everyone's busy watching House of Cards
Remember that awesome Smart TV processor Qualcomm trotted out for CES? It looks like it won't be making its way to your living room after all. The company quietly announced the death of the Snapdragon 802 this week, stating that "the overall demand for processors uniquely designed for smart TVs has proven to be smaller than anticipated." It's a shame, too -- that quad-core chip was specifically designed to push 4K content to your living room with a robust app experience, complete with multitasking support. Considering how many Android sets have hit the market in the last few years, we're left to wonder: is there really a dearth of demand, or is Qualcomm struggling to find a way to market its new silicon?
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.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 802 processor is a 4K powerhouse for your TV
With 4K TVs (and content, hopefully) promising to be one of CES 2014's biggest trends, it makes sense that Qualcomm would introduce a processor tailored to handle heavy-duty streaming. The new Snapdragon 802 is just that: a TV-specific quad-core SoC that shares many features with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 and its "Ultra HD" 805 for mobile video. According to Qualcomm's VP of Marketing Tim McDonough, the Snapdragon 802 brings the best of smartphones to your smart TV. So, in addition to powering 4K content on your living-room set, the processor will enable a much-improved app experience (read: programs that run at an actually usable pace) on your big screen. Of course, it can also handle multitasking, from browsing online while streaming a movie to simultaneously playing up to four HD videos on one TV. And thanks to Hollywood Quality Video, a video-processing engine, 1080p content can be upconverted to a level "approaching Ultra HD." As for where the processor itself will live, that's up to the OEMs. The Snapdragon 802 can be built into both TVs and set-top boxes. The processor won't turn up in devices until late 2014, but we could have a few demoes in store for us at CES this week. If you're looking for more nitty-gritty details, head past the break for some additional specs.
Qualcomm shows more of the Snapdragon 805's camera and pen tricks (video)
Can't make it to CES to see the Snapdragon 805 processor flex its muscles? You won't have to. Qualcomm has posted a slew of videos showing what the chip can do for photography, including automatic close-ups through OptiZoom, continuous focusing on a subject through Touch to Track and natural-looking low-light shots through Chroma Flash. The CPU can even begin recording video as soon as a subject crosses a line, such as at a race. As a bonus, the company has also demonstrated Ultra Sound NotePad, a refinement of an earlier technique that uses microphones to translate a pen's ultrasonic vibrations into on-screen handwriting. It could be a while before you're trying any of these features on a shipping device, but the clips should at least prepare you for the real thing.
Snapdragon 805's desktop-class mobile graphics chops in action (video)
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chip is still pretty dang new, but the company's already churned out a follow-up: the Snapdragon 805, a so-called Ultra HD processor. Like the 800, this version is a Krait-based, quad-core chip, and its biggest selling point is support for 4K video playback on your mobile devices as well as your smart TV. The 805 also includes an Adreno 420 GPU, which Qualcomm says offers 40 percent more graphics performance. Of course, this is the sort of tech that you really need to see to believe. Luckily, a recent trip to San Diego gave us a chance to stop by Qualcomm's HQ and check out the latest Snapdragon demos. Head past the break for a look at the chip's graphics and video chops.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 to bring LTE and 64-bit support to emerging markets
We knew it was only a matter of time before Qualcomm came out with its own chipset capable of supporting 64-bit, but we figured it'd be in something a little more... high-end. The Snapdragon 410, however, is a 28nm SoC that seems to be focused more on lower-end devices and emerging markets instead. Announced by the company today, the new Snapdragon is expected to sample to manufacturers in the first half of 2014, with it reaching consumer devices during the second half. The chip also comes packed with plenty of extra feature support. First on the list is LTE, which Qualcomm says is a feature it wants to bring to all product tiers. In particular, this next-gen connectivity comes with multimode and multiband support, ensuring that many devices carrying the chip will work on LTE networks around the globe (a feature we assume will be up to the OEM to enable). In addition, the Snapdragon 410 will feature an Adreno 306 GPU and offer support for dual- and triple-SIM devices, with 1080p video playback, up to a 13MP camera, GPS/GLONASS, WiFI, NFC and Bluetooth. It'll also be compatible with Android, Windows Phone and Firefox OS, and is geared toward "high-volume" devices in emerging markets which sell for under $150. Of course, even though a lower-tier Snapdragon is the first Qualcomm chipset with 64-bit support, we strongly suspect that it won't be too long before the company comes out with new higher-end SoCs that offer the same capability. After all, CES and MWC are not too far away.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review (global edition)
More Info Samsung Galaxy Note 3 preview Samsung Galaxy Gear hands-on Samsung details new S Pen Three is the magic number. Three is lucky. Three's a crowd. Okay, ignore that last one, but the number 3 does also apply to the latest Galaxy Note, and we're curious to know which of those maxims might apply. What are the marquee features this time around? Well, there's the usual bevy of specification improvements (a 5.7-inch display, quad-core Snapdragon 800 and 3GB of RAM), Android 4.3, some new S Pen features and the small matter of the Gear, that optional, polarizing companion watch. Samsung makes a great many products, even if you just consider the mobile ones. However, since it burst into existence in 2011, the Note has been up there with the Galaxy S series on the flagship pedestal. So, it'd be fair to say that we're expecting big things from this big phone, but with a SIM-free price in the UK of £620, it requires even deeper pockets than its predecessor did at launch (that one cost around £530). That said, if you want one, you'll need big pockets anyway. While you check their size, we've scribbled, doodled and gestured the Note 3 with abandon to see if it's worth the bounty. Read on to find out if it is.
Qualcomm trolls MediaTek's octa-core tech with not-so-subtle video (updated)
When MediaTek announced that it would be producing true eight-core mobile processors later this year, we knew it was only a matter of time before its main rival Qualcomm chimed in. As illustrated by a set of guitar amplifiers, the San Diego gang explains that while they rebuild their CPU cores for each generation (the latest architectures being Krait 300 and Krait 400), they claim that "Our Competitor" -- which is labeled with the same font and colors as MediaTek's logo -- simply "chooses to duplicate the same old cores" based on ARM's slower Cortex-A7 architecture. That said, it's worth a reminder that Qualcomm's cheaper Snapdragon 400 range also uses Cortex-A7. Later on in the video, Qualcomm uses a Guitar Hero-like visualization to compare the performance difference, as well as show how octa-core is overrated for most apps. Apparently only 17 out of the top 20 Android apps in China use two cores at most, hence the bare fretboard for the octa-core side. The Snapdragon side, meanwhile, combs through a denser bunch of apps at a higher speed. Of course, there's bound to be some bias here, so only time will tell how close to reality this argument is. Until then, enjoy the cheeky clip after the break. Update: After reaching out to MediaTek's reps, the response we got was the company "has no comment about the activities of its competitors." But hopefully it's also cooking up a retaliation.
ASUS MeMo Pad FHD 10 LTE specs revealed in official video
It's been sliced, it's been diced, it's been flaunted before. The ASUS MeMo Pad FHD 10 LTE -- a mouthful, we know -- was all but announced when CEO Jerry Shen brandished the slate on stage during Qualcomm's keynote at Computex. While we got our mitts on the dual-core Atom-based (Clover Trail+) non-LTE model in Taipei, the Snapdragon-equipped LTE version's been shrouded in mystery -- until now. ASUS just posted an official promo video on YouTube that outlines the tablet's specs: 9.9mm thick (vs. 9.5mm), 572g (vs. 580g), quad-core processor, stereo speakers, Miracast support, 5MP AF camera, 10-inch 1,920x1,200 IPS panel (178-degree viewing angles), 10-hour battery life, microSD card slot and an optional Folio Key keyboard cover. Not. Too. Shabby. Of course, it's unclear exactly which quad-core Qualcomm SoC the device features, but with LTE in the mix, we're guessing there's a Snapdragon 800 on the menu. Hit the break for the promo video.
Qualcomm grows Snapdragon 200 family with six new chips, targets emerging markets
Just because Qualcomm's gone to plaid (aka. reached ludicrous speed) with its Snapdragon 800 flagship doesn't mean the company's been standing still at the other end of the market. The Snapdragon 200 family just received a major boost with the introduction of six new chips geared at China and other emerging markets. Available with dual- and quad-core CPUs, the processors are manufactured using a 28nm process and incorporate HSPA+ (21Mbps) and TD-SCDMA radios. The new SoCs are optimized to provide good multimedia performance and long battery life, with support for dual cameras (up to 8MP rear and 5MP front), multiple SIMs (dual standby, dual active and tri standby), iZat location tech and Quick Charge 1.0. Qualcomm's Adreno 302 GPU rounds up the spec list, making these chips well suited for devices running Android, Windows Phone and Firefox OS. The company's expected to begin shipping these new processors (8x10 and 8x12) in late 2013. Full PR after the break.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MDP benchmarks: prepare for ludicrous speed
Today we had a chance to play with Qualcomm's latest MDP devices (tablet and phone) which pack the company's mighty Snapdragon 800 SoC (MSM8974).
ASUS' Jerry Shen flaunts unannounced MeMo Pad FHD 10 LTE, due Q3 with Snapdragon
Even after its press events earlier this week, ASUS still had something up its sleeve for Computex. At a Qualcomm keynote just now, ASUS CEO Jerry Shen took the opportunity to tease an unannounced Android tablet, which is due Q3 this year. Given that it was a Qualcomm event, it was no surprise that the exec confirmed the presence of a Snapdragon chip along with LTE radio on this mysterious slate. Shen also mentioned a full HD display, and given the similar appearance but with a different port layout, we are led to believe that this device will simply be an LTE variant of the new MeMo Pad FHD 10 sans Intel Atom. This could even turn out to be the K005 that we saw in the FCC database, as the MeMo Pad FHD 10 carries the K00A model number. Anyhow, here's Shen's full speech about the tablet: "In Q3 of this year, we will raise the bar of mobile devices by launching an incredible LTE tablet, which will have Qualcomm Snapdragon, full HD display and ASUS SonicMaster to bring our consumers the most superior and seamless mobile experience. I will save the rest for our launch event in the fall." Update: ASUS just confirmed to us that the tablet is conveniently called the MeMo Pad FHD 10 LTE. What a mouthful!
Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 400 with built-in LTE, new reference tablet designs
Qualcomm doesn't want to reserve the fastest wireless technology for its highest-end processors: it's launching a new quad-core edition of its Snapdragon 400 chip, the MSM8926, with both 3G and LTE built-in. The 1.2GHz, Cortex-A7 part will handle the faster wireless speeds alongside 42Mbps HSPA+ and China-friendly TD-SCDMA. It will also continue to support shorter-range technology like 802.11ac WiFi and Miracast streaming. The newer Snapdragon should arrive late this year alongside a matching Reference Design tablet. In the shorter term, the company is also introducing 7- and 10-inch versions of the Reference Design tablet that will be based on earlier, 3G-only versions of the Snapdragon 400 (the MSM8230 and MSM8030). These variants are targeted at developing world markets, and should be display on the Computex show floor this week -- naturally, we're hoping to get a first-hand look.
Sony's Xperia A Android 4.1 smartphone announced for NTT DoCoMo
Sony is adding another option to its smartphone lineup with this Xperia A it just announced in Japan. Spotted a few days ago in an FCC filing, the SO-04E will be released on the 17th on NTT DoCoMo. It slots in a step below the Z and ZL models on the spec sheet however, with a 1,280 x 720 4.6-inch LCD. It shares most of their internals, with a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU and Android 4.1, which are nice, but not the latest out (Snapdragon 600 and Android 4.2.) It also packs a 2,300mAh battery, 13MP rear camera and 0.3MP front camera. Like all of the phones announced today in NTT DoCoMo's summer push it supports LTE, and it will have NOTTV access after an update this fall.
Qualcomm Q2 2013 earnings: revenue up to $6.12 billion, profit reaches $2.07 billion
Qualcomm is having an easy time riding the growing wave of mobile devices. Case in point: its very healthy second quarter earnings. Revenue at the San Diego outfit climbed 24 percent year-over-year to $6.12 billion, while the chip designer's net profit grew a similarly brisk 17 percent, to $2.07 billion. The figures were respectively up a modest 2 percent and down 6 percent versus last quarter, but that's to be expected given the usual post-holiday lull. Qualcomm still shipped a more than ample 173 million units of its MSM chips, and it expects to return $431 million to shareholders for their trust. The company also has a rosy-cheeked vision of the future -- it expects its third quarter revenues and profits to climb by at least 25 percent and 14 percent each, even with shipments down to as little as 163 million. When Qualcomm is at the heart of the HTC One, many Galaxy S 4 models and the Optimus G Pro, there's a good chance the company is being realistic about its prospects.
