Smartphones
Samsung is announcing today that it has begun mass production of 12 GB and 16 GB LPDDR5X modules in the industry's thinnest package. Samsung's shrunken memory packages measure approximately 0.65 mm in thickness, making them 0.06 mm (~9%) thinner than standard LPDDR5X packages. The company expects the new DRAM devices to be used to make for thinner smartphones, or improve their performance by enabling better airflow inside. According to the company's press release, Samsung achieved this ultra-thin design by employing new packaging methods, such as optimized printed circuit boards (PCBs) and epoxy molding compound (EMC). Additionally, an optimized back-lapping process was used to further reduce the height of the packages. The newly developed DRAM packages are not only thinner by 9% compared to previous models...
Huawei P10 and P10 Plus: Performance & Battery Life Report
Huawei is clearly focused on improving the performance of its flagship phones. The P9 and its Kirin 955 SoC performed well in our tests and was smooth and quick...
74 by Matt Humrick on 5/12/2017Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 660 & 630 Mobile Platforms: Better Connectivity, Camera, & Compute at 14nm
Qualcomm is bringing some premium experiences to its mid-tier lineup with the addition of the Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platforms. Improved connectivity, enhanced imaging, faster charging, and...
59 by Matt Humrick on 5/8/2017VAIO Launches Phone A: Snapdragon 617, 3 GB RAM, 5.5” FHD, Android
VAIO has launched its new Google Android-based smartphone in Japan. The VAIO Phone A handset uses the same hardware platform as the company’s VAIO Phone Biz launched last year...
36 by Anton Shilov on 5/6/2017Apple Announces Q2 FY 2017 Earnings
This afternoon, Apple announced their earnings for the second quarter of their 2017 fiscal year. Revenue was up 5% year-over-year to $52.896 billion. Operating income for the quarter was...
18 by Brett Howse on 5/2/2017Acer Announces Holo 360° Camera with Integrated 4G LTE
Acer has demonstrated a new camera designed to capture 360° videos and can upload content to the Internet without a PC or a smartphone. The Holo 360 camera is...
6 by Anton Shilov on 5/1/2017First Look: Samsung Galaxy S8
We first saw Samsung’s new 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8+ at its Unpacked event a few weeks ago. During the event, we saw demos of its new...
129 by Matt Humrick on 4/21/2017Xiaomi Announces Mi 6: 5.15-inch, Snapdragon 835 SoC, 6GB LPDDR4x
At an event today in Beijing, Xiaomi revealed its latest flagship phone, the Mi 6. Like the Mi 5s it’s replacing, the Mi 6 comes with a 5.15-inch 1080p...
34 by Matt Humrick on 4/19/2017Display Report: Huawei P10 and P10 Plus
Huawei recently added the P10 and P10 Plus to its lineup, which focus on fashion and photography like other P-series phones. The Huawei P10 has a 5.1-inch IPS LCD...
9 by Matt Humrick on 4/14/2017Xiaomi Mi MIX: A Closer Look at the Design and Display
Xiaomi’s Mi MIX gives us a glimpse of the future. A pseudo-concept phone that’s being produced in limited quantities and sold in China, it combines the latest technology with...
48 by Matt Humrick on 4/10/2017Honor Announces The Honor 8 Pro: Kirin 960, 5.7-inch QHD
Huawei added another phone to its Honor lineup today. The Honor 8 Pro is the international version of the Honor V9 that was launched in China earlier this year...
22 by Ian Cutress & Matt Humrick on 4/5/2017Apple To Develop Own GPU, Drop Imagination's GPUs From SoCs
In a bombshell of a press release issued this morning, Imagination has announced that Apple has informed their long-time GPU partner that they will be winding down their use...
144 by Ryan Smith on 4/3/2017Hands On With Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+: Taller Screens and Slimmer Bezels
Samsung officially unveiled the latest Galaxy devices at its Unpacked event in New York today. The taller displays in the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8+ show more...
208 by Matt Humrick on 3/29/2017The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Performance Preview
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 gets a CPU transplant, an updated GPU, a 1Gbps LTE modem, and other updates. We were able to see the new SoC in action and collect...
128 by Matt Humrick & Ryan Smith on 3/22/2017Spreadtrum SC9861G-IA: An Intel Atom Octocore Smartphone SoC on 14nm with LTE
Last year Intel decided to cease development of its smartphone SoCs and focus instead on microprocessors for other devices, as well as LTE, 5G modems, as well as various...
47 by Anton Shilov on 3/15/2017HiSilicon Kirin 960: A Closer Look at Performance and Power
HiSilicon looks to build on the Kirin 950’s success by adopting ARM’s latest A73 CPU cores and Mali-G71 GPU for the Kirin 960. Still manufactured on a 16nm FinFET...
86 by Matt Humrick on 3/14/2017MWC 2017: AGM Preparing IP68 Rated Snapdragon 835 Smartphone with 8GB DRAM
AGM may not be a household name for the vast majority of people living in Europe and the U.S., but this is a well-known maker of rugged phones that...
29 by Anton Shilov on 3/13/2017MWC 2017: Oppo Demonstrates 5X Optical Zoom for Smartphones
This year at MWC, Oppo showed off a smartphone prototype that used a new implementation of dual cameras to offer a 5X optical zoom. The company did not reveal...
23 by Anton Shilov on 3/13/2017Sony Demonstrates Concept Xperia Ear Headphones and Xperia Touch Android Projector at MWC
As we move through our MWC meeting writeup backlog this week, one of the interesting developments we saw was from Sony. Apart from new smartphones, Sony showed two interesting...
10 by Anton Shilov on 3/11/2017Meizu Unveils Super mCharge: Fast Charging At 55W
Meizu unveiled a new fast-charging technology—called Super mCharge—at MWC 2017 that’s capable of fully charging a 3000 mAh battery in just 20 minutes. Rapid charging has grown from novelty...
40 by Matt Humrick on 3/2/2017ZTE Announces The Blade V8 Mini And Blade V8 Lite
After announcing the Blade V8 Pro at CES 2017, ZTE added two more phones to the Blade V8 family: the Blade V8 Mini and Blade V8 Lite. Both phones...
6 by Matt Humrick on 3/2/2017