Manufacturers that make Arm chips license tech from British developer Arm Holdings, with the option of licensing Arm’s instruction set to build proprietary CPU designs or licensing one of Arm’s Cortex CPU designs. Amid a legal dispute that started two years ago over Qualcomm’s $1.4 billion acquisition of silicon design firm Nuvia, Arm has given its longtime partner Qualcomm a 60-day notice of its license cancellation. If the two companies do not come to an agreement in that time, Qualcomm will have to cease manufacturing Arm chips, which could have a significant impact on the global supply chain, Qualcomm’s revenue, and smartphone makers that use Qualcomm chips. Continue reading Arm Cancels Qualcomm Architecture License in Legal Dispute

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which the company says has “the world’s fastest mobile CPU,” a custom version of the second generation Qualcomm Oryon. The platform is purpose-built to power on-device generative AI, “built to handle the complexities of multi-modal AI seamlessly while prioritizing privacy,” per Qualcomm. Smartphone brands and OEMs including Asus, Honor, iQOO, OnePlus, Opposite, RealMe, Samsung, Vivo and Xiaomi are onboard to launch devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, starting before the end of the year, according to Qualcomm’s announcement. Continue reading Qualcomm Says Snapdragon 8 Elite Has ‘Fastest Mobile CPU’

Snap is rolling out its fifth generation of Spectacles — standalone AR glasses that enable use of Lenses to “experience the world together with friends.” The firm is also launching a Spectacles Developer Program, and at a rental fee of $99 per month, that’s who the devices are aimed at, for now. Spectacles are powered by Snap OS, optimized to leverage people’s natural responses to interacting with their environment. They work seamlessly with mobile devices, turning smartphones into custom game controllers with Lenses. There’s even a Spectator Mode, “so friends without Spectacles can follow along, mirror your phone screen, and more.” Continue reading Snap Targets Developers with $99 per Month AR Spectacles

The world’s first AI-powered movie camera has surfaced. Still in development, it aims to enable filmmakers to turn footage into AI imagery in real time while shooting. Called the CMR-M1, for camera model 1, it is the product of creative tech agency SpecialGuestX and media firm 1stAveMachine, with the goal of providing creatives with a familiar interface for AI imagemaking. It was inspired by the Cine-Kodak device, the first portable 16mm camera. “We designed a camera that serves as a physical interface to AI models,” said Miguel Espada, co-founder and executive creative technologist at SpecialGuestX, a company that does not think directors will use AI sitting at a keyboard. Continue reading New Prototype Is the World’s First AI-Powered Movie Camera

After three years of development, the Alice Camera — which transforms smartphones into mirrorless photographic systems with a mount for interchangeable Micro Four Thirds (M43 or MFT) lenses — is taking preorders and will start shipping July 15, beginning in the UK. The Alice Camera leverages AI to produce “computational photography” that runs on-device in real time. The result, its makers say, is content that is “beautiful straight out of camera” and instantly ready to share. “Alice Camera transforms your phone into a content creation studio,” according to parent company, London-based Photogram Ltd. Continue reading Alice Camera Targets Mobile Creators with AI and M43 System

Qualcomm is expanding beyond mobile and into the desktop market in a big way, bringing its AI-enabled Snapdragon X series chips to “all PC form factors,” CEO Cristiano Amon said onstage at Computex this week. Under the theme of “the PC reborn,” Amon said the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors powering Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC experiences are also upping their mobile game. In addition to improving AI experiences with “the world’s fastest and most efficient NPU for laptops,” the chips can deliver “up to multiple days of battery life,” unfettered those on the go from power outlets. Continue reading Qualcomm All-In on Copilot+ PCs Boosting Speed, Battery Life

Microsoft revenue was $61.9 billion in the quarter ending March 31, up 17 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Profit was up 20 percent, to $21.9 billion, despite an increase in capital expenditure to purchase Nvidia GPUs for training and running AI models. The performance smashed analyst predictions, sending the stock up 5 percent in after-hours trading. Revenue for the Microsoft Cloud division overall was $35.1 billion, up 23 percent year-over-year, fueled largely by customers using it to host resource intensive AI services. Revenue in the Intelligent Cloud sector was $26.7 billion, a 21 percent uptick. Continue reading Microsoft Cloud Buoys Quarterly Revenue to Nearly $62 Billion

Qualcomm raised the curtain on a variety of artificial intelligence, 5G, and Wi-Fi technologies at Mobile World Congress Barcelona, which runs through Thursday. The San Diego-based chip designer unveiled an AI Hub it says will help developers create voice-, text- and image-based applications using pre-optimized AI models. Qualcomm’s flagship AI chips — the mobile Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and the PC-centric Snapdragon X Elite — were announced last year. With the first splash of products now heading to market the company is promising to push the boundaries of 5G and 6G. Continue reading MWC: Qualcomm Unveils AI Hub and Promotes 5G, 6G Tech

Qualcomm reported revenue of $9.9 billion for the quarter ending in December, a 5 percent increase year-over-year. The company tallied $6.69 billion in sales of handset chips during the three-month period, up 16 percent over the prior year’s $5.7 billion, marking a turnaround after two years of declines. The quarter marked the beginning of shipments of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, designed for mobile generative AI, and its adoption by OEMs and manufacturers including Samsung for its new Galaxy S24 lineup. Qualcomm also announced it will continue selling 5G modem chips to Apple. Continue reading Qualcomm Earnings: All-In on XR, Smartphone Chips Rebound

Sony Corporation debuted a mixed reality headset “aimed at supporting creators in sophisticated 3D content creation.” The Sony XR HMD includes “an XR head-mounted display with 4K OLED Microdisplays and Sony’s proprietary rendering technology” to enable real-time, high-definition “rendering of textures of 3D objects and facial expressions of human characters,” Sony announced at CES. The electronics giant disclosed plans to “collaborate with developers” of 3D production software, “including in the entertainment and industrial design fields.” At launch, Sony is exclusively partnered with Siemens to develop a collaborative product design solution. Continue reading CES: Sony’s Mixed-Reality Headset Built for Content Creation

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip for extended reality platforms is designed to allow those who incorporate it into their gear to give Apple’s ambitious and technologically advanced Vision Pro headset a run for its money. Qualcomm says as part of the second gen Plus launch announcement that Samsung and Google have committed to using its new chip to power gen two XR experiences. Among the noteworthy XR2+ features is its single-chip architecture for 4.3K spatial computing at 90 frames per second. It supports 4.3K per eye resolution and 12 or more concurrent cameras to VR and mixed reality experiences. Continue reading CES: Qualcomm Chip Enables Faster Mixed Reality Features

Former Apple designers Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno last week officially launched the Humane Ai Pin they’re positioning as a smartphone replacement. The $700 wearable magnetically attaches to clothing. A $24 per month T-Mobile data subscription is required for connectivity. Described as “a download device and software platform built from the ground up for AI,” it’s got an ultra-wide RGB camera, depth sensors and motion sensors, and a speaker that creates “a bubble of sound” that can be loud or soft. Preorders for the Ai Pin begin November 16, with shipments scheduled to begin in early 2024. Continue reading Humane’s $700 Ai Pin Is Positioned to Replace Smartphones

Qualcomm has debuted a new flagship platform, the Snapdragon X Elite series. Built for artificial intelligence and capable of running generative models with over 13 billion parameters, Qualcomm claims it offers “4.5 times faster AI processing power than competitors.” Described as “the most powerful computing processor it has ever created for the PC,” Qualcomm says the chipset is also one of the most efficient, “with up to multiple days of battery life.” Leading OEMs are expected to begin shipping models with the new processors in mid-2024. Continue reading Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon X Elite Series, Created for AI

The name ‘X’ may have received an icy welcome as a social media platform, but Qualcomm is snapping it up with a new line of PC chips called the Snapdragon X series. The “all-new naming architecture” describes a chip anchored by the Qualcomm Oryon CPU, which when combined with its neural processing unit (NPU) will deliver what the company says will be “next-level performance, AI, connectivity and battery life.” The move positions Qualcomm to take on Apple in the bid for AI super chips. Qualcomm acquired the Oryon tech with its 2021 acquisition of Nuvia, founded by former Apple engineers. Continue reading Qualcomm Teases Its Soon-to-Launch Snapdragon X Series

At yesterday’s Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco, South Korea’s number one smartphone exporter unveiled new additions to its Galaxy ecosystem: the Galaxy S23 FE model phones, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE+, and Galaxy Buds FE. These latest additions to the flagship Galaxy line are designed to provide a pro-level camera as well as smooth mobile gaming performance. Complete with AI editing tools for easy-share content, the Galaxy S23 FE is also customizable, with Pro Mode controls that allow manual selection for shutter speed, aperture and ISO for those who choose. Continue reading Samsung Showcases the Latest Additions to Its Galaxy Lines