Smartphones

This week Samsung Electronics and Synopsys announced that Samsung has taped out its first mobile system-on-chip on Samsung Foundry's 3nm gate-all-around (GAA) process technology. The announcement, coming from electronic design automation Synopsys, further notes that Samsung used the Synopsys.ai EDA suite to place-n-route the layout and verify design of the SoC, which in turn enabled higher performance. Samsung's unnamed high-performance mobile SoC relies on 'flagship' general-purpose CPU and GPU architectures as well as various IP blocks from Synopsys. SoC designers used Synopsys.ai EDA software, including the Synopsys DSO.ai to fine-tune design and maximize yields as well as Synopsys Fusion Compiler RTL-to-GDSII solution to achieve higher performance, lower power, and optimize area (PPA). And while the news that Samsung has developed a high-performance SoC using the Synopsys.ai...

Google Teases Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 Later This Year

Alongside the launch of the Pixel 4a today, Google has made a mention that it’ll be launching the Pixel 4a (5G) later this year at a price point of...

18 by Andrei Frumusanu on 8/3/2020

Google Announces Pixel 4a - A $349 Value

Today Google is announcing its 2020 successor to its budget/mid-range line of phones in the form of the new Pixel 4a. Awaited since several months now, but seemingly delayed...

154 by Andrei Frumusanu on 8/3/2020

Qualcomm Announces Quick Charge 5 with SMB1396/SMB1398: PD-PPS Up to 100W

Today Qualcomm is announcing a new commercial fast charging solution in the form of Quick Charge 5, taking advantage of the latest technology developments in charging circuits and leveraging...

36 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/27/2020

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro Review - A Solid Overall Value

Amongst the many flagship devices released in this first half of the year, one often overlooked device was Xiaomi’s Mi 10 series. The company’s leading Snapdragon 865 phones were...

45 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/23/2020

ASUS Announces ROG Phone III - 144Hz S865+ Monster

Today ASUS is announcing its newest flagship gaming-oriented phone, the ROG Phone III. A direct successor to the quite well received ROG Phone II from last year, the company...

65 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/22/2020

OnePlus Announces Nord - Snapdragon 765 at 399€

Today OnePlus is announcing its latest smartphone, the new OnePlus Nord. The Nord is a special device for the company as it’s the first time since its inception that...

62 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/21/2020

The LG V60 and VELVET Review: A Classic & A Design Restart

It’s been a few months since LG has released the LG V60, and since then the company has also finally managed to launch the new Velvet phone to western...

82 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/15/2020

Samsung Lets Note20+/Ultra Design Slip

We still haven’t had any official announcements from Samsung regarding the Note20 series as of yet, expecting the company to only reveal the new phone series sometime in early...

54 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/1/2020

The OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro Review: Becoming The Flagship

It’s been a couple of months since OnePlus released the new OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro, and both devices have received plenty of software updates improving the device’s...

92 by Andrei Frumusanu on 6/29/2020

The Apple WWDC 2020 Keynote Live Blog (Starts at 10am PT/17:00 UTC)

While COVID may have put a crimp on the tech industry, for Apple the show must still go on. Join us at 10am Pacific/17:00 UTC for our live blog...

78 by Ryan Smith on 6/22/2020

Mobile Flagship Phone Camera Overview 2020 H1: Still Picture Battle

When today you’re picking a flagship smartphone, you generally get more or less the same fundamental formula no matter the vendor you chose. It’s a glass slab with a...

130 by Andrei Frumusanu on 6/18/2020

Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 690: 5G & A77 In The Mid-Range

Today Qualcomm is extending its 5G SoC portfolio down to the Snapdragon 600-series, introducing the new Snapdragon 690 platform and chip. The new design is a more significant upgrade...

24 by Andrei Frumusanu on 6/16/2020

Lion Semi: How High-Efficiency ICs Enable Fast-Charging

The last few years have seen quite a large shift in the mobile market as smartphone vendors have engaged in a literal arms-race aiming for the fastest charging phones...

58 by Andrei Frumusanu on 6/8/2020

Arm's New Cortex-A78 and Cortex-X1 Microarchitectures: An Efficiency and Performance Divergence

2019 was a great year for Arm. On the mobile side of things one could say it was business as usual, as the company continued to see successes with...

192 by Andrei Frumusanu on 5/26/2020

Samsung Announces New 50MP Dual-Pixel and Quad-Bayer ISOCELL Sensor

Samsung today has announced a brand-new flagship sensor in the form of the ISOCELL GN1. The new sensor is seemingly a follow-up to the 108MP ISOCELL HMX and HM1...

69 by Andrei Frumusanu on 5/19/2020

POCO Announces New POCO F2 Pro - An Affordable Flagship

Today we’re seeing the return of the flagship killer – although this isn’t OnePlus we’re talking about, but rather then new POCO F2 Pro. It’s the successor to the...

36 by Andrei Frumusanu on 5/12/2020

Meizu Announces New Meizu 17 and 17 Pro Flagships

Today Meizu announced its 2020 flagship follow-up to the popular Meizu 16s: the new Meizu 17 and 17 Pro. The two new phones represent a design shift for the...

33 by Andrei Frumusanu on 5/8/2020

LG Announces VELVET Phone: Korea Only For Now

LG had been teasing the “Velvet” for several weeks now, trickle-feeding information about the company’s new premium level smartphone. Today, the company officially launches the device in Korea, fully...

29 by Andrei Frumusanu on 5/7/2020

120Hz On The OnePlus 8 Pro: QHD+ Resolution But Still Power Hungry

High refresh rate displays in smartphones are all the rage in 2020, but the new exciting feature is still in its infancy in terms of hardware implementations. Currently there’s...

29 by Andrei Frumusanu on 5/5/2020

Updated iPhone SE Camera Testing: Replacement Phone Shows Much Improved Results

Last week we published our initial review of Apple’s new iPhone SE. In the piece, I had remarked that the camera was relatively disappointing and suffered from a lack...

18 by Andrei Frumusanu on 4/30/2020

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