Tag: Qualcomm

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U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Apple’s argument against Qualcomm

The next chapter in Apple and Qualcomm’s legal war has arrived.

Apple has reportedly lost its bid to cancel two of Qualcomm’s patents tied to smartphone modem technology. This was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has declined to consider Apple’s argument as the two companies already reached a settlement back in 2019.

This legal dispute started back in 2017 when the chip maker sued Apple for allegedly infringing on patents tied to the company’s new iPhones. Apple, at one point, utilized Qualcomm’s modem chips but moved to Intel. In 2019 the companies reached a settlement and stopped litigation.

Tied to fear of being sued by Qualcomm in the future because of the two patents, Apple sought more legal action as it didn’t want to be sued by Qualcomm again in 2025 when the settlement is set to expire.

The court has rejected Apple’s legal action multiple times, but unless Qualcomm does what Apple fears, the case will not be reopened.

Qualcomm says that the two patents at hand don’t relate to 5G technology. Further, Apple plans to replace Qualcomm’s modems with its own chips by the fall of 2024.

Via: 9to5Mac

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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1 chips

Qualcomm has announced its newest mid-range chipsets, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1, set to be available in Q1 2023 and Q3 2022, respectively.

The announcement comes after a leak revealed many details about the company’s 6 Gen 1 chip. The leak appears to be pretty spot on. Aside from the name change, which brings the 6-series chips in line with the more powerful 7- and 8-series chips, the 6 Gen 1 boasts more power, performance, and 5G capabilities.

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 sports a new triple image signal processor (ISP) that enables capture from up to three cameras simultaneously, up to 108-megapixel photos, and video capture with computational HDR. Additionally, Qualcomm included its seventh-gen AI Engine in the 6 Gen 1, enabling “up to 3x improved AI performance compared to its predecessor for intelligent assistance across the board, including AI-based activity tracking.”

The company boasts up to 35 percent quicker graphics rendering and up to 40 percent faster processing on the 6 Gen 1, as well as a Snapdragon X62 5G modem to enable up to 2.9Gbps peak download speeds.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 sports up to 15 percent improved CPU and 10 percent GPU performance, a triple ISP with support for up to 108-megapixel photos and multi-frame noise reduction, and the Qualcomm AI Engine. The 4 Gen 1 also includes the Snapdragon X51 5G modem, which supports up to 2.5Gbps peak download speeds.

Overall, the new Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1 look like they will raise the bar for lower-cost smartphones, although it remains to be seen how well these chips perform in the real world. With 4 Gen 1 devices expected to launch later this year and 6 Gen 1 devices early next year, it shouldn’t be too long before reviewers get a chance to put these chips through the wringer.

Images credit: Qualcomm

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Leak reveals specs of upcoming Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset

Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen and upper mid-range 7 Gen chipset tend to get all the attention, but a new leak revealed specs of the company’s upcoming Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, set to succeed the Snapdragon 695.

Aside from taking on the new ‘Snapdragon X Gen Y’ naming scheme, the 6 Gen 1 will use a 4nm process like the 7 Gen 1. That should lead to a boost in power and efficiency over the 6nm process used for the 695.

The leaked details come from Evan Blass, who shared the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 specifications and features page and we’ll run through some of the highlights:

  • Snapdragon X62 modem with 5G Sub-6 and mmWave support, up to 2.9Gbps download
  • Qualcomm FastConnect 6700
  • Wi-Fi 6E support
  • Bluetooth 5.2 and LE Audio
  • Up to 108-megapixel photo capture
  • 30fps 4K HDR video capture with support for capturing simultaneous 48-megapixel images
  • FHD+ display at 120Hz
  • Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+
  • Up to 12GB of LP-DDR5 memory up to 2750MHz

The inclusion of 4K video support is a big one that’s been missing from Qualcomm’s 6-series chips for a while, while the inclusion of 5G support should help increase the number of lower-cost, 5G-capable devices. Overall, it looks like the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 will offer a lot of value for mid-range phones.

It’s not clear when Qualcomm plans to unveil the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, but it could be soon. Qualcomm typically announces new Snapdragon 8- and 7-series chips at its Snapdragon Tech Summit later in the year. It’s possible the company could announce the 6 Gen 1 before that event or even earlier.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: @evleaks Via: 9to5Google

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Qualcomm could unveil next Snapdragon flagship chip early

Qualcomm typically unveils its new flagship Snapdragon chipset in December, but it looks like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 could come early this year.

As spotted by GSM Arena (via Android Police), Qualcomm posted — and later removed — about a Snapdragon Summit happening from November 14th to 17th this year. The annual Snapdragon Summit is where the company usually unveils its next big Snapdragon chipset.

That would put the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 unveil about two weeks ahead of last year’s 8 Gen 1 reveal, which happened on December 1st.

However, considering Qualcomm quickly took down the post, it’s likely the company didn’t intend to announce the event this early. Moreover, it’s possible the dates aren’t finalized yet.

All that said, the announcement date ultimately doesn’t matter that much. Qualcomm usually announces the Snapdragon 8-series chips in December, but we don’t see phones with the new chips until the following year.

More important than the announcement is the chip itself, which Android Police reports might be a little odd this year. According to the publication, Qualcomm plans to ditch the ‘1+3+4’ configuration in the 8 Gen 1 for a ‘1+2+2+3’ core set-up in the Gen 2. These correspond to the yet-to-be-announced Cortex-X3 core, two Cortex-A720 cores, two Cortex-A710 cores and three Cortext-A510 cores. The 8 Gen 1 had a Cortex-X2 Prime, three A710s and four A510s.

Although weird, Android Police notes that the departure is likely an effort on Qualcomm’s part to maintain support for 32-bit apps. Newer cores like the Cortex-X3 and A720 cores likely won’t support 32-bit apps as the industry moves to phase them out, but 32-bit remains popular in China, which is a major market for Qualcomm. The rumoured A710s in the Gen 2 will be able to handle the 32-bit apps.

Header image credit: Shutterstock

Source: GSM Arena Via: Android Police

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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor with battery life improvements

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip has finally been announced, and as expected, the chip offers better performance and battery life over its predecessor.

Additionally, Qualcomm says that the new processor features a 10 percent speed increase, 20 percent higher performance-per-watt for AI and boasts a 30 percent power reduction, which should offer you an extra hour of battery life.

In Q3, Qualcomm expects partners like Asus, Honor, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo and Xiaomi to include the chip in their devices. Rumours point to Samsung also using the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 this summer in its yet-to-be-announced foldable devices.

Qualcomm has also announced the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 for upper-mid-range Android devices. It features an upgraded GPU that’s 20 percent faster than its predecessor’s GPU and AI processing that’s 30 percent quicker. With the 7 series, you’ll also be able to shoot simultaneously from three cameras. Other new features include on-chip security upgrades and share audio upgrades.

The first Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 phones will start releasing in June from brands like Honor, Xiaomi and Oppo. However, it’s highly unlikely any of these devices will make their way to Canada.

Source: Qualcomm

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Qualcomm’s introduces new wireless AR glasses

Semiconductor company Qualcomm is introducing a wireless headset to the market they say will create an immersive experience in the metaverse.

The Wireless AR Smart Viewer is a newer version of the company’s Smart Viewer and eliminates the cord between the device and a compatible phone or computer. It features a tethering system with Wi-Fi 6 / 6E and Bluetooth. It offers mixed reality experiences through cameras powered by micro-OLED displays with 1920 x 1080 resolution.

“Dual monochrome cameras and one RGB camera on the smart viewer enable six-degrees of freedom (6DoF) head tracking and hand tracking with gesture recognition to achieve AR precision,” the company says in a press release.

Goertek developed the augmented reality (AR) viewer, which is 40 percent thinner than the previous version and is “more ergonomically balanced.”

But as multiple publications report, the new updates come with the tradeoff of a short battery life, which can deplete in as little as 30 minutes.

The product is a prototype, and the company is working with manufacturers who could change the system to fit their specifications.

Image credit: Qualcomm

Source: Qualcomm via The Verge 

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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon chipset launch on May 20, via Weibo

Qualcomm has confirmed on China-based social media platform Weibo that it will launch a new Snapdragon chipset on Friday, May 20th.

The teaser teases the reveal of new products during an upcoming livestreamed event.

It’s expected that Qualcomm will unveil its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ chipset, which is rumoured to make its way to Samsung’s foldable handsets like the Z Flip 4, Z Fold 4 and even the OSOM’ OV1.

It’s also possible that Qualcomm will unveil the 7 Gen 1 chipset for mid-range smartphones. Qualcomm recently showed off the X70 5G modem, but this will likely be the primary processor we see on the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.

Previous rumours point to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ processor launching in June, so an unveiling so close to June makes sense.

Via: 9to5Google

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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon X70 5G modem

Qualcomm has announced that the 5G version of its Snapdragon X70 modem will make its way to mobile devices by late 2022. The company made the announcement at its 5G summit.

The chipmaker says that the X70 5G harnesses AI power for 10 gigabit 5G downloads as well as fast upload speeds, low latency, coverage and power efficiency. The modem sports Qualcomm’s 5G AI Suite, Ultra-Low Latency Suite, PowerSave Gen 3 uplink carrier aggregation, standalone mmWave and 4X sub-6 carrier aggregation and more.

Additionally, Qualcomm’s Smart Transit 3.0 technology features an upgraded license that extends support to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transit power management. It can transmit power across 2G-5G, mmWave, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, 6, 6E and 7 and Bluetooth radios.

“Snapdragon X70 gives operators the ability to deliver extreme 5G capacity, multi-Gigabit data speeds, and new use cases across devices from smartphones to laptops, fixed wireless access equipment, industrial machines, and more,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager of cellular modems and infrastructure at Qualcomm, in a press release.

Qualcomm says it will work with smartphone manufacturers to implement the X70 modem 5G modem in new smartphones. It’s likely we’ll see the X70 5G on high to mid-range tier handsets.

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Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ rumoured to launch in June

Qualcomm is getting ready for another chip launch, and this time it’s the upgraded version of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor.

The processor is internally codenamed ‘SM8475,’ but it will be officially named the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+, and could officially launch by May or June.

The news comes from tipster Yogesh Brar, who revealed that the chip will sport a 10 percent performance boost over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Additionally, the chipset is expected to offer better thermal management and battery life.

Brar also states that we’ll see a June commercial release for the processor.

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 4 and Flip 4 are rumoured to sport the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+.

Source: @heyitsyogesh

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Samsung might ditch Qualcomm and Exynos chips for its next flagship

Reports coming out of South Korea suggest that Samsung wants to develop an application processor (AP) that will be “unique” to its line of Galaxy smartphones.

Up until now, Samsung’s flagship devices have used either Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset or Samsung Electronics LSI’s Exynos chipset, but new information from a Samsung townhall indicates a new chipset might be powering future Galaxy smartphones.

According to the South Korean publication iNews24, an employee questioned Samsung Mobile President TM Roh about the recent GOS app throttling debacle and how the company aims to resolve it, to which Roh replied that Samsung will “make an AP unique to the Galaxy.”

If materialized, the move will bring Samsung closer to Apple and Google, both of whom make chips exclusive to their devices. While Exynos maker Samsung Electronics LSI is Samsung Mobile’s subsidiary, its Exynos chips aren’t exclusive to Samsung devices like Tensor is to Pixel or the A15 is to the iPhone 13.

On the other hand, a report from BusinessKorea suggests that Samsung might deploy MediaTek’s mobile application processors to the upcoming Galaxy S22 FE and the Galaxy S23. Samsung has used MediaTek’s chipsets in the past, though it has been limited to the company’s budget and entry-level smartphones, and the flagships have always retained Qualcomm or Exynos chipsets.

Source: iNews24 Via: 9to5Google