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May 6
- Predictions for New iPhone Models 2H25-2H27: Low-End Models in the First Half and High-End Models in the Second Half Will Become the Norm
➀ Ming-Chi Kuo predicts several iPhone models for different halves of 2025 and 2026, including Pro Max, Pro, Slim, and Foldable models.
➁ The change to releasing new iPhone models twice a year is due to intense competition, especially in the Chinese market.
➂ The strategy is to eliminate marketing gaps and to avoid marketing focus loss by releasing more models in the second half of the year.
May 5
- Huawei's Advanced Chip Production Line Unveiled: A Leap Towards Technological Independence
➀ Huawei is constructing an advanced chip production line in Shenzhen as part of a network of semiconductor facilities aimed at reducing China's reliance on foreign technology.
➁ The facilities, located in Guanlan, are part of a broader effort by Huawei to become a semiconductor leader and challenge the US in technology development.
➂ The sites are operated by Huawei, SiCarrier, and SwaySure, with financial backing from the Shenzhen government and support from local engineering teams.
November 9
- TSMC Reportedly Halting 7nm and Advanced Chip Shipments to Chinese Firms
➀ TSMC is said to be ending 7nm and more advanced chip shipments to Chinese firms, possibly due to concerns about these companies being proxies for Huawei.
➁ The halt in shipments is expected to impact companies using TSMC's technology for AI, smartphones, and automotive chips.
➂ The suspension is set to begin on November 11, and negotiations with the U.S. Department of Commerce are anticipated.
➃ The move is seen as a potential negative impact on TSMC's revenues, but is expected to be offset by increased demand from U.S. firms.
➄ No evidence has been presented linking Huawei to any illicit activities, but the company has been reported to be recruiting TSMC engineers with offers of triple their current salaries.
➅ Despite the efforts, Huawei has not yet succeeded in this recruitment, and the trade channels of the involved Chinese firms seem to have been severed.
October 21
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Press Image Leaks: Up to 4.32GHz Performance Cores and 40% GPU Boost
➀ Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite leaks, featuring a '2 + 4' CPU cluster with up to 4.32GHz performance cores;
➁ The Adreno 830 GPU offers a 40 percent improvement in performance over the previous generation;
➂ The new SoC supports LPDDR5X RAM and includes a 45 percent faster NPU for AI tasks;
➃ The Snapdragon 8 Elite is designed on TSMC's second-generation 3nm process with custom Oryon cores.
October 20
- Colorful's Shadow DDR5 CUDIMM Memory Hits 10,000 MT/s Speeds, Over 10K Speeds Possible On Z890 Motherboards
➀ Colorful has demonstrated its Shadow DDR5 CUDIMM memory modules with speeds over 10,000 MT/s on Z890 motherboards;
➁ The new CUDIMM standard brings Error Correcting Code for uncorrupted data;
➂ The Shadow series CUDIMM was overclocked to 10,000 MT/s with impressive CL timings;
➃ The memory kit achieves 9200 MT/s at CL 46-54-54-148 and 9600 MT/s at CL 44-56-56-154;
➄ Colorful's Shadow CUDIMM DDR5 RAM will be available in various capacities and frequencies, with the flagship model at 9600 MT/s.
October 19
- Rambus Unveils DDR5 MRDIMMs & RDIMMs Memory Modules with Up to 12,800 MT/s Speeds
➀ Rambus showcases the industry's first DDR5 MRDIMMs and RDIMMs memory modules;
➁ The new standards offer speeds up to 12,800 MT/s;
➂ The MRDIMMs use a novel module design to boost data transfer rates and system performance;
➃ The new chips enable RDIMMs to operate at 8000 MT/s and MRDIMMs at 12,800 MT/s;
➄ The solutions are designed for compute-intensive data centers and AI workloads.
- NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Responds To The Intel-AMD ‘x86 Alliance’, Says It Is Necessary To Keep The Architecture Alive
➀ NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang responds to the Intel-AMD 'x86 Alliance';
➁ Huang emphasizes the importance of keeping the x86 architecture alive;
➂ NVIDIA supports the alliance's efforts to ensure cross-compatibility between platforms;
➃ Huang acknowledges the need for the x86 segment to remain united for future development;
➄ The alliance aims to counter growing market competition;
➅ Intel and AMD's alliance is seen as a response to NVIDIA's influence in AI markets;
➆ The PC market is facing competition from ARM architecture and AI PC chips.
October 6
- Graphcore — bought by SoftBank for $600m+ — made $4m in revenue in 2023➀ Graphcore, the UK-based chipmaker, reported $4m in revenue for 2023, following its $600m+ acquisition by SoftBank; ➁ The company's losses before tax decreased to £131m in 2023 from $197m the previous year; ➂ Graphcore faced challenges in 2023, including the closure of operations in China and scaling back operations in the US due to export control rules.
October 5
- Infineon PASCO2V15 CO2 Sensor Achieves ±50 ppm Accuracy with Built-in Microphone and IR Emitter➀ Infineon's PASCO2V15 CO2 sensor uses photoacoustic spectroscopy with a built-in microphone and IR emitter to detect CO2 levels. ➁ The sensor offers high precision (±50 ppm ±5%) and a wide measurement range (0 to 32,000 ppm). ➂ It features pressure compensation, automatic baseline offset correction, and low power consumption, making it suitable for HVAC systems and smart thermostats.
- Quartz64 Zero: Customizable and Cost-Optimized Rockchip RK3566T SBC with Raspberry Pi PCIe Connector➀ Quartz64 Zero is a cost-effective and customizable SBC with Rockchip RK3566T SoC, offering 1GB LPDDR4 RAM and support for PCIe, WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.4. It features a Raspberry Pi PCIe connector and is designed for commercial projects with a guaranteed supply until 2028. ➁ The board has similar design to Quartz64 but with a thinner profile and a 20-pin PCIe connector instead of mini PCIe. It also supports dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac/ax WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4. ➂ The board is available in various configurations, including optional eMMC modules and bootable SDHC/SDXC cards, and can be customized with additional components without PCB changes if ordered in bulk.
October 4
- DRAM & NAND Prices Witness Almost 20% Drop, Mainly Due To Dwindling Consumer Demand➀ DRAM and NAND contract prices dropped by almost 20% in a month due to declining consumer demand; ➁ Manufacturers are struggling to sell DDR4 memory modules, leading to inventory pressure and price cuts; ➂ The transition to next-generation standards has slowed down the market pace, contributing to the price drop; ➃ The demand for DDR5 modules is increasing, but it still has a long way to go to replace DDR4 in the market.
September 30
- Dimensity 9400 Unit Price Estimated To Be 20 Percent Higher Thanks To TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3E’ Process, But Still Cheaper Than The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4➀ The Dimensity 9400 is expected to be 20 percent more expensive due to TSMC's advanced 3nm 'N3E' process, but still cheaper than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4; ➁ The estimated price of the Dimensity 9400 is rumored to be $155, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to cost $190; ➂ The Dimensity 9400 is the first Android chip to use this advanced lithography, and its performance is expected to be impressive.
- Dimensity 9400 Shatters Records; First SoC to Cross 3 Million in AnTuTu Benchmark➀ The Dimensity 9400 becomes the first SoC to surpass 3 million points in AnTuTu benchmarks; ➁ It achieves a score of 3,007,853 on the Vivo X200 Pro, making it 47 percent faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; ➂ The GPU score sees a significant boost, with the SoC featuring ARM's newest Immortalis-G925 MP12 GPU; ➃ MediaTek's new chip is expected to be mass produced on TSMC's second-generation 3nm process, enhancing its efficiency.
September 9
- Banana Pi BPI-CM5 Pro – A Rockchip RK3576-powered Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with up to 16GB RAM, 128GB flash, a 6 TOPS NPU➀ Banana Pi BPI-CM5 Pro is a Rockchip RK3576 system-on-module compatible with Raspberry Pi CM4, offering 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB eMMC flash; ➁ It features a 6 TOPS AI accelerator, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and two 100-pin connectors; ➂ ArmSoM-CM5 module is in final stages of production with expected availability by mid-October; ➃ CM5-IO carrier board supports additional interfaces like USB 3.0 and PCIe.
September 3
- PlayStation 5 Pro Performance Will Be Close To 7700 XT in Rasterization, Faster In Ray Tracing – Rumor➀ The PlayStation 5 Pro's performance is expected to be similar to the Radeon 7700 XT GPU in rasterization. ➁ The console is rumored to have improved ray tracing performance compared to the base model. ➂ The design of the PlayStation 5 Pro is said to be not too different from the base model, according to leaks.
September 2
- OpenAI's First In-House Chip to be Developed by TSMC on A16 Angstrom Process for Sora Video Applications➀ OpenAI is developing its first in-house chip with TSMC using the A16 Angstrom process, aimed at enhancing Sora's video-generation capabilities. ➁ The chip development was initially planned with TSMC but was later canceled due to profitability concerns. ➂ The new chip could potentially boost Apple device sales as it integrates with Apple's generative AI features.
September 1
- First Benchmarks of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus 8-Core CPU Leak Out➀ The Snapdragon X Plus 'X1P-42-100' 8-Core CPU is up to 20% slower in CPU tests and 40% slower in 3DMark GPU benchmarks compared to other models. ➁ The CPU features eight Oryon cores based on a 4nm process, segmented into two clusters with different clock speeds. ➂ The Adreno X1-45 GPU delivers 1.7 TFLOPs of compute, significantly lower than other SKUs. ➃ The ASUS ProArt PZ13 laptop with this SOC scored 102 points in single-core and 649 points in multi-core tests in Cinebench 2024. ➄ In gaming tests, the GPU achieved an average of 18 FPS at 1080p on low settings and 12 FPS on high settings in Shadow of The Tomb Raider.
August 31
- Intel's Lunar Lake & Arrow Lake CPUs to Avoid Vmin Shift Instability with New Architecture➀ Intel confirms that its upcoming Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs will not experience Vmin Shift Instability thanks to a new architecture. ➁ The company lists several current-generation processors, including 12th Gen Intel Core and Intel Xeon, as unaffected by this issue. ➂ Intel advises users to update their BIOS to ensure stability, with the new microcode patch causing minimal performance impact.
August 28
- TeamGroup Launches T-Force Delta RGB ECO DDR5 Desktop RAM & PD20 ECO Mini External SSD➀ TeamGroup introduces T-Force Delta RGB ECO DDR5 memory and PD20 ECO mini external SSD, both featuring eco-friendly materials and designs. ➁ The DDR5 memory supports Intel XMP and AMD EXPO, available in 5600MHz and 6000MHz speeds, with capacities up to 64GB. ➂ The PD20 ECO SSD offers up to 4TB capacity, uses 75% PCR plastic, and has a transfer speed of up to 1,000MB/s.
August 27
- Raspberry Pi Pico Arduino Core 4.0 Adds Support for RP2350 Boards➀ Adds support for Raspberry Pi RP2350 boards, focusing on Arm architecture. ➁ Migrates to Pico SDK 2.0, incorporating new OpenOCD and Picotool. ➂ Enhances features including SPI, I2C, LittleFS, EEPROM, PWMAudio, LWIP-based networking, multicore, SDK USB, and TinyUSB. ➃ Introduces new board models such as Raspberry Pi Pico 2, Invector Labs Challenger RP2350 BConnect, SparkFun Pro Micro RP2350, and Solder Party RP2350 Stamp. ➄ Adds new Ethernet controllers like W6100 and implements VFS for POSIX file I/O operations.
- NVIDIA Blackwell AI Platform: Deep Dive into NV-HBI and Advanced GPU Technologies➀ NVIDIA introduces the Blackwell AI platform, featuring the NV-HBI interface to fuse two GPUs, enhancing AI performance. ➁ The platform includes the 5th Gen Tensor Cores and 4th Gen NVLINK, supporting advanced AI computations. ➂ Blackwell GPUs offer unprecedented AI compute, memory bandwidth, and interconnect bandwidth, utilizing TSMC 4NP process technology.
- Apple's A18, A18 Pro Rumored to Have Independent Dies with Reduced Cache Size➀ Both A18 and A18 Pro are rumored to feature independent dies with reduced cache sizes. ➁ The two SoCs are said to share the same CPU cluster but have varying GPU cores. ➂ The standard A18 is expected to have a 5-core GPU, while the A18 Pro is rumored to have a 6-core GPU.
- NVIDIA's Dominance in ADAS Chips Under Threat from Chinese OEMs, Huawei's HiSilicon All Set to Announce a Breakthrough Development➀ NVIDIA's DRIVE Orin SoC, a major player in the Chinese auto market, faces increasing competition from domestic chipmakers. ➁ NIO unveiled its in-house ADAS chip, Shenji NX9031, with 1,016 TOPS, challenging NVIDIA's dominance. ➂ Huawei's HiSilicon is set to announce a breakthrough development at its upcoming Connectivity Conference, potentially impacting NVIDIA's position in China's AI market.
- Integrated Motor Driver and Controller Bundles ESP32-S3 and TMC2209 for IoT Applications➀ The PD Stepper is an integrated stepper motor driver and controller board combining ESP32-S3 and TMC2209 for smart home and automation applications. ➁ It features a USB-C connector supporting Power Delivery up to 50W, enabling efficient motor control. ➂ The board includes an AS5600 magnetic rotary position sensor and supports Wi-Fi, I2C, UART, and BLE for versatile control options. ➃ The device is open-source, with all design files available on GitHub, and is currently available for pre-order.
August 26
- AMD Radeon RX 8000 'RDNA 4' GPU Leaks: 56 Compute Units at 2.1 GHz & 16 GB VRAM➀ AMD's next-gen Radeon RX 8000 'RDNA 4' GPU has been spotted on Geekbench with 56 compute units. ➁ The GPU is clocked at 2.1 GHz and features 16 GB of VRAM. ➂ Initial performance appears similar to an iGPU, but more optimized results are expected closer to launch.
August 22
- Next-Gen Diamond Rapids-AP “Xeon” CPUs Utilize Massive LGA 9324 Socket➀ Intel's next-generation Diamond Rapids 'Xeon' CPUs will feature a massive LGA 9324 socket with nearly 10,000 gold contact pads. ➁ The LGA 9324 socket is part of the Oak Stream platform, succeeding the Birch Stream platform. ➂ The new socket is expected to support higher core counts and is set to launch around 2025-2026, competing directly with AMD's EPYC 'Venice' CPUs.
August 20
- NanoPi M6: A Rockchip RK3588S SBC with Integrated 3.5-inch Touchscreen➀ The NanoPi M6 is a Rockchip RK3588S-based single board computer (SBC) featuring a fanless HMI solution with a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen. ➁ It offers configurations from 4GB to 32GB LPDDR5 memory and supports multiple storage options including microSD, eMMC, and M.2 NVMe SSD. ➂ The SBC includes interfaces such as HDMI 2.1, dual MIPI DSI, MIPI CSI, gigabit Ethernet, and an M.2 E-Key socket for WiFi and Bluetooth.
- ANAVI Dev Mic: Digital Omnidirectional Microphone Based on Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU (Crowdfunding)➀ The ANAVI Dev Mic is an open-source microphone board powered by Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 and an STMicroelectronics digital microphone. ➁ It features a USB-C port for power and programming, and 9 GPIO pins for extensibility. ➂ Designed for AI/ML research and voice recognition platforms, it outperforms USB microphones in voice applications.
August 19
- Radxa ROCK 5 ITX RK3588 Mini-ITX Motherboard Review: Building an ARM PC and NAS with Debian KDE➀ GPU and graphics performance issues; ➁ Storage performance is satisfactory; ➂ Networking capabilities are robust; ➃ HDMI and audio output are functional; ➄ USB ports and Type-C functionality are confirmed; ➅ Power consumption is measured; ➆ Overall, the board is suitable for headless systems but needs improvements for desktop use.
- ASML CEO Believes Europe Needs China's Legacy Chips, Despite 10 Years Behind in Chip Tech➀ ASML's CEO, Christophe Fouquet, emphasizes the importance of China's semiconductor production for global markets, despite being technologically behind. ➁ Fouquet believes Europe is unable to meet its semiconductor demand and relies on China's legacy chips to fill the supply-demand gap. ➂ The CEO suggests that without a domestic production plan, further restrictions on China could disrupt the global chip supply chain.