5G - Page 23 of 74

Qualcomm reclaims the clock speed title with the Snapdragon 870 5G chipset and its 3.2 GHz CPU

Old is gold – Qualcomm and TSMC figured out how to squeeze a bit extra performance out of the 7 nm node and created the Snapdragon 865++. Or as the company prefers to call it, the Snapdragon 870 (SM8250-AC).

Its CPU reaches the highest clock speed in the mobile world – the prime core now runs at 3.2 GHz, up from 3.1 GHz on the 865+ and 2.94 GHz on the vanilla 865. Those two were surpassed by the Kirin 9000 and its 3.13 GHz prime core, but now Qualcomm has reclaimed the clock speed crown.

The Snapdragon 870 still uses Kryo 585 cores, which are based on ARM’s Cortex-A77 with some in-house tweaks. The Snapdragon 888 CPU is based on the newer Cortex-X1 and A78 instead, so while it runs at lower frequencies (2.84 GHz for the X1), there’s more to the performance story. We’ll have to wait for the first benchmarks to see how all these chips compare, though.

The Adreno 650 GPU makes a comeback, but it’s not clear if it received a clock boost of its own and, if not, whether it’s running at the 865 frequency (587 MHz) or 865+ (670 MHz). The Hexagon 698 and the Tensor Accelerator deliver the same 15 TOPS as the two 865 chips so that definitely did not get a boost.

The display driver can run 1440p class panels at up to 144Hz (or 4K at 60 Hz) and supports HDR10+ (Rec. 2020 color gamut). The Spectra 480 ISP is unchanged as well, with support for sensors up to 200 MP, 8K video capture at 30 fps (and 4K at 120 fps), high dynamic range videos using the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision standards.

Similarly, the FastConnect 6800 system appears to be the same. It supports Wi-Fi 6 (up to 1.77 Gbps) and Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX Voice and Adaptive. Note that the 865+ used the slightly upgraded FastConnect 69000, which offered Wi-Fi 6E.

There’s no onboard 5G modem, instead the chipset will be paired with an external Snapdragon X55 with sub-6 and mmWave support (up to 7.5 Gbps downlink speeds).

The Snapdragon 870 will be used in phones by Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi and iQOO. Motorola says it will launch its phone “soon”, but there are no exact dates for any of the upcoming devices. The companies did give a few hints what kind of phones they are working on, though.

All of them will highlight 5G, of course, but Xiaomi specifically mentioned cameras, while iQOO is making a gaming phone.

Exynos 1080
Snapdragon 865+
Snapdragon 870
Snapdragon 888
Kirin 9000
Process
Samsung 5 nm EUV
TSMC 7 nm
TSMC 7 nm
Samsung 5 nm EUV
TSMC 5 nm EUV
CPU (prime)
1x Cortex-A78 @ 2.8 GHz
1x Cortex-A77 @ 3.1 GHz
1x Cortex-A77 @ 3.2 GHz
1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.84 GHz
1x Cortex-A77 @ 3.13 GHz
CPU (big)
3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.6 GHz
3x Cortex-A77 @ 2.42 GHz
3x Cortex-A77
3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.42 GHz
3x Cortex-A77 @ 2.54 GHz
CPU (little)
4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.0 GHz
4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz
4x Cortex-A55
4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz
4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.05 GHz
GPU
Mali-G78 MP10
Adreno 650 (670 MHz)
Adreno 650
Adreno 660
Mali-G78 MP24
NPU
5.7 TOPS
15 TOPS
15 TOPS
26 TOPS
?
5G modem
3.67 Gbps (mmWave), 5.1 Gbps (sub-6)
7.5 Gbps (mmWave)sub-6
7.5 Gbps (mmWave), sub-6)
7.5 Gbps (mmWave), sub-6
6.5 Gbps (mmWave), 4.6 Gbps (sub-6)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz)
Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz)
Wi-Fi 6

Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G is the evolution of Snapdragon 865 Plus: here are the features

The new SoC will support 5G bands and mmWave, and is expected to be implemented on high-level devices, even if lower-end than the top of the range with Snapdragon 888.

by Nino Grasso published 19 January 2021 , at 15: 31 in the Apple channel

Qualcomm Snapdragon

Qualcomm took the veils off the Snapdragon 870 5G Mobile Platform , a follow-up to the more powerful platform of the previous generation. Qualcomm defines it as the direct evolution of Snapdragon 865 Plus, resuming its configuration and bringing the maximum operating frequency of the core “prime” at 3.2 GHz (SD 865 Plus stopped at 3.1 GHz). The architecture remains the Kryo 585 that we saw on last generation chipsets.

The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 then puts on the plate: increased performance, support for Snapdragon Elite Gaming technologies and, above all, a 5G modem compatible with both the sub-6 GHz and mmWave bands. And there is no lack of support for Artificial Intelligence.

“Designed on the success of Snapdragon 865 is 865 Plus, the new Snapdragon 870 was developed in response to the needs of manufacturers and the mobile industry ” , Qualcomm’s Kedar Kondap said. “The new processor will power a selection of flagship devices from manufacturers such as Motorola, iQOO , OnePlus, Oppo and Xiaomi “ .

We can define the new Snapdragon 870 as an overclocked version of the previous flagship, made with the same 7-nm production process. We therefore have eight cores with Kryo architecture 585 to 64 – bit, including the main at 3.2GHz and no longer at 3.1GHz as on 865 Plus, combined with a Adreno GPU 650 which on paper remains unchanged from that of its predecessor. The modem is also the same Snapdragon X 55 5G, with support for all bands and to standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA), FDD and TDD modes. The new platform is clearly compatible with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 and supports video resolutions up to 4K at 60 Hz.

The first products with Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G will be announced by Motorola, iQOO, OnePlus, Oppo and Xiaomi probably in the next few weeks, in the first quarter of 2021 .

Qualcomm unveiled the new Snapdragon 870 system circuit

The novelty circuit is a slightly revived version of last year’s top models.

Qualcomm has expanded its system circuit repertoire today with the new Snapdragon 870 model. The novelty is positioned in the company’s collection between the recent Snapdragon 888 flagship district and last year’s Snapdragon 865 + flagship district. The novelty is largely based on the 865 + model and is said to respond to requests from equipment manufacturers. Strong kinship is also indicated by SM 8250 – AC model number – in 865 it is SM 8250 and 865 + in SM 8250 – AB

The properties of the seven – nanometer process 870 are very close to last year ‘s 865 models. The circuit includes eight Kryo 585 processor cores, the most powerful of which now reaches a maximum clock speed of 3.2 GHz. The graphics processor is the same Adreno 650 and the 5G connections are implemented with a separate X 55 modem circuit. WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 support is provided by the FastConnect 6800 subsystem used in the Snapdragon 865 base model.

According to Qualcomm, the novelty circuit will be used in future top models from Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo and Xiaom. The first phones using the circuit will be released during the first quarter.

Source: Qualcomm

Perspective: Folding screens and 5G flop, or slowly maturing?

What does the year 2021 look like in terms of the most significant smartphone technologies of recent times?

The smartphone market has become quite saturated in recent years, and the past year, helped by the corona, has indicated that the rise in the price level of high-end phones in particular is beginning to reach its peak. Many in the industry are of the opinion that too little is really being seen in the new phones, but on the other hand, the proliferation of new technologies such as 5G and the folding screen has not been particularly well received by everyone. Given the potential of folding display technology to change the structure and usability of smartphones as a whole, or the impact of 5G on the evolving potential of mobile devices, criticisms of the lack of development in the sector seem somewhat contradictory in some places.

The first folding display phones were already on the market in the first half of the year 2019, but the year 2020 brought more technical solutions more mature, although there is still a long way to go for a mass market-friendly implementation. . Samsung has so far been the most prominent of the manufacturers pushing folding display technology to the phone market, and the company has announced plans to launch more and cheaper folding display phones this year. So far, there is no more detailed information on how low Samsung can push the price level, but the fact is that the high price level has so far been one of the biggest brakes on the spread of new display technology. As long as the price level is lowered and options that appeal to ordinary consumers are introduced to the market, it will only be possible to see whether the folding screen has enough bangs to create a new trend in the smartphone market. However, during the year 2021, a significant increase in the use of folding telephones is unlikely to be seen. According to preliminary data, folding screen phones from other major manufacturers are also promised this year, so the supply will certainly increase

. Like the foldable display technology, the first smartphones with 5G support were already seen in the year 2019, but it wasn’t until last year that 5G made a strong case for mid-range devices in addition to high-end phones. The 5G technology used in phones developed by the year 2020 by far the fastest energy, but there is still room for improvement in this area compared to 4G. 5G devices also went well in trade, although not necessarily primarily with user needs, but with supply and market control. In other words, especially in the second half of the year, for those who buy a phone over 300 as a whole, the best options were almost entirely 5G models, even though there was no need for a new generation connection yet. . In addition, sales of 5G models in particular were boosted by very attractive offers. On the subscription side, Finnish operators shifted their emphasis to 5G subscriptions through both pricing and selection. By the end of the year, virtually all of the faster subscription options had been converted to 5G, and the fastest 4G subscriptions were priced so that choosing a 5G subscription was very attractive.

In 2021 5G support will become more widespread in more affordable price ranges and will be seen in phones less than 144 phones . The spread of 5G is being accelerated by system circuits with 5G modems aimed at increasingly lower price ranges, which are currently Mediatek’s cheaper Dimensity models and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 690 and 480 models. Phones with 4G connections alone are fast becoming the exception and mainly the feature of the cheapest price range.

From the average user’s point of view, the proliferation of 5G will not provide a major sudden upheaval

From the average user’s point of view, the proliferation of 5G will not provide a major sudden revolution, but will mainly improve the performance and speed of mobile networks as technology becomes more common. It is also worth remembering that there is still a kind of transition going on, where 5G NSA (non-standalone) network technology also partially utilizes the old 4G networks. “Full-blooded” 5G networks based on cloud-based 5G Core technology are still in the testing phase in Finland and operators have not announced their exact launch schedules, but they can be expected to be completed within 1-2 years, according to io-Tech. Only Standalone 5G technology brings with it the most significant benefits of the new network technology, such as lower delays and much more versatile traffic management, which enables e.g. slicing of network capacity on a per-user basis

To answer the title question, both 5G and folding screens are still in the maturing stage, but their future prospects are quite different. 5G will become the new norm in the next few years, and while the overall level of service on mobile networks will improve, many basic users will not pay much attention to it. Folding screens are also in the process of maturing, but their future is so far a full question mark, and the year ahead is unlikely to determine anything lasting about the future of technology.

Other smartphone features already seen last year, but becoming more widespread this year, will include adaptive high-refresh rate displays as well as flagship cameras with four different focal lengths. Over the past year, most high-end phones have already found a high refresh rate display 90 and 144 Hertz fork. However, only in a few cases was the refresh rate a content-adaptive variety. This year, at least 144 Hertz screens will become more common in more expensive end phones even more and an adaptive refresh rate will be available for more and more models. 90 and 120 Hertz displays will also become more common in mid-range models.

On the camera side, rear camera assemblies with four different focal lengths were still quite rare last year. This year, they may be seen on higher end phones more than before. A typical combination of four cameras is likely to be a combination of ultra-wide-angle, wide-angle, short-zoom (normal / telephoto) and long-camera, which can already cover a fairly wide focal range. With this, of course, the size of the camera nodules will also increase even more. The number of megapixels for image sensors will also increase, as Samsung, for example, is rumored to release a 200 megapixel sensor. Increasing image processing performance will allow for faster processing and utilization of larger image data as well as data from multiple cameras simultaneously.

On the battery side, charging speeds will certainly increase even further, but the benefits for the consumer are already beginning to be questioned in many places, as already significantly lower charging powers have already achieved quite fast charging speeds. Manufacturers would therefore like to focus more on features that extend battery life, such as limiting charging power and setting a charge level limit, which are currently only found in phones from a few manufacturers. The omission of chargers from the sales package, a trend that is becoming more common based on the latest flagship releases from Apple, Xiaom and Samsung, brings its own spice to the soup. The solution will certainly reduce unnecessary electronic waste, but will also increase sales of accessories and make it more challenging for the basic consumer to find the full potential of the phone.

io-Tech’s goal is also to handle all major smartphone publications published in the Finnish market in the year 2021 as soon as possible. As launched last year, the most significant smartphone releases will be covered in the form of fresh first-time video, and the actual test article will be published in writing as soon as possible on the site side. The aim is to better optimize the publication time of articles compared to last year through pre-planning and a shorter lead time (time from the arrival of the test device to the publication of the article).

We also selected the best smartphones of the year 2020 in four different price categories during io-Tech’s mobile delivery. In the price range below 200 our choice was Nokia 5.3, below 450 in the euro price range Samsung Galaxy A 51 5G, less than 700 in the OnePlus 8T price category and over 700 in the OnePlus 8 Pro flagship category. In the video below you can see a more detailed justification for the choices as well as the worst challengers in each price range.

1 & 1 no longer actively markets mobile phone tariffs in the Vodafone network

1 & 1 Drillisch has stopped active marketing of its mobile phone tariffs in the Vodafone network. A company spokesman confirmed this to heise online. Accordingly, the tariffs in the D-Netz can still be booked via the customer hotline.

First, teltarif reported on the marketing stop. The industry magazine has received an email in which 1 & 1 asks its sales partners to stop advertising tariffs in the Vodafone network. The tariffs are also no longer offered on the 1 & 1 website.

No change for existing customers Existing customers can use their D-Netz Continue to use tariffs without restriction, emphasized a spokesman for heise online. Anyone who specifically asks for a tariff in the D network will receive an offer. 1 & 1 continues to work with Vodafone.

“1 & 1 concentrates on the marketing of high-performance mobile phone tariffs. There are high-performance and modern LTE and 5G tariffs with mobile data speeds of up to 225 Mbit / s or 300 Mbit / s in focus, “announced the company.

1 & 1 could offer tariffs with a better price-performance ratio in the Telefónica network, the spokesman continued. These are also in greater demand. It is therefore conceivable that 1 & 1 considers the offers in the Telefónica network to be more competitive and wants to reduce the demand for the D tariffs by stopping applications.

Contract with Telefónica up to 2025 The D-Netz tariffs from 1 & 1 include the Vodafone variants of 1 & 1 All-Net-Flat, 1 & 1 All-Net-Flat Young and the 1 & 1 Daten-Flat. The company continues to offer its tariffs in the O2 network of Telefónica Deutschland.

1 & 1 Drillisch’s contract with Telefónica ended 2019 until June 2025 extended. With the so-called “MBA MVNO contract”, Telefónica Deutschland grants the mobile network provider 1 & 1 Drillisch bitstream access to its mobile network. This means that 1 & 1 Drillisch can sell its customers wireless services in the O2 network under its own management. By leasing the network capacity, Telefónica Deutschland fulfills a requirement of the EU Commission for the takeover of E-Plus.

(dahe)

Asus presents ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000, Wi-Fi 6E routers arrive

The routers that adhere to the WiFi standard 6E can also take advantage of the 6 GHz band, as well as the 5 and 2.4 GHz ones. This allows you to have up to 7 extra channels from 160 MHz and greatly expanded device functions.

by Rosario Grasso published 11 January 2021 , at 12: 11 in the Peripherals channel

ASUS ROG

Asus announced ROG Rapture GT-AX 11000 , a router based on the recent standard Wi- Fi 6E (802. 11 ax) . Wi-Fi 6E technology, which ensures full support for all existing wireless devices, takes full advantage of the radio spectrum in the frequency of 6 GHz , ensuring a large increase in bandwidth and adding up to seven frequency bands from 160 MHz to the two already made available by Wi-Fi 6.

Among the other advantages of the Wi-Fi 6E standard is the fact that the 6 GHz band operates without the Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) function , so that devices can connect instantly without running into the delays imposed by DFS. In the standard 5 GHz frequency in Wi-Fi 6, the channels at 160 MHz must necessarily operate using DFS, which can slow down the process of connecting or reconnecting to the wireless network.

Among the features of the new high-end router from Asus we find a combined Wi-Fi speed up to 11 Gbps and 2 Gbps WAN and WAN aggregation / 2.5 Gbps LAN for 4K / 8K broadband streaming in densely populated networks. Regarding the Wi-Fi bandwidth, the router provides 1148 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band, 4804 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and 4804 Mbps on the 6 GHz band. GT-AXE 11000 also has the WAN aggregation function to reach Internet connection speed up to 2 Gbps .

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX 11000 is also equipped with a quad-core CPU a 64 bit from 1.8 GHz assisted by 1 GB of RAM to allow parallel processing when handling data generated by multiple high performance devices. To reduce power loss and maximize coverage, Asus ROG engineers have minimized the distance between the motherboard connectors and the antennas. The new antenna design optimizes the signal strength that spreads in every direction and each of the eight antennas is well isolated from the neighboring ones, with particular attention to the four antennas dedicated to the 6 GHz frequency.

We also find advanced software features which include Triple-Level Game Acceleration, VPN Fusion, ASUS AiMesh and ASUS AiProtection Pro for network control while gaming. The new Asus ROG router includes a dedicated Gaming Port that gives a high priority to any device wired to it connected, ensuring that data transferred over this connection always takes precedence – this lowers ping values and reduces game latency.

Game Boost is an adaptive QoS that allows players to prioritize packets in transit that relate to games within the network. GT-AX 11000 also includes a free trial of 90 days of Outfox to ensure a faster and more stable connection to the game server. GT-AX 11000 also supports ASUS AiMesh, which allows gamers to create their own mesh Wi-Fi system inside the house so you can connect with other AiMesh compatible routers, all with seamless roaming, synchronized functions and centralized control.

GT-AX 11000 finally includes the free AiProtection Pro service for life, a solution for networking protected by layers professional security backed by Trend Micro and that protects all devices on the network. Periodic automatic updates are made available on a regular basis to ensure that the network is always up to date.

benefits of Wi-Fi 6

The combination of technologies OFDMA and MU-MIMO of Wi-Fi 6 improves network efficiency and capacity up to four times compared to WiFi 5 (802. 11 ac), plus higher efficiency in multi-device environments. Wi-Fi 6 also has the function called “Target Wait Time “ with program the data transmissions in order to allow particular types of devices, such as IoT sensors, to remain in standby for longer periods and, consequently, reduce the energy consumption of the device itself, with the result of obtaining a significantly improved battery life.

More details on the new Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX 11000 can be found on the official Asus website.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE 11000 – technical specifications

Below are the complete specifications of the new Asus RO router G:

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX 11000
Antennas	8 external antennas
Frequency of operation	2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz
Wi-Fi Data Rate	802. 11 ax (2.4 GHz): f up to 1148 Mbps 802. 11 ax (5 GHz): up to 4804 Mbps 802. 11 ax (6 GHz): up to 4804 Mbps
Supported standards	IEEE 802. 11 a, IEEE 802. 11 b, IEEE 802. 11 g , IEEE 802. 11 n, IEEE 802. 11 ac, IEEE 802. 11 ax, IPv4, IPv6
Memory	256 MB NAND Flash 1 GB DDR3
I / O ports	1 x RJ 45 00 / 100 / 1000 Mbps for WAN 4 x RJ 45 10 / 100 / 1000 Mbps for LAN 1 x 2.5G WAN / LAN 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1
Buttons	Power on / off, Reset, WPS, WIFI on / off & LED
DC power adapter	AC Input: 100 V ~ 240 V (50 ~ 60 Hz) DC Output : 19 V / 3. 42TO
Dimensions	328 x 328 x 179 mm, 1782 g

.NET Core is vital for CMS developers

Various trends from the IT environment are currently affecting content management systems (CMS). For 2021, the business application provider Progress, which specializes in CMS among other things, has identified six key topics for the CMS market.

As the successor to the .NET framework, .NET Core enables cross-platform ASP.NET apps to be built for Windows, Mac and Linux. With its help, developers can create hybrid and progressive web apps faster and easier. In addition, configurable widgets increase your productivity. Since developers have a decisive influence on CMS purchase decisions, CMS without .NET Core will receive less and less attention, predicts Progess.

It depends on the interfaces Various experts agree on the subject of headless: Providers will be forced to rely on decoupled solutions. The majority of companies need integration in the backend. In addition, they have to use several channels in the front end. For these reasons, modern CMS platforms are either headless or decoupled. Both variants separate the content from the presentation and contain APIs for delivering the content to the different channels.

However, according to Progress, purely headless CMS platforms are lacking due to their best-of-breed approach Website development applications with WYSIWYG (“What You See is What You Get”) options designed for non-technical users. The manufacturers are therefore obliged to improve and equip their CMS platforms with such applications or to recommend applications for them.

Personalization through edge computing Edge Computing helps to make personalization more efficient for the customer. In this context, the new 5G cellular standard also plays a role, which will help to further spread edge computing. Hyper-personalization is now taking place in more places than before. According to Progress, in the future, for example, shopping lists on consumers’ mobile devices are conceivable in the food retail sector, which will dynamically adapt to the position and route of users through the aisles of a store according to Progress the online-offline merger. Both worlds are becoming more and more mixed when it comes to consumers, for example. A number of supermarkets, for example, have already started displaying prices in stores digitally. In this way, the prices can be adjusted in real time. CMS-driven retail must react to this development, says Progress. At this point, CMS can support the mixing of online and offline with the help of artificial intelligence.

Chat functions are becoming more and more established Integrated chat functions are clearly on the advance – more and more websites or online shops offer users the opportunity to contact them directly via chat. A few years ago, chatbots looked awkward, but now more and more companies are using them. With better technology behind them, they help users in first-line support or forward them to real people if necessary. This is why Progress sees chat functions as part of the basic configuration of CMS in the future.

Furthermore, Progress observes that companies are increasingly opting for CMS-based portals. The motivation behind this can be seen as the Covid – 19 – pandemic, which separates both employees and customers from the company. Therefore, more and more modern, interactive portals will be used in the future. This would enable companies to support remote work, optimize their business processes and improve customer service, it is said. Further information on the trends in CMS can be found on the Progress blog.

(csc)

Micro-chips: Auto industry laments supply bottlenecks

Europe’s carmakers remain vulnerable – even if many of the destroyed supply chains have only just been repaired after the Corona crash. But an indispensable group of components is missing more and more frequently: semiconductor modules, the heart of all electronic systems and microchips. Some auto production lines have to close again because supplies are stagnating. And simply switching to other partners is often not an option because the total amount available is already extremely scarce. Especially in the powerful producer country China, the production of the central semiconductor raw material silicon is currently underutilized, while demand is skyrocketing.

The German electronics industry sees it a mixed situation, at least in terms of the short-term auto business. “Since spring, the decline in the auto industry in the wake of the corona situation had initially decreased significantly,” explains the managing director of the ZVEI industry association, Wolfgang Weber. “Chip manufacturers had to convert their capacities and find new customers, which was successful.”

Change of production necessary There has been an upswing in entertainment electronics with TV, hi-fi or game consoles. And semiconductor demand is also high in sectors such as medical technology with ventilators and monitors or the core IT business. The car production has now picked up again faster than expected. The chip manufacturers therefore “needed a few months to switch their production again and to be able to meet demand again. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any faster – the car manufacturers should understand that and take more into account in future”.

One may With all this, don’t forget that high capacity utilization is important for electronics providers. The manufacture of chips, sensors or controllers is expensive, and new factories often require investments in the double-digit billions. Manufacturers would have had to realign their delivery targets.

Overall, the pandemic year 2020 of the globally closely interwoven semiconductor industry with German representatives like Infineon, Carl Zeiss SMT or Siltronic / Wacker are relatively unaffected. After it 2019 was still below average, there was a sales increase of 4 percent on the world market to 428 billion US dollars, about 354 billion euros. However, the early recovery in its own sales is causing acute problems for the automotive industry. “Intensive work is being done to ensure the supply of semiconductors,” says the VDA in Berlin. One is “in contact with the federal government”.

Production losses At Volkswagen, Audi or Daimler for example shifts were canceled recently. There is also more short-time work again. At the VW parent plant in Wolfsburg, the shutdown was extended after the New Year, and a reserve decision on possible reductions applies to the Braunschweig components plant. Before Christmas, the largest car company had complained of a “massively restricted delivery situation”. Works council chief Bernd Osterloh warned: “We have a serious problem – but that is not just a problem for the auto industry.” The VDA is also concerned: “The global automotive industry and electronics suppliers are also affected by this shortage.” External processors and automotive suppliers such as Hella or Continental spoke of bottlenecks.

The current peak in demand for semiconductors is also expected to come as a surprise for chip manufacturers in Asia. The raw material markets are likely to play a role as well. In its monitoring report 2019, the German Raw Materials Agency (DERA) – a specialist authority in the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Raw Materials (BGR) – included silicon as a resource “high potential procurement risks”.

Problem with silicon processing in China Several developments in China would have the pressure still increased, says DERA boss Peter Buchholz. Admittedly there is silicon in abundance – but 15 large smelting plants, which are necessary for its processing, were last shut down in the People’s Republic . One reason for this is said to be insufficient electricity production from hydropower after a lengthy drought in some regions. “And corona-related production losses have to be made up,” added Buchholz.

It is not known exactly how high the proportion of the affected capacities in China is. But if you use production figures, the underutilization becomes clear. Of the total annual global production of silicon of around 3 million tons, according to BGR, about 2.2 million tons were accounted for China – with an actually usable capacity of 5 million tons in the country.

“This is replicated through the supply chain,” says the expert, whose team analyzes raw material trends for the German government. China’s power is still considerable here. The USA, Norway, Brazil, France, Australia, Russia and Germany followed by a large margin among the most important producer countries.

Competitor solar industry In addition, the solar industry is involved as a competitor in the sourcing of semiconductors – although the required purity of the silicon is not as high as with microchips. And China is also a main producer of other semiconductor raw materials such as gallium compounds, which are used in the new 5G mobile communications. The inventory has dropped sharply here, the price for one kilogram of gallium last year from 150 to 260 Dollar shot up.

Buchholz sees no risk of prolonged supply problems. But that is not a reason to give the all-clear. The ZVEI emphasizes that Europe’s chip manufacturers need to build up even more of their own production facilities. There is talk of “technological sovereignty”. Because there will also be more demand in the medium term from the automotive industry and mechanical engineering – keywords autonomous driving and Industry 4.0.

(olb)

5G frequencies bring avalanche of money at US auction

The auction of US frequency usage rights in the range 3.7 to 3, 98 GHz breaks all records: 80, 917 billion US dollars (67 billion euros) in preliminary bids have already come together in the 97 rounds of the first auction phase. The US regulatory authority FCC has never raised that much money with a mobile radio frequency auction.

The previous record has expired the year 2015 and is 44, 9 billion dollars. At that time 1. 600 licenses for a total of 65 MHz Spectrum around 1.7 and 2.1 GHz issued for twelve years. This time there are 5. 684 licenses for a total of 280 MHz spectrum for 15 years. Calculated per megahertz and year, the prices were higher six years ago, the absolute sum was lower.

However, the current auction is not over yet. In the “clock” phase, which has now ended, it was determined which bidders receive how much spectrum in which regions. The allocation phase of the 5G auction now begins. It is decided which frequency ranges go to which successful bidders. Even within a band, lower frequencies are usually more desirable than higher, because lower frequencies penetrate obstacles such as walls better with the same transmission strength.

12 GHz at a glance Meanwhile, the FCC is looking for additional frequencies for cellular services. For example, the authority has the frequency range from , 2 to 12, 7 GHz in mind. TV satellites, non-geostationary satellites and fixed telecom network operators are currently broadcasting there. The FCC is now asking the public for comments on whether and how it would be possible to open these frequencies to mobile communications without affecting existing users.

(ds)

OnePlus Nord N10 5G gets January security patch before its more expensive siblings

Today OnePlus has commenced the rollout of OxygenOS 10.5.9 for the Nord N10 5G. The new software update is still based on Android 10, as you can glean from the naming. That unfortunate reality aside, this is the first OnePlus device to be graced with the January 2021 security patch – the Nord N10 got it before its more expensive siblings, which is worth celebrating we guess.

The update arrives in the EU as build 10.5.9.BE89BA and in North America as 10.5.9.BE86AA. Aside from the security fixes, you’re also getting optimized power consumption and “further improved network stability”.

As always with OnePlus releases, the over-the-air rollout will be incremental. That means it’s going out today to a small percentage of devices, with a broader distribution to follow in a few days if nothing goes terribly wrong.

Source

Samsung has unveiled a new 108-megapixel Isocell HM3 camera sensor for smartphones

Production of the new sensor has already started and Samsung has announced that the sensor will be available for the Galaxy S 21 Ultra smartphone, which will be launched at the end of the month.

Samsung today unveiled a new 108 megapixel Isocell HM3 sensor. The sensor is 1/1, 33 ”, resulting in a pixel size of 0.8 μm. The Isocell HM3 has thus returned to the smaller 1 / 52 ”sensor of the previous HM2, which was last seen in HM1. As is familiar from the predecessor models, the camera produces 12 megapixel images, combining nine pixels into one, as well as full 108 megapixel images. it is possible to take

The Korean manufacturer’s new sensor is investing in speeding up autofocus with the new Super PD Plus feature. These are microlenses optimized for autofocus, which have been added on top of the focus points, improving the accuracy of distance measurements by up to 50 percent. This should especially help when shooting in the dark.

In dynamically challenging environments with variable light, such as at the end of a tunnel, the Isocell HM3 uses Smart ISO Pro technology to facilitate shooting. It is an HDR imaging technology that simultaneously captures an image at high and low ISO, combining them into a single image 12 – with a bit of color depth, reducing noise. The mode differs from traditional HDR images in that it does not require multiple images with different exposures, which reduces the artifacts that may arise with moving subjects. Indeed, Isocell HM3 is promised to be up to 50 percent more light sensitive than its predecessor

.In addition to image quality-focused innovations, Samsung has optimized sensor power consumption, and the Isocell HM3 is promised to be 6.5 percent less current than its predecessor when the image is taken as a viewfinder when the image is taken.

The Isocell HM3 is the fourth generation in Samsung’s 108 megapixel sensor model line. The Isocell Bright HMX, which started the series, is used in the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro Pro, among others. The successor to the Isocell Bright HM1, on the other hand, can be found in Samsung’s top model, the Galaxy S 20 Ultra, among others. The Isocell HM2, which preceded the new HM3, was only released at the end of last year and has not yet been seen in the West. However, in the Chinese market, this sensor can be found at least in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G

.The Isocell HM3 is already in mass production and Samsung has confirmed that this sensor will be available on the Samsung Galaxy S 21 Ultra, which will hit the market later this month.

Sources: Samsung (1), (2)

Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G hands-on review

Introduction

The Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G is the second-best smartphone from the lineup after the Reno5 Pro+ 5G. Being second-best doesn’t mean there anything to scoff at, and everyone looking for an affordable flagship experience should definitely check out the Reno5 Pro and Reno5 Pro+.

The subject of our hands-on review is the Reno5 Pro 5G, and it employs MediaTek’s top-tier SoC for 2020 – the Dimensity 1000+. And aside from the camera setup, the Reno5 Pro 5G checks all the right boxes. It has an HRR OLED panel, a sizeable battery, blazing-fast charging, premium build.

Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G specs at a glance:
Body: 159.7×73.2×7.6mm, 173g; Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame.
Display: 6.55″ Super AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+, 800 nits (typ), 1100 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 402ppi.
Chipset: Mediatek MT6889Z Dimensity 1000+ (7nm): Octa-core (4×2.6 GHz Cortex-A77 & 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G77 MC9.
Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 2.1.
OS/Software: Android 11, ColorOS 11.1.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.7, 26mm, 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 115˚, 1/4.0″, 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.4, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm.
Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps; gyro-EIS, HDR; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
Battery: 4350mAh; Fast charging 65W, Reverse charging, SuperVOOC 2.0.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical), NFC (market dependant), no 3.5mm audio jack.The good news is that this time around, Oppo seems to have priced this device reasonably.

But before we make any preliminary conclusions, let’s take the Reno5 Pro 5G for a spin and see why we think the Reno5 Pro 5G has its spot in the market and what makes it stand out from the crowd.

Unboxing the Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G

The handset comes in a standard box with the appropriate charger and cable. There’s also a transparent silicone case as a bonus and a pair of USB-C headphones, but no USB-C to 3.5mm dongle.

TechStage | Oppo Reno 4 Pro in the test: top smartphone for 500 €

Testing Tests overview Smartphone Oppo Reno 4 Pro in the test: Top smartphone for 500 € Motorola Moto G 5G Plus test: A lot of battery for little money Huawei P Smart 2020: Budget model with room for improvement Asus Zenfone 7 Pro: Turbo smartphone with flip camera Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro in the test: hard but slow Oneplus Nord N 10 5G in the test: galloped in price Oppo Find X2 Pro in the test: performance bargain Smartwatch Oppo Watch in the test: Great AMOLED Smartwatch from 240 € Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 in the test: competition for Apple? Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro in the test: Smartwatch with cross-country battery Apple Watch: Smartwatch with contract from 15 € per month Buy Apple Watch 6: All generations in the price -Check Skagen Falster 3 in the test: Smartwatch with Wear OS Test Huawei Watch GT 2: Noble fitness tracker in watch form Multiroom Ikea Symfonisk table lamp in the test: Sonos with lamp Ikea Symfonisk in the test: Sonos loudspeakers under 100 Euro Bose Portable Home Speaker in the test: Battery, WLAN, Airplay 2 Sonos Move in the test: The robust all-rounder Musiccast: Multiroom from Yamaha in the test Denon Heos in the test: versatile multiroom system Flat soundbar Teufel Sounddeck Streaming in the test Keyfinder Tile Slim (2019): Key finder in credit card format Bluetooth key finder Tile Pro in the test: 122 m range! Key finder Tile Pro in the test: the range champion Orbit Bluetooth tracker in the test: looking for wallet and keys Nonda iHere 3.0: smart key finder in the test Chipolo Classic and Plus : Bluetooth key finder under test Musegear finder 2: Key finder without mandatory registration Action-Cam DJI Pocket 2 in the test: Zoom and 64 – Megapixel sensor Actioncam Insta 360 One R: 1-inch image sensor in the test Gopro Hero 8 Black in the test: Back to the top Insta 360 One R in the test: The modula re Actioncam Motorola Moto G8 Plus test: Great smartphone, but … Insta 360 Go: Micro-GoPro in the test Motorola One Action Test: good hardware, bad camera microSD In the test: Kingston UHS-I U3 microSDXC Kit MicroSD card for smartphone: Samsung Evo Plus 2017 Test report: Lexar Professional 1800 x microSDXC Kit Test report: Intenso Premium microSDXC – Card with 64 GByte Android Sonos Move in the test: The robust all-rounder Honor 20: Inexpensive high-end smartphone in the test Xiaomi Mi 9: Top technology at a bargain price Doogee S 90 in the test: modular outdoor smartphone ZTE Axon 07 Pro in the test: high-end phone at a competitive price Motorola Moto G7 Power in the test: large battery, small price Sony Xperia 10: Smartphone with 21: 9 display in the test Adviser Guide overview Purchase advice The right cordless screwdriver for the home workshop Bargain: Which Fire TV Stick from 19 € is the right one? Purchase advice: What good is a leaf blower with a battery for 45 Euro? True wireless headphones: How much do you have to invest? Buying advice water cooling: High-end PCs cool better Advice: Air conditioning and fan against the heat wave Sony shows the Xperia 1: Is the predecessor XZ3 worth it now? Practice Caution, money away: Kickstarter & Co. are not Shops Switch off Android notifications from annoying apps This is how it works: Install the new Android L keyboard now Tip: Use “Ok Google everywhere” in Germany In the test: Does the jailbreak work for iOS 7.1? Goderma and mobile medicine: The doctor apps are coming! Instructions: Jailbreak for iOS 7 on iPhone 5S, 5, 4S and 4 Technology Importing technology from China, part 2: Customs, taxes and tricks Drones & copters: From toys to FPV racers What does the end of an ecosystem mean? Smartphones with a flexible display: What’s the point? Overview of smartphone processors: Everything Snapdragon? Evolutionary dead ends: the very worst cell phones mpass: Pay with the NFC mobile phone or the NFC toilet roll Display calculator Calculate pixel density, number and display proportion Leaderboard Test winner Price comparison Price comparison overview Smartphones from Android 7.0 Phablets with stylus Fitness tracker with GPS Bluetooth headphones with ANR Drones with GPS Video TechStage Test Oppo Reno 4 Pro in the test: top smartphone for 420 € Beginning Design Display Camera Equipment Battery Price Conclusion Comments from Stefan // 18. 01. 2021 17: 07 Clock

Oppo is hardly known in this country, but some models offer real top performance. The Oppo Reno 4 Pro comes with about 12 / 256 GByte memory, great OLED screen and flagship camera.

Oppo, Vivo, Realme – all Chinese brands that have just hit the German market and want to cut a piece out of the Huawei cake. Thanks to great technology and chic design, it actually works very well. If the price is right, the manufacturer and customer are happy.

At Oppo it is a little different. For the Oppo Reno 4 Pro, the manufacturer demands a full 750 Euro in the RRP – and that, though no top chipset, no IP 68 certification and no wireless charging included. In the test, we show why the purchase is still worthwhile.

Design It is chic, the Oppo Reno 4 Pro, there will probably be little counter-argument. With a depth of only 7.6 millimeters, the smartphone is really thin and the remaining dimensions of 160 × 72, 5 millimeters is moderate for a device with a 6.5-inch display. In addition, the device weighs just once 172 Gram – for all heavyweights with 172 + grams this is very positive. In addition, there is a high-quality material impression. The frame with its stylish bevels on the front and foot sides is made of aluminum, the front and back are protected against scratches with Gorilla Glass 5. Because of the rounded sides, which are quite gentle for an edge display, the frame on the sides is very narrow and the smartphone looks even more delicate.

There is also a chic back with a matt finish and gradient. Our blue test device therefore changes between medium blue and turquoise depending on the incidence of light. Thanks to the matte surface, fingerprints and other ugly fat deposits are not an issue. The great overall impression is crowned by the very good workmanship. The transitions between the different materials can only be felt minimally, there are no sharp edges. The only exception here is the protective film that sticks to the screen at the factory. It can be easily removed. The keys embedded in the side of the frame sit tight and wobble-free, the pressure point and key travel are exemplary.

Together with the evenly narrow frame around the display, the punchhole notch and the chic design, the Oppo Reno 4G is currently one of the highest quality models on the market. It is a pity that the manufacturer only offers IP protection against water and dust 54 elects. A brief downpour is not a problem, but the device must not fall into water.

All pictures of the Oppo Reno 4 Pro in the test (23 Pictures) Display The screen has a diagonal of 6.5 inches. With a resolution of 2400 × 1080 Pixel results in an image sharpness of just over 400 ppi (pixels per inch), that’s sharp. In addition, thanks to OLED technology, the display shines with strong contrasts, an excellent black level and, if desired, strong colors. In the default setting, the color rendering is quite natural. Class is the brightness: are round 500 cd / m2 in manual Mode still not very impressive, it is the measured 696 cd / m2 in automatic mode. In combination with the very good viewing angle stability typical of OLEDs, users have no problems reading content even in direct sunlight.

We liked the display in the Oppo Reno 4 Pro: The screen has a refresh rate of 90 Hertz, provides moving content more fluidly than models with 60 Hertz. In addition, the smartphone’s always-on display and its general setting options for the display are a plus point.

Camera Oppo does without data sheet prettiness with macro or depth sensors and builds an honest triple cam into the Reno 4 Pro. It consists of the main lens with 45 Megapixels, optical image stabilizer and f / 1.7 aperture, wide angle with 12, 2 megapixels and f / 2.2 as well as telelens with 13 Megapixels and f / 2.4. In front comes an optic with 32 Megapixels used.

The main camera is very good, the additional lenses are good The quality of the main camera is convincing. Image sharpness, level of detail, color reproduction and image noise are all on a very high level, and the image dynamics are very good. This puts the main camera of the Reno 4 Pro at the top level. This also applies with only slight drawbacks in poor lighting conditions, but here some high-priced competitors are a bit better, for example the Huawei Mate 40 Pro (test report). Unfortunately there is one for telephoto and wide-angle lenses n slight decrease in quality, and the coordination of the individual lenses with one another is not perfect. The result is that the telelens, for example, captures images in the memory with a lighter color and less color – this shouldn’t really happen with a smartphone in the upper price range. Overall, the image quality of the additional lenses is still good, but they do not come close to the quality of the main lens. The main disadvantages are image sharpness and image dynamics.

All original recordings with the Oppo Reno 4 Pro (37 Pictures ) The same applies to the front camera. Although it delivers very attractive images overall, it looks a bit too fishy and the image sharpness should also be higher. The main camera delivers decent, but not overwhelming results for videos. This is also due to the fact that with 4 / 30 is over and pans are never sharp. The image stabilization, like the other image quality, is otherwise arranged in the upper third of the smartphone range and therefore fits the price.

Furnishing The quality of the Oppo Reno 4 Pro is excellent, the display is great and at least the main camera is top-notch – can the rest of the equipment keep up? Mostly yes, but not in all cases. Users have to make slight compromises with the chipset. Because despite the rest of the equipment of 12 GByte RAM (!) And 256 GByte of internal memory, the manufacturer does not use the top chip Snapdragon 865 (+), but “only” on a Snapdragon 765G. The eight cores of the chip clock at up to 2.4 GHz, one Adreno 620 ensures sufficient everyday performance. For gaming, the chip with a G in its name offers a few advantages that are supposed to provide more power and faster loading times compared to the same chip without a G.

Overall, most games can be played smoothly, but for a few exceptions an 8-series chip would have been desirable – also with a view to the RRP of the Reno 4 Pro. Unsurprisingly, multitasking is not a problem with the amount of memory, but it hardly has a positive effect in benchmarks. In PCmark Work 2.0 the device reaches around 7900 points, that is roughly on par with other smartphones with Snapdragon 765G. The same applies to Antutu, here the model reaches about 256. 000 Points.

Apart from that, the Reno 4 Pro offers a comprehensive technology package with WLAN ac, Bluetooth 5.1, location via GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo and QZSS as well as LTE and 5G. Instead, savings are found in the details. The ample internal (non-expandable) storage only has a UFS 2.1 speed, Wifi 6 is missing and the USB-C port only offers 2.0 standard. There is dual SIM capability and stereo speakers for this. They are loud and powerful, but the competition is a bit better here at times. The fingerprint sensor in the display is well implemented. It works quickly and reliably with light pressure.

The user interface Color OS 7.2 is above Android 10, an update to Android 11 did not exist yet. The security patch is as of December 2020 pretty up to date. Compared to before, Oppo has improved its update supply and now regularly brings patches. The Color OS interface offers a number of additional functions, but does not appear overloaded, but modern. There isn’t much bloatware on the Reno 4 Pro.

Battery pack The 4000 mAh of the built-in battery does not sound particularly impressive and it is therefore not surprising that the Oppo Reno 4 Pro does not Is cross-country skier. Nevertheless, the smartphone achieves better endurance values than some competitors with a stronger battery pack. The device comes in the PCmark battery test at 200 cd / m2 on almost 9 hours with an active screen and a brightness of 80 to 20 percent – that is with activated 90 – Hz function of the screen is a decent value. The good benchmark result was confirmed in the test. Transferred to the test routine, the device is definitely good for one, with minimal restrictions even for two days without an external power supply.

A bit of a shame with the price shown: There is no wireless charging. But the Reno 4 Pro offers another highlight: fast charging with full 65 Watt. This means that the device fully charges again in barely more than half an hour and intermediate charging is like a sprint from Usain Bolt in his best days. This is impressive.

Price It already sounded: The EIA of the smartphone is proud 799 Euros, but the street price is now significantly lower – as long as it doesn’t have to be the newer color variant Green Glitter. Otherwise there is a choice of blue and black, there are no technically different variants.

Conclusion The Oppo Reno 4 Pro is a really great smartphone that you can hardly blame. The biggest point of criticism is the price: 799 Euro RRP for a manufacturer who does not yet have a name in this country, also no wireless charging, no IP 67 and no top chipset? It’s just too much. The situation is different with the street price at which the device has now leveled off. That is more or less significantly below 600 Euro, even offers just below 500 euros already existed.

In return, buyers receive an absolutely chic smartphone, which also impresses with a great display, an extremely large amount of memory, a top-quality main camera with good additional lenses and an extremely fast-charging battery. The device competes with models such as the Oneplus 8T (review) or the Oppo Find X2 Pro (review) from our own company. Models like the Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro (test report) show that models with top chipset can be significantly cheaper.

Permalink: https://techstage.de/-11801

Android 11 comes to the Samsung Galaxy Fold with One UI 3.0

by Jordi Bercial Ago 40 minutes ago …

Samsung has been updating several of its terminals to Android 11 with the One UI 3.0 customization layer , among which was recently the Samsung Galaxy S 20, and in the case at hand today, days after the launch of The Samsung Galaxy S 21, is the Original Galaxy Fold the terminal that is updated to Android 11.

Both the versions with 4G and 5G connectivity will be updated with the new version of the Samsung customization , which will arrive with the same new features as in the rest of the company’s high-end terminals, to Something that is already happening in France, India and the UAE.

Terminals with 4G connectivity are receiving the update with a build number F 900 FXXU4DUA1 , while the 5G versions of the Samsung Galaxy Fold will receive the update with the number de build F 907 BXXU4DUA1 , both being functionally the same update, only adapted to the hardware of each terminal .

Hopefully, since the update is making its way through terminals in Europe , no It takes a long time to see how the Galaxy Fold sold in Spain begin to be updated to the new version of Samsung’s customization layer , at the same time they are updated to Android 11.

End of Article. Tell us something in the Comments or come to our Forum!

Jordi Bercial

Avid technology and electronics enthusiast . I mess with computer components almost since I learned to ride I started working at Geeknetic after winning a contest on their forum for writing hardware articles. Drift, mechanics and photography lover. Don’t be shy and leave a comment on my articles if you have any questions.

Samsung Galaxy Fold also gets Android 11 and One UI 3

Samsung’s push to update its existing phones to One UI 3.0 and Android 11 is picking up speed and the latest addition is the Galaxy Fold in both 4G and 5G versions. This is a month earlier than what we saw in Samsung’s rollout schedule.

The 4G version’s update bears the F900FXXU4DUA1 build number and is currently rolling out in France, India, and the UAE while the 5G model gets the F907BXXU4DUA1 build. In addition, both updates bring the January security patch. You get all the standard Android 11 features as well as Samsung’s own addition which you can read more about in our One UI 3 mini review.

Via