Qualcomm

Samsung Has Troubles Restarting Texas Fab: Chip Shortages to Get Worse

Home News (Image credit: Samsung) Samsung Foundry, Infineon Technologies, and NXP Semiconductors have not yet restarted operating their fabs in Austin, Texas, area as they need time to clean them up and configure them again. The idling fabs will further contribute to the ongoing global shortage of chips, which could affect the pricing of final… Read more

Analysts Forecast TSMC To Double 5nm Output This Year

Home News (Image credit: TSMC) Earlier this year Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. outlined plans to increase its CapEx budget to $25 billion ~ $28 billion in 2021, many industry observers attributed the increase to building out 3-nm capacities in preparation to produce CPUs for Intel and other large customers. This is not quite the case,… Read more

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus review: built for business

You could now line up five years’ worth of Surface Pro devices next to each other and it would be all but impossible to tell them apart. Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 7 Plus keeps the same familiar design, which is likely just to satisfy corporate customers who want to standardize their hardware for years at… Read more

iPhone 13 might finally bring a smaller notch and faster screens, Ming-Chi Kuo reports

Apple’s 2021 iPhones might finally have a smaller notch and, for some models, faster refresh rate displays, according to a new note from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He also shared rumored information about other upcoming iPhones, including when we could see a foldable phone from Apple. Let’s start with the iPhone launching this year, which… Read more

Xiaomi Mi 11 vs OnePlus 8T: Which should you buy?

(Pocket-lint) – For most people, buying the latest flagship usually means buying an iPhone or buying a Samsung Galaxy. But, there are some equally compelling powerful phones from other brands on the market too. Two of those are the latest from Chinese brands, Xiaomi and OnePlus. Those are – of course – the Mi 11… Read more

OnePlus teases ‘moonshot’ announcement for March 8th

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau is teasing a “moonshot” announcement on March 8th, when the company expected to reveal details about its next flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 9. “Something new is on the horizon” a teaser site reads, alongside a photograph that looks an awful lot like the famous “Earthrise” photograph from the Apollo 8 mission…. Read more

Moto G30 review: Low-price but all high praise?

(Pocket-lint) – Motorola is really, really good at making affordable phones. That, ultimately, is its bread and butter. So when, for 2021, it decided to rejig its Moto G family – although not by much, it now takes on a bigger-number-equals-better-features approach – the arrival of the Moto G30 looked like a familiar success story…. Read more

Qualcomm’s new partnership aims to improve haptic feedback on Android devices

Haptic feedback on Android phones running the Snapdragon 888 chipset might get noticeably better starting in the second half of 2021. Qualcomm recently announced (via 9to5Google) that it’s working independently with a company called Lofelt to enhance haptics through software, not hardware. That initially read as a puzzling decision, since hardware — not software —… Read more

Qualcomm’s new AR ‘Smart Viewer’ lets you pin virtual screens to your walls

Chip maker Qualcomm has introduced a new reference design for augmented reality glasses: an AR “smart viewer” you can tether to a phone or PC via USB-C. Called the XR1 Smart Viewer, the system is meant to be lightweight and look (sort of) like sunglasses, while also enabling features like hand tracking and spatial awareness…. Read more

Samsung’s recent Galaxy devices will now get at least four years of Android security updates

Samsung has announced that it’ll be extending the amount of time that its Galaxy smartphones and tablets will be getting security updates. Now, devices released from 2019 and onward will receove at least four years of security updates. Previously, Samsung offered either monthly or quarterly security updates for at least the first two years of… Read more

Huawei Mate X2 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2: What’s the difference?

(Pocket-lint) – Huawei’s second generation of its foldable smartphone comes in the form of the Mate X2. The Chinese company changed the format of the folding device from its predecessor – the Mate X and Xs- moving from a foldable display on the outside, to an inward folding display, like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series. … Read more

5G in the US is disappointing right now, but it’s going to get better

In the US, 5G remains a work in progress, despite carriers waving “5G Mission Accomplished” banners for yearsIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The fourth industrial revolution will not be televised After an introduction from Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg takes the stage. He wears a simple black T-shirt… Read more

Samsung’s S2 Fab Shutdown in Texas Expected to Impact 1% to 2% of 300mm Capacity

Home News (Image credit: Samsung) The brief suspension of Samsung Foundry’s S2 fab because of freezing weather will impact about 1% to 2% of the global 300mm foundry capacity and therefore should not have a noticeable impact on the supply chain, though TrendForce notes that some price hikes are possible. The unprecedentedly cold winter has… Read more

Best gaming phone 2021: The best gaming handsets you can buy

(Pocket-lint) – The mobile gaming community continues to grow, with hot new titles hitting download stores and an ever-expanding fanbase of dedicated players. Manufacturers have noticed this, too, creating handsets specifically tailored for players. Best smartphones: The top mobile phones available to buy today It’s not a brand new concept, but with a number of… Read more

Architecture of Chinese Exascale Supercomputer Proposed: 80,000 Hybrid CPUs with 512-Bit Vector Units

Home News (Image credit: South China Morning Post) In a bid to support development of its scientific, economic, and allegedly military-bound projects, China has been building leading-edge supercomputers for about two decades. Initially, China used hardware developed in the U.S., but as tensions between the country and its main economic rival intensified, China had to… Read more