Should Qualcomm Feel Threatened By Apple’s M1 Macs?

PCMag.com’s lead mobile analyst calls Qualcomm “a little too unbothered by Apple’s M1 Macs” Qualcomm executives brushed off a question about Apple’s new M1-based Macs during a question-and-answer session at the company’s Snapdragon Summit today, where Qualcomm announced a new flagship smartphone chipset but no upgrades to its year-old chips for PCs… In general, reviews of Qualcomm-powered laptops such as the…

Samsung Announces Exynos 1080 — 5nm Premium-Range SoC with A78 Cores

Samsung LSI today announced the new Exynos 1080 SoC (system on chip), a successor to last year’s Exynos 980. This year’s 1080 is seemingly positioned a little above the 980 in terms of performance as we’re seeing some quite notable gains in features compared to the 980. From a report: It’s to be remembered that this is a “premium” SoC, meaning…

Could RISC-V Processors Compete With Intel, ARM, and AMD?

“As promised, SiFive has unveiled a new computer featuring the company’s SiFive FU740 processor based on RISC-V architecture,” reports Liliputing: The company, which has been making RISC-V chips for several years, is positioning its new SiFive HiFive Unmatched computer as a professional development board for those interested in working with RISC-V. But unlike the company’s other HiFive boards, the new Unmatched…

Huawei Announces Last Major Phone Before US Ban Forces Rethink

Huawei introduced the Mate 40 smartphone series on Thursday, potentially its last major release powered by its self-designed Kirin chips. From a report: China’s biggest tech company by sales has been stockpiling chips to get its signature device out in time to compete with Apple’s iPhone 12 over the holidays. Huawei will have to overhaul its smartphone lineup after Trump administration…

Qualcomm To Launch Its Own Premium Snapdragon Branded Phones

According to Taiwanese publication DigiTimes, Qualcomm is planning to launch new premium smartphones under its own brand name. It’s reportedly partnering with ASUS to manufacture and distribute the devices globally. HotHardware reports: It would appear that Qualcomm’s intent is to showcase ultra-premium experiences for Snapdragon Android phones in the market. This would in effect be a “super phone” of sorts that…

The Fairphone 3+ Is a Repairable Dream That Takes Beautiful Photos

The Fairphone 3+ is a $550 phone with modular parts that can easily be swapped out by users themselves. “In many ways, a Fairphone is the antithesis of the iPhone,” writes Catie Keck via Gizmodo. “It doesn’t benefit most retailers to allow you to easily repair your own stuff, meaning that a lot of gizmos these days — particularly higher-end electronics…

Digital Cockpits Will Become the Norm This Decade, Research Says

Future cars will, by and large, say goodbye to analog gauges as digital clusters and more screens become mainstream. CNET reports: Big screens at least 12 inches large, virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence and both video and game streaming will all trickle down to hundreds of millions of cars by 2030, ABI Research believes. We don’t want to know what…

Qualcomm’s Founder On Why the US Doesn’t Have Its Own Huawei

Wired has interviewed Irwin Jacobs, a founder of Qualcomm. They talk about a wide-range of topics. Here’s an excerpt that addresses Chinese tech giant Huawei’s growth globally: At first, Qualcomm manufactured its own phone headsets, selling them in Asia. That was around the time it went public in 1991. Eventually, though, it sold off those parts of the business and became…

Qualcomm Doubles 5G mmWave Range To 2.36 Miles For Broadband Modems

As 5G networks have continued to spread across the world, the biggest issue with ultra-fast millimeter wave (mmWave) towers has been their short transmission distance, which is generally measured in city blocks rather than miles. Today, Qualcomm announced a breakthrough in mmWave transmission range, successfully achieving a 5G data connection over a 3.8-kilometer (2.36-mile) distance — over twice the range originally…

Tesla, Intel, and Others Urge America’s FTC to Oppose Qualcomm Ruling

Tesla, Ford, Honda, Daimler, and Intel have asked America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to fight a recent court ruling in favour of Qualcomm, reports the BBC:
Qualcomm has a practice of requiring customers to sign patent licence agreements before selling them chips. Such practices have drawn accusations the firm is stifling competition… According to Glyn Moody, a journalist specialising in tech policy,…