Google Has Announced Its First Custom ARM-Based Chipset Called Axion, But It Will Not Power The Pixel 9 Or Pixel 9 Pro

The demand for Apple Vision Pro is slowly dwindling, but the company’s long-term goals have not budged an inch. A new report states that the successor to the $3,499 AR headset could launch sometime by the end of 2026. However, there is a huge glaring issue that Apple needs to address, or this product category will most likely never take off, and that is pricing. For that to happen, the technology giant needs to bring down its component costs, but with each current-generation unit estimated to set back Apple by $1,542, the road to a more affordable head-mounted wearable is long and hard.

Apple Vision Pro surveys have been sent out to users ever since the headset launched earlier this year, but on this occasion, the company has sent customers a multitude of questions, wanting to learn about their experience and usage habits. What is interesting about the latest in-depth survey is that it was sent out shortly after the technology giant reportedly cut production of its latest head-mounted wearable to an estimated 400,000 to 450,000 annual units.

The Snapdragon X Elite was previously reported to operate on two power limits; 23W and 80W. However, according to the latest findings, Qualcomm’s newest ARM chipset can touch almost 100W, and that is for the CPU alone, making it a power guzzler compared to its closest competition, Apple’s M3 Pro. However, there are several variables to keep in mind before criticizing the massive power draw of the chipset, and we will be talking about those details here.

PUBG: Battlegrounds is somehow old enough to evoke nostalgia. The pioneering battle royale game, which entered Steam Early Access in 2017, will borrow a page from Fortnite’s playbook and honor its first map. Erangel Classic will recreate the old-school battlefield from the game’s inception for a limited two-week run in May and June.

Apple is expected to rely on China for a reliable supply chain for the foreseeable future, and though the company has successfully established manufacturing plants outside of the country, it will take years before the technology giant can claim complete independence from the region. Now, according to its 2023 supplier list, Apple has added eight new supply chain members from China while removing four of them due to undisclosed reasons.

A few of Qualcomm’s phone partners always make an appearance at the company’s annual Snapdragon Summit to reveal which of their devices will be powered by the next flagship chipset. Historically, Xiaomi has always been the first to announce its premium offering for next year, and according to a tipster, the Chinese manufacturer will retain those exclusive rights when it unveils its first Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 smartphone. However, showcasing a launch is one thing, and making it officially available to purchase is another.

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, or ASE, has reportedly won an exclusive order from Apple to supply two SiPs, or ‘system in a package’ for the upcoming iPhone 16 series. These chips will serve to replace both the volume and power buttons on the upcoming handsets, presenting capacitive buttons that will deliver extra functionality.

Huawei added a slew of improvements to its latest Kirin 9010 over the Kirin 9000S, such as a 12-core CPU cluster, but those upgrades do not necessarily translate into the chipset being faster or more power efficient than the rest of the competition. According to a series of tests, the company’s latest SoC is revealed to be 30 percent slower than Qualcomm’s previous-generation Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 while consuming the same amount of power. Let us have a look at those results in more detail.

Samsung is reported to stick with a dual-chipset launch strategy for its upcoming Galaxy S25 series, where some regions will offer the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, while others will sell the Exynos 2500 variants. The Exynos 2400 provided a slew of surprises as the company significantly improved its current-generation flagship SoC. Next year, Samsung is expected to kick things up a notch and is rumored to leverage its second-generation 3nm process to mass produce the Exynos 2500. This move could give the SoC power efficiency attributes that dwarf Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

The Qi standard is typically employed when giving a smartphone the ability to top up the battery wirelessly. However, there might be a different way of wirelessly charging future devices that can run Android 15, and that is NFC Wireless Charging support. According to the latest findings, Google is figuring out a way to bring this technology to supported models, bringing in some level of convenience, regardless of whether this approach is inferior to the Qi standard.

Qualcomm might find it difficult to tame the power consumption of the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, despite the chipset reported on multiple occasions to be mass produced on TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3E’ node. Theoretically, an improved manufacturing process should mean that the flagship SoC will be energy-efficient, but a tipster hints that smartphone makers opting to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in their models will add bigger batteries. Companies may compensate for the silicon’s increased power by incorporating bigger cells to deliver that record runtime.

Huawei has discontinued its P-series of flagships by introducing a re-brand of the Pura 70 family, which can mean that the company will put on a positive first impression by bringing an attractive design and notable hardware upgrades to the upcoming models. Naturally, a name change will also pique the interest of potential buyers, resulting in higher sales.