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Category: Electronics

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Electronics news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Microsoft to bring its best car racing game to Phones

    Microsoft to bring its best car racing game to Phones

    Microsoft has just announced that its best car racing franchise will make its debut on mobile later this year. The game is called Forza Street and seems to be part of Microsoft’s best-selling racing franchise, and, more importantly, will be free-to-play.

    As a matter of fact, Microsoft confirmed Forza Street is now available as a free-to-play title for Windows 10 users, so if you don’t want to wait for the mobile version, you can start playing right away after you download it from the Microsoft Store.

    Forza Street takes players to the streets of Miami where they can enter the ultimate street racing scene to win the car collection of their dreams. Simply pick an event, choose your car, and race for fame.The game allows players to collect and upgrade iconic cars, from classic to modern sport and retro supercars. Microsoft promises “streamlined controls,” but the best thing about Forza Street is that you’ll be able to race anytime, anywhere, assuming you have an Internet connection. You can even squeeze in a quick one-minute race while waiting for your bus, or get immersed in an endless story with multiple ways of achieving victory.

    It’s quite interesting to see Microsoft giving a damn about mobile gaming, not to mention that the Forza series includes some of the best arcade racing games of all time. Hopefully, Forza Street will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors – Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon, and provide an immersive car racing experience.

  • Apple may be prepping to make your iPad a “Sidescreen”

    Apple may be prepping to make your iPad a “Sidescreen”

    Apple loves to talk about the displays it has in its devices, be it the color gamut, refresh rate, lamination to minimize the space between the glass and display tech, etc. Apple is very proud of its displays, no doubt about it. Apple has also been working to integrate iOS devices with Macs a bit more with features like Handoff. Now, Apple is rumored to be bringing a new interesting feature for those with iPads and Macs.

    According to new reports, Apple is working on a new feature codenamed “Sidecar” which will allow Mac users to set up their iPad as a second display to extend their desktop. The feature is said to be coming in Mac 10.15, although it may also need iOS 13 on your iPad to work properly. The option will be triggered via the Mac by hovering over the green “maximize” button on a Mac window. The benefit is pretty easy to see: what’s on your Mac screen will be duplicated on your iPad allowing you to use the touchscreen to manipulate and annotate as needed.

    The details will be made more clear at WWDC in June, but there are some questions that need answering in terms of this Sidecar feature. First of all is whether it will be wireless or not. It seems likely that Apple would want it to be wireless and not need to worry about a USB cable, but at the same time Apple is very fond of its dongle business. Also, it doesn’t sound like this will be a way to extend your Mac desktop like a second display could be. It sounds more like a mirroring feature, but being able to extend a desktop onto an iPad would be pretty nice too.

    Lastly, there’s the question about what will happen to the current solutions that offer similar capabilities, like Luna Display. Apple has a history of duplicating features that users got from apps, and the fate of those apps is usually not too good.

  • iPhone XE might be the true compact Apple phone

    iPhone XE might be the true compact Apple phone

    The iPhone SE was originally launched over three years ago, and officially discontinued in 2018. With its 4-inch display, the SE was a tiny offshoot in a world of ever-increasing screen sizes. And even though it struck success on its own terms—perhaps relative to the size of its footprint, but success nonetheless—the iPhone SE never got a second chance.

    Rumors about a successor to Apple’s tiny iPhone have been floating around basically since the first model came out. Alleged factory drawings, screen protectors, and even cases from a major brand were leaked online, all suggesting that the launch of the iPhone SE 2 was just around the bend. Unfortunately for people who wanted a smaller phone, the bend came and went and there was no sign of the SE 2. In fact, it seemed, Apple had no intentions of reiterating the concept of an ultra-compact phone with high-end specs.

    There’s a new light of hope, however, as a new report claims that Apple is actually working on a spiritual successor to the SE, dubbed the iPhone XE. The publication claims that it has a source “closely associated with Foxconn’s manufacturing facility in India,” where it’s getting the information from.

    According to said source, the iPhone XE will feature an iPhone XS-style design with a 4.8-inch OLED display, topped of with a notch. It will also have Face ID, just like its larger brethren, but no glass back. Instead, the XE will reportedly sport an aluminum back (just like in the good ol’ days), which means no wireless charging.

    PC Tablet’s source further claims that the new ultra-compact iPhone model will sport a single main camera, equipped with a 12MP sensor and an f/1.8 lens. As far as internals go, the report says that the iPhone XE will be powered by Apple’s A12 Bionic chip, but provides no other details.

    Another interesting tidbit is that the report claims that the new iPhone model will be made made in India, at a manufacturing facility of Apple’s manufacturing partner, Wistron. Though we haven’t been able to confirm all the claims made in this report, the fact that it comes from an Indian publication, combined with the claim that the information is coming from a source in Foxconn’s manufacturing facility in India, as well as the plethora of rumors that Apple is considering to start flagship production in India, give some credibility to the report.

    If the iPhone XE is, indeed, a real project that’s slated for release later this year, then we should hear a lot more about it in the coming weeks and months. Until then, are you excited at the premise of a much smaller iPhone model, or are you just fine with what’s currently on offer? Tell us in the comments below!

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  • The Apple-Qualcomm deal instantly kills 5G competitor

    The Apple-Qualcomm deal instantly kills 5G competitor

    As we heard earlier today, the Apple-Qualcomm battle has ended. With those two companies making up, there were likely to be repercussions around the mobile world, but we didn’t really expect the fallout to come so quickly. With Apple and Qualcomm striking a deal, Intel has announced that it will be quitting the mobile game.

    Or at least, Intel said it will be exiting the smartphone 5G modem business. Intel put out a press release saying that it would continue to support its 4G modems, but it was cancelling its plans for 5G modems for smartphones, which were originally scheduled to be ready in 2020. Intel said it would still be investing in 5G infrastructure and making 5G modems for laptops and Internet of Things devices.

    Intel didn’t mention Apple or Qualcomm in the press release, but the timing of the announcement is almost certainly no coincidence. Part of Apple’s settlement with Qualcomm was to sign a new exclusive six-year deal for iOS devices to use Qualcomm modems. Intel might have been able to keep going with Android devices, but losing the Apple money seems to have been too much.

    While the Apple-Qualcomm deal wouldn’t have impacted Intel’s efforts in mobile processors, we can’t say we weren’t hoping a bit that Intel would give up on that business too. Intel’s mobile processors in smartphones have been pretty bad, but to be fair their tablet efforts have gotten (somewhat) better. Still Intel has a long way to go before it’s considered a major player in mobile.

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  • Could Samsung Internet actually be killing Chrome on mobile?

    Could Samsung Internet actually be killing Chrome on mobile?

    Chrome is the most popular Internet browser in the world. It’s cross-platform, it syncs effortlessly across devices, it’s fast and capable, and it comes with every Android handset, ready to rock. It’s so widely preferred by users that Android manufacturers kind of gave up on developing their own browsers and just release their phones with nothing but Chrome.

    Well, most of them.

    Through the years, Samsung has persisted and kept developing its Samsung Internet browser — an app that was once a laggy mess — and has managed to make a fast, powerful browser that supports a lot of useful plugins and works in unison with other elements across the One UI interface.

    We thought we’d ask you — do you prefer Samsung Internet over Chrome? And it turns out the result is almost 50/50! Not only that, some people report that they are on another Android phone, but make it a point to go to the Play Store and download the Samsung Internet browser.

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  • iPad Pro and a car, you should be looking into the Apple Pencil 2

    iPad Pro and a car, you should be looking into the Apple Pencil 2

    Apart from being pretty expensive, at $129, we really couldn’t find anything wrong with the second-generation Apple Pencil shortly after the upgraded writing accessory was unveiled alongside a new iPad Pro duo last fall. But that’s only because we didn’t think to test the functionality of the Apple Pencil 2 around a car’s keyless entry solution. Wait, what?

    We know you may have trouble believing this, but while Amazon is testing delivery by self-driving robots and Elon Musk wants to send humans to Mars, Apple seems to have recently added a note to its support webpages highlighting some decidedly weird signal interference issues between the company’s newest Apple Pencil and car key fobs.

    Although this is a very specific problem a small number of users is likely to sporadically encounter in a particular situation, it still shouldn’t happen in 2019. Basically, the wireless charging capabilities of the Apple Pencil 2 can interfere with the signal sent from a car’s keyless entry device to your automobile, making it impossible to unlock your car without a key.

    Fortunately, there’s an easy workaround you can employ whenever the aforementioned issue might crop up, as storing the Apple Pencil separately from your iPad Pro should eliminate the bizarre signal interference. You could also try to put some distance between the iPad Pro used to juice up the refreshed Apple Pencil and your key fob, although Apple’s support documents do not specify how far you need to keep the two away from each other to stop this abnormal behavior from happening.

    On the bright side, the very root of the problem appears to be connected to the charging functionality of the Apple Pencil 2, so storing the stylus while fully charged alongside a 2018 iPad Pro should not interfere with car key fob signals in any way. Bottom line, this really doesn’t sound like a big deal and something tells us Apple isn’t going to bother trying to fix the glitch. But it’s still a curious thing we never expected to hear about in this day and age.

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  • Popular Pixel widget will gain new options

    Popular Pixel widget will gain new options

    The Pixel Launcher’s At A Glance widget shows the day, date and information related to the weather, including the temperature. Tapping on the day and date will open the calendar while tapping on the weather information will take you to Google’s weather app. The widget also alerts you to a calendar appointment, an upcoming flight (including the boarding time) and unusual traffic changes.

    Now, the At A Glance widget has some new features. Long press on the widget and tap on preferences and you’ll see all of the available information that the widget can display. This includes Calendar events, Upcoming flight information, and Traffic information along with two new features: Reminders and Intelligent tips. The former will show you the next upcoming reminder alerts. For example, let’s say you set a reminder to alert you when you can take Tylenol again; this will show up on the widget. The latter reveals intelligent tips powered by Google Assistant.

    We’re guessing that these are suggestions about what features available on your phone use should use in certain situations. Right now, both of these new features are not working even though they are listed as preferences for the widget.

  • Samsung Galaxy Studio creates Heartbeat Experience

    Samsung Galaxy Studio creates Heartbeat Experience

    Samsung Galaxy Studio pop up in Causeway Bay marks the Galaxy S series’ 10th anniversary smartphone.

    Interactive digital lights in the studio allowing participants to create visually stunning motion images responding to their own heart rates and eye images in order to demonstrate the quality of the latest Galaxy S10 phone camera.

    Every participant visiting the Samsung Galaxy Studio will be equipped with a Galaxy S10 smartphone to experience different zones, where they can personally try out the phone’s extensive functions. Participants will be awarded limited prizes upon completion.

    “Samsung has been upholding the belief of innovation for the past 10 years, bringing consumers an excellent smart mobile experience,” said Samsung Electronics HK MD Yiyin Zhao. “At the same time, we understand how Millennials crave for an all-new experience, so we opened the all-new Galaxy Studio in Causeway Bay, where fashionistas gather.”

    Visitors who register at the check-in counter to get a Galaxy S10 smartphone with the Galaxy Buddy app installed are then led through different experience zones. After completing an experience, participants receive a digital stamp through the Galaxy S10’s NFC tag function. Participants may redeem gifts after collecting four digital stamps, and are encouraged to upload their photos to their social media accounts.

     

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  • Samsung sends out patch that improves the performance

    Samsung sends out patch that improves the performance

    Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ might have recently noticed an improvement to the in-display fingerprint scanner found on both devices. Reddit posters shared information recently about a 6.9MB update sent out to both models. The update is a biometrics security patch designed to improve the performance of the in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner used on the two handsets.

    Some of those who installed the update claim that the fingerprint scanner now works “instantly” to unlock their phone. Samsung didn’t include a changelog with the update, so we really don’t know how the fingerprint scanner has been improved. Those who do notice a difference say that they did not have to re-scan their fingers after the update was installed. However, if you load the update and don’t notice a change, you might want to consider rescanning your fingers.

    The Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ both use an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader. This is a more accurate and faster technology than the capacitive readers used on most devices. The ultrasonic technology uses sound to produce a 3D map of a user’s fingerprints. As we pointed out last week, the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ can still be tricked into unlocking either phone. The capacitive readers feature circuits that capture unique information about a user’s fingerprint. The “more affordable” Samsung Galaxy S10e features a capacitive fingerprint scanner mounted on the right side of the device.

    Keep in mind that this is not a system update. Instead, it is an update to the fingerprint module in the Galaxy Store. There is no way to trigger it, so it is just a matter of being patient. Eventually, the notification will arrive to let you know that the update is ready to be installed.

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  • Microsoft reportedly builds Surface Pro prototypes

    Microsoft reportedly builds Surface Pro prototypes

    Microsoft has apparently become more serious about offering at least some versions of its Surface Pro tablets powered by ARM-based processors. Right now, the Surface Pro 6 runs on an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor. According to Thurrott, Microsoft has built prototypes of the Surface Pro that run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips. The report says that Microsoft has considered stuffing some of its low-end Surface Pro models with a Snapdragon processor.

    There also is speculation that the original plans for Microsoft’s iPad competitor, the Surface Go tablet, called for the device be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips. Intel reportedly pressured Microsoft to have the lower priced tablets run on Intel’s Pentium Gold Processors instead. If Intel doesn’t put the squeeze on Microsoft so hard this year, the second generation Surface Go models could end up with Intel outside and Qualcomm inside.

    The Surface Pro line is supposed to get a major redesign with new models to be unveiled during the fourth quarter of this year. Thurrott’s Brad Sams says to expect thinner bezels, the long awaited USB-C port, new color options and some other changes. That would be the time to expect Microsoft to make the change to Snapdragon chips for the Surface Pro, starting with the lower-end variants of the tablet.

    In a related piece of news, testing has started on the Firefox for Windows 10 ARM browser.

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  • Oppo makes official the latest replacement for the notch

    Oppo makes official the latest replacement for the notch

    With the unveiling today of the Oppo Reno, we got to see the latest attempt by a manufacturer to replace the notch. The ultimate goal, of course, is to give the consumer a device that carries a high-screen-to-body ratio. The wedge is motorized and contains the front-facing selfie camera and the flash for both front and back cameras. There are two versions of the device, which we get to in a moment.
    The standard version of the Oppo Reno sports a 6.4-inch OLED display carrying a 1080p FHD+ resolution and is powered by the Snapdragon 710 Mobile Platform. The device carries 6GB or 8GB of memory. The microSD slot offers as much as 256GB of additional storage, and the handset comes with a dual-camera setup (48MP + 5MP depth sensor) on back. A 5x hybrid zoom is available. The selfie snapper that resides on the wedge weighs in at 16MP, and the lights are kept on by the 3765mAh battery that is included with the phone. The battery can be rapidly charged at 18W.
    For those looking for a wedge phone with higher-end specs, Oppo is offering the Reno 10x Zoom Edition. This model features a 6.6-inch OLED panel with a 1080p FHD+ resolution and is equipped with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform under the hood. 6 or 8GB of memory is inside, and this unit comes with the same capacity microSD slot as found on the standard model.
    This version of the Reno sports a triple-camera setup (48MP primary + 8MP super wide-angle + 13MP periscopic zoom) that together offers 10x hybrid zoom and OSI. The 16MP front-facing selfie camera appears on the pop-up wedge. Speaking of the wedge, it allows the Reno to feature a screen-to-body-ratio of 93.1%. The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom Edition comes with a larger 4,065mAh battery, which uses VOOC 3.0 to charge 23.8% faster than the previous version of the rapid charging system. The phone also features an in-display fingerprint scanner
    The wedge has been designed to last over five years as long as you open it no more than 100 times a day. And thanks to a sensor built into the phone, if the device should fall with the wedge open, the part will automatically close right away. That’s a feature that could be used to protect other parts of a phone, including the screen, in the future.
    The standard Oppo Reno is offered in Pink, Gradient Purple, Black, and Blue, and is priced at the equivalent of $450 USD for the model with 6GB memory and 128GB of storage. The Reno 10x Zoom Edition is available in Gradient Blue and Black and costs the equivalent of $600 USD for the version carrying 6GB of memory and 128GB of storage. The unit equipped with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage will run you about $710 USD based on today’s foreign exchange rates. More information about pricing will be revealed on April 24th at the Reno’s European unveiling in Zurich.
    Meanwhile, there will be a 5G version of the Oppo Reno. The device was used by carrier Swisscom today to show off its 5G network and hit a peak download speed of 1.86Gbps. The device will be offered next month by Swisscom, priced at the equivalent of $1,000 USD. Based on the Reno 10x Zoom Edition, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and is equipped with a 4065mAh battery.
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  • Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S5e and Galaxy Tab A 10.1 Nearly Arriving

    Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S5e and Galaxy Tab A 10.1 Nearly Arriving

    Today was a pretty busy day for Samsung, but the world’s largest smartphone vendor is actually not done announcing new stuff, quickly following up the global introduction of the eye-catching Galaxy A80 and not-too-shabby Galaxy A70 handsets with some US-specific news on the tablet release front.

    No, it’s not already time for a high-end Galaxy Tab S5 with a Snapdragon 855 processor to take on Apple’s latest iPad Pro generation, as the Snapdragon 835-powered Tab S4 is still relatively fresh… and yet completely outdated. Instead, the mid-range Galaxy Tab S5e and Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2019) that the company took the wraps off a good couple of months ago finally have official US availability details attached to their somewhat confusing names.

    Okay, perhaps this is not the iPad Pro killer Android enthusiasts have been eagerly expecting since the announcement of Apple’s first such tablet. But at a starting price of $399.99, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e does at least manage to substantially undercut both 2018 iPad Pro variants, as well as the $500 and up 2019 iPad Air. Believe it or not, Samsung’s brand-new 10.5-inch slate is thinner than all its three aforementioned iOS rivals, at an outright anorexic 5.5 mm.

    Despite that unbelievably slim profile and a lightweight 400-gram body, the Tab S5e packs a decent-sounding 7,040 mAh battery with fast charging support. That ticker is slightly smaller than the one squeezed inside the 7.1 mm “thick” Galaxy Tab S4, but it’s still rated at a respectable 15 hours of continuous running time.

    While it’s not entirely clear how much memory and storage you’ll be getting in exchange for your four Benjamins starting April 26, we’re guessing it’s 4 and 64 gigs respectively, with a 6/128GB configuration likely to cost a little more. Obviously, no other differences are to be expected between the two variants, which should both come with a 13MP rear and 8MP front camera, pre-installed Android 9.0 Pie software, quad AKG-tuned speakers, a USB 3.1 Type C port, and octa-core Snapdragon 670 processing power.

    The 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display is undoubtedly one of the highlights of this relatively affordable tablet’s list of features, sporting the same 2560 x 1600 resolution as the “premium” Galaxy Tab S4, which typically costs $530 and up. The beautiful screen is surrounded by similarly thin bezels, and the Galaxy Tab S5e even adds a fingerprint sensor into the equation that the Tab S4 is missing.<

    A range of optional accessories can seamlessly enhance the productivity of the 10.5-incher, including a book cover keyboard and POGO charging dock, although there are no words on prices for these. Pre-orders for the attractive tablet will kick off on Friday, April 12, rewarding early adopters with a free Samsung SmartThings Hub, normally available for around $70.

    Like the Tab S5e, the newest 10.1-inch edition of the budget-minded Galaxy Tab A is scheduled for a commercial US release on April 26. Naturally, the key selling point of the smaller, slower, and yes, uglier slate is a lower price, but at least at first glance, $229.99 doesn't feel low enough. That's because the Tab A 10.1 (2019) makes a huge number of major compromises compared to its higher-end cousin, starting with a lower-quality and lower-res 1920 x 1200 LCD panel.

    Despite being a whopping 70 grams heavier than the Galaxy Tab S5e, this thing packs a smaller 6,150 mAh battery, obviously paired with an inferior Exynos 7904 SoC. Meanwhile, your 230 bucks will probably buy you just 2 gigs of RAM and 32 of internal storage space, although 3/64 and 3/128GB versions are also coming, all equipped with microSD card slots for extra digital hoarding needs.

    The rear and front cameras are downgraded to 8 and 5MP sensors respectively, there are only two speakers on deck, and even the USB Type C port is of the slower 2.0 generation. On the bright side, the Tab A 10.1 also runs Android 9.0 out the box, while retaining the traditional headphone jack the Tab S5e is "courageously" leaving behind. The design is not bad for the sub-$300 price bracket either, including "minimal" bezels, sharp corners, but alas, no room for a fingerprint reader.

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  • Google Duo’s update saves users from overages and throttled data speeds

    Google Duo’s update saves users from overages and throttled data speeds

    Google Duo is the company’s video chatting app that allows users to stream video, make audio-only calls, and send video and voice messages. The app is available for Android and iOS users. As you might imagine, engaging in a video chat uses plenty of data. So Duo users used to be able to toggle on a feature that would limit the amount of mobile data they consumed while employing Duo.

    An update to the app replaces the Limit Mobile Data toggle with Data Saving Mode, which is turned off by default. The new feature works to lower the consumption of both cellular data and Wi-Fi data when Duo is being used. After all, many wireless carriers and home Wi-Fi providers have data caps. Breaching these caps can result in overages or throttled data speeds, two punishments that no Duo user wants to receive.

    To lower mobile and Wi-Fi data consumption, Google drops the quality of a video chat to a lower resolution. Before you decide whether to use Data Saving Mode on a video chat, a preview will show you what the video chat will look like with the feature disabled (again, the default setting) and what it will look like in the lower resolution used when the feature is enabled. With Data Saving Mode toggled on, you won’t be the only one saving mobile and Wi-Fi data. That’s because the party on the other end of the video chat will also be viewing and sending videos in low resolution, helping to lower his/her mobile and Wi-Fi data usage as well.

    This new feature, found on version 51 of Duo, is being sent out via a server-side update. If you’re an impatient sort, you can find this version of the app offered on the Google Play Store.

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  • Google confirms more Pixel tablets to Arrive

    Google confirms more Pixel tablets to Arrive

    The Android tablet market was once much riches with many more options than the iPad market, but as consumers shifted their attention to smartphones with big displays, many companies have decided to shrink their tablets portfolio or drop it altogether.

    Google has adopted the same strategy in the last couple of years. Even though the Pixel Slate was launched about six months ago, this is a 2-in-1 tablet and laptop rather than a pure Android tablet. The last such product Google released on the market is the Nexus 9, an Android tablet built in collaboration with HTC, which made its debut on the market back in 2014.

    Samsung on the other hand, along with a couple of other Chinese companies like Lenovo and Huawei, has continued to launch Android tablets on a regular basis. Of course, the same applies to Apple, as the Cupertino-based giant now owns an impressive iPads portfolio.

    All information coming from various sources painted a rather bleak picture for the Android tablets segment, as reported last month that even Google plans to move dozens of employees from its laptop and tablet division to other posts within the company.

    The report cites “roadmap cutbacks,” but also points out that team members have been advised to find new roles “temporarily” within Google or Alphabet. The fact that people working for the laptop and tablet division were supposed to find temporary roles in other teams suggests that Google may decide to boost staffing on these teams at any time.

    At the beginning of the week, at Cloud Next 2019, Google hosted a conference, suggestively named “Introducing Google Hardware for Business,” where it reiterated that a new device to help the workforce “be production on-the-go” might be launched soon.

    The tools they have aren’t really conducive to the lifestyle and work style that makes them maximally productive and excited about going to work every day. And we think there are some unique things we can do differently than the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate that are going to really help give them what they’re looking for when they’re working in this new modern cloud-first era.

    A Pixel Slate sequel is more likely rather than a traditional Nexus tablet. Google also mentioned that although it doesn’t have any announcements ready to go live regarding the upcoming laptop/tablet this week, such a product will certainly be revealed “down the road.”

    Although statements made during Google’s Cloud Next 2019 even allow us to make some predictions the company’s plans for the laptop and tablet division, it’s impossible to tell what the search giant wants to do “differently than the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate.”

    Interestingly enough, Steve Jacobs, Pixelbook Group product management leader, who stated the above, coordinates three different categories within Google’s Core Technology group: Pixelbook, Pixel Slate, and Emerging.

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  • Three new Snapdragon chips unveiled today

    Three new Snapdragon chips unveiled today

    Qualcomm unveiled today the Snapdragon 730, 730G and 665 Mobile Platforms. The chip maker says that the new chips are designed to offer customers “exciting experiences” in gaming, AI and performance. The first new devices to be powered by these chipsets will hit the market in the middle of 2019.

    The Snapdragon 730 is the first 7 series SoC from Qualcomm that brings certain features previously found only on the flagship 8 series chips. Replacing the Snapdragon 710, the new SoC comes with on-device AI to provide “intuitive image capture, exceptional gaming, and optimized performance.” The Snapdragon 730 is equipped with Qualcomm’s fourth generation multi-core Qualcomm AI Engine, twice as powerful as the previous generation’s AI Engine. It also includes the Qualcomm Spectra 350 image signal processor (ISP), found for the first time ever in a 7 series chip. The ISP provides four times the power savings as its predecessor and can support a triple-camera setup made up of telephoto, ultra-wide and portrait lenses. It will record 4K HDR video in Portrait mode.

    Made using the 8nm process, the Snapdragon 730 includes the Adreno 618 graphics processing unit (GPU) and a state-of-the-art graphics library that uses 20% less power than Open GL ES. This means that the chip will provide gamers with improved graphics and longer battery life. And with Qualcomm aptX Adaptive audio and Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology, gamers will be able to experience surround sound while playing mobile games.

    The new chip is Wi-Fi 6 ready, and with the Kryo 470 CPU on board, each core brings as much as a 35% improvement in performance. The Snapdragon X15 LTE Modem handles LTE download speeds as fast as 800Mbps.

    “With the introduction of the Snapdragon 730, 730G and 665 Mobile Platforms, we are bringing features such as sophisticated AI, exceptional gaming and advanced camera capabilities to a broad spectrum of devices at exceptional performance. Each iteration of Snapdragon drives immense innovation that will surpass customer expectations.”-Kedar Kondap, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

    The Snapdragon 730G Mobile Platform is made for gaming phones, thus the “G” tacked on to the name of the chip. With an enhanced Adreno 618 GPU, graphics are rendered up to 15% faster than seen with the Snapdragon 730. Qualcomm met with some of the top mobile game developers to optimize the Snapdragon 730G. There is a Jank Reducer feature that removes up to 90% of janks with games running at 30fps. The chip also makes sure that players aren’t cheating, and the Wi-Fi latency manager keeps gameplay running smoothly. With over 1 billion different shades of color, games won’t only play better, they will look more realistic too.

    While the Snapdragon 730 and 730G will be used in handsets that are just not quite flagship material, the new Snapdragon 665 Mobile Platform is earmarked for pure mid-range models. But that doesn’t mean you won’t find some interesting features on the chip, like the third generation Qualcomm AI Engine. This provides twice the performance as the second generation AI engine. Speaking of AI, the Spectra 165 ISP found in the chipset includes AI capabilities. It also supports a triple camera setup made up of telephoto, wide-angle, and ultra-wide lenses. It also can handle images taken with today’s 48MP sensors.

    For gamers, the Snapdragon 665 SoC comes with the Adreno 610 GPU for “improved and longlasting gameplay.” The chip itself features four performance cores to handle the heavy-duty tasks, and four efficiency cores to take care of the light housekeeping. The Snapdragon 665 employs the Kryo 260 CPU and the Snapdragon X12 LTE Modem. The latter handles 4G LTE download speeds up to 600Mbps.

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