Qualcomm will unveil the Snapdragon 865 on December 3

Qualcomm likes to host its annual summit late in the year in December where it unveils its next-generation products, including the flagship chipset for the next year. This year’s Snapdragon Tech Summit will once again be taking place in Maui from December 3 to December 5 where the company is expected to unveil the Snapdragon 865 which will be powering the next flagship devices from OnePlus, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and the likes.

The Snapdragon 865 will, of course, be the most important announcement at the event, but there are more products that are expected from Qualcomm, this year. For one, the name Snapdragon 865 was confirmed when Chinese luxury phone maker 8848 revealed its flagship phone called the Titanium M6 5G, due to launch next year. The phone will be powered by the upcoming flagship chipset.

What to expect from the Snapdragon Tech Summit 2019? 5G and non-5G Snapdragon 865

The Snapdragon 865 will succeed the Snapdragon 855, which featured in almost all high-end and flagship Android phones launched in India this year. Intriguingly, Qualcomm has managed to keep the secrets of the Snapdragon 865 closely guarded. The SoC did appear on Geekbench listings back in August with the model number Qualcomm Kona. There is also another variant of the same called the Snapdragon Huracan, according to tipster, Roland Quandt. This indicates that Qualcomm could finally offer a 5G-modem integrated with the SoC, something that Huawei has already managed to do with the HiSilicon Kirin 990 on the Mate 30 Pro this year.

According to previous reports, the Snapdragon 865, named internally as SD8250, will support LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 3.0 storage and is expected to be made on TSMC’s 7nm FinFET process. The chipset is expected to bring upgraded Adreno GPUs and new CPU cores based on the Cortex-A77 design released by ARM back in June. The company also will be focusing on faster and more versatile AI and image processing.

 Mid-range 5G-integrated SoCs

5G will continue grabbing the limelight with Qualcomm now aiming to trickle down 5G technologies to the affordable segment. At IFA 2019, the company had reinforced its commitment to bring 5G support to the 6, 7 and 8-series chipsets in the future. These chipsets will be able to support 5G networks without requiring a discrete 5G modem. Qualcomm also said the new 7-series SoCs with 5G modems integrated will become commercially ready by the last quarter of 2019, indicating that the first wave of 5G mid-range smartphones could be launch as soon as the Q1 2020.

As previously reported, 12 OEMs already plans to implement the 7-series 5G SoC in their upcoming devices. These include Vivo, Motorola, HMD Global, Oppo, Realme and more. Similarly, the 6-series 5G SoCs will reportedly be ready by the second half of 2020. Considering the staggered timeline of the launches, Qualcomm might just save the details about the 5G mid-range SoCs for later in 2020.

ARM-based laptop processor, successor to the Snapdragon 8CX

Qualcomm made a big splash with an ARM-based processor dedicated to thin-and-light laptops called the Snapdragon 8CX. It's got its own cores, GPU and the like. We expect the company to announce a successor, even though there weren’t many takers for the laptop SoC this year. Details about it are pretty scant, but we expect this year’s version to come with a 5G integrated modem.

Chips for wearables and audio products

Aside from the mobile and laptop chips, Qualcomm also makes chips for smart wearables. The Snapdragon Wear platform might see a new entrant to boost the Android-based smartwatch category. Furthermore, there could be a new chip announced for smart speakers, an industry that is presently dominated by Qualcomm’s rival MediaTek.

Digit will be there at the Snapdragon Tech Summit in Maui to bring you all the deets on the latest technologies from December 3rd to December 5th. Stay tuned.

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NASA deploys first experimental all-electric plane with 14 electric motors

Yes, going fully electric on the road is the dream of lawmakers and automakers alike. But who said it isn't the dream of space agencies and aerospace firms as well? According to a recent news release published by NASA, it has deployed its first experimental all-electric aircraft at the space agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. In development since 2015, the aircraft is called the X-57 Maxwell (or X-Plane). NASA plans to continue working on the experiment to understand how aircrafts of the future can be made electric.

“The X-57 Mod II aircraft delivery to NASA is a significant event, marking the beginning of a new phase in this exciting electric X-plane project,” commented Tom Rigney, Project Manager for the X-57 project. “With the aircraft in our possession, the X-57 team will soon conduct extensive ground testing of the integrated electric propulsion system to ensure the aircraft is airworthy. We plan to rapidly share valuable lessons learned along the way as we progress toward flight testing, helping to inform the growing electric aircraft market.”

NASA's X-57 is an all-electric adaptation of the twin-engined Tecnam P2006T. It's a four-seater light aircraft that was designed in Italy in 2006. In its X-57 experiment, NASA has replaced the aircraft's two Rotax engines with 14 electric motors, which drive individual propellers on the leading edge of both wings. Capable of flying for a maximum of one hour, the X-57 has a range of about 160 kilometres. The X-57 can cruise at about 280 kilometres per hour.

The development of NASA's  X-57 is expected to aid in the design of more air mobility vehicles that also use complex distributed electrical propulsion systems, just like the X-57. According to NASA's news release, the development team is using a ‘design driver’ as a technical challenge to “drive lessons learned and best practices.” This design driver, according to the American space agency, includes a 500 per cent boost in high-speed cruise efficiency, zero in-flight carbon emissions, and a quieter flight for “communities” on the ground.

Cover image courtesy: NASA

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Alleged OnePlus 8 Pro prototype with dual punch-hole display leaked

OnePlus 8 Pro rumours have already started hitting the internet. After the leaked renders, a OnePlus 8 Pro prototype has been spotted in the wild. The alleged OnePlus 8 Pro images hint at dual punch-hole display and a curved display like the OnePlus 7 Pro. The rear panel shows off the quad-camera setup with three lenses and an LED flash arranged in a vertical strip and a fourth camera placed alongside it.

Earlier, @OnLeaks posted various images of the OnePlus 8 Pro. They showed that a design change seems to be in ṭhe works for OnePlus’ next flagship. The key change in its design is the presence of a punch-hole display and a quad-camera setup at the back. If this turns out to be true, OnePlus 8 Pro will be the company’s first phone with a quad-camera setup. 

The newly spotted images of the alleged OnePlus 8 Pro prototype can be seen sporting a different gradient appeal than the OnePlus 7T series. A closer look at the images show an elliptical punch-hole that seems to house two front-facing cameras. To recall, a single punch-hole was seen on the renders that leaked in October. 

A “OnePlus 5G” logo can also be spotted at the bottom of the rear panel of OnePlus 8 Pro’s latest images. Hence, the device could come in a 5G variant as well.

OnePlus 8 Pro is said to feature a display with a 120Hz refresh rate.  For reference, ROG phone II is the only phone in the current market that supports a panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The upcoming OnePlus flagship is likely to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. It may also come in a 12GB RAM variant. Other details of the phone remain a mystery for now. However, some rumours claim that OnePlus 8 Pro may arrive with support for faster wireless charging technology.

Furthermore, OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are expected to launch in Q2 2020.

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Apple Arcade Adds 6 New Games, Taking Total to 100

Apple's subscription-based gaming service Arcade has now reached 100 total games on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV with the addition of six more games.

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MediaTek will be announcing a 5G chip on November 26

MediaTek has been working hard on improving its market presence and compete more fiercely with the likes of Qualcomm and Huawei in the mobile chipset industry for Android devices. The Helio G90 series that the company announced earlier this year has proved the company can also design powerful SoCs meant for high-end gaming. With that out of the way, the company has been focusing its efforts in designing a 5G chipset for the high-end segment, but more surprisingly, it’s also bringing 5G connectivity to affordable mid-range segments.

MediaTek already has the Helio M70 5G modem that relies on the sub-6GHz frequency to deliver 5G connectivity. According to a company roadmap, the 5G modems are expected to hit the markets in Q1 2020. It seems the company’s plans are going as per schedule as MediaTek recently sent out invites to a November 26 event to unveil its first 5G chip at the MediaTek Summit.

MediaTek has also disclosed how the chip will look in promotions leading up to the event, as revelaed by GSMArena. But there’s little to no information available about the chip officially. Based on the promo, it’s clear the chip will have the model number MT6885Z. Now folks over at GSMArena cross-referenced the model number with previous reports and discovered the chip is based on a 7nm manufacturing process.

Speculatively, the MT6885Z SoC could use the latest ARM Cortex-A77 cores alongside the Mali-G77 GPU. The 5G modem will support sub-6GHz bands and there will be dedicated cores for AI processing. Camera support could go up to 80MP along with 4K at 60 FPS video recording. Apparently, the chipset is already gone into mass production and should be available to OEMs by Q1 2020.

But that’s the company’s plans for a flagship silicon. More interesting is MediaTek’s efforts to lead the way in the mid-range segment. The Taiwanese chip designer has always batted for the masses by introducing so-called high-end features for smartphones under Rs 10,000 in India. Take the Realme 3 for instance. The Helio P70 SoC has a lot in common with high-end Qualcomm chipsets.

In the mid-range segment, MediaTek is rumoured to bring a Helio M70-based 5G SoC sometime next year. It’s likely that the chip will be called MT6873 and based on previous reports, it will be manufactured on the 7nm process and rely on Cortex-A76 cores. However, the MT6783 is expected to enter mass production in the second quarter of 2020, so there is still a long waiting period for cheap 5G phones to become a reality.

Furthermore, there are reports that MediaTek is planning to move to TSMC’s upcoming 6nm manufacturing node. There are still some yield and cost issues left to be sorted out, but it certainly sounds like MediaTek is planning to move full steam ahead to challenge the competition.

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505 games confirms Death Stranding will launch on Steam and the Epic Store simultaneously

If you are a PC gamer looking forward to Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, then know that the game will launch on Steam and the Epic Store simultaneously when the game hits the PC in 2020. There is no concrete launch date for the PC version of the game, but eager beaver can pre-order the game if they like. 

The previous AAA game published by 505 Games was Remedy Entertainment’s Control and the game did upset fans by being an Epic Store Exclusive. Fans were worried that Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding would be an Epic Store exclusive too, but thankfully that isn't the case. 

If you are wondering whether your PC can run Death Stranding or not, there is some bad news for you. The developers haven’t revealed the minimum system requirements for the game yet but hopefully, this information will be revealed in the coming months. 

Calling Death Stranding one of the most anticipated games of the year would be an understatement. Ever since the first trailer of the game was revealed, fans have been perplexed as to what the game is about. Now that the game has been released, it has been met with mixed reviews from critics and gamers alike. Some absolutely love the isolated gameplay giving you a melancholic feeling while making delivered in a post-apocalyptic world whereas others have called it nothing more than a glorified walking simulator. We at digit enjoyed the game for its story, cinematics, and parts of gameplay which are fun. You can check out our review of Deat Stranding here.

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Samsung Galaxy A30s and Galaxy A50s get a price cut in India

The Samsung Galaxy A30s and Galaxy A50s launched in India back in September 2019. Starting with the Samsung Galaxy A30s, the device features a 6.4-inch Infinity-V Super AMOLED HD+ display with a resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels. The device has an in-display fingerprint sensor. Under the hood, it is powered by a 14nm Exynos 7904 octa-core chipset coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. When it comes to optics, the Galaxy A30s sports a triple rear camera setup - a  25MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 lens, a 5MP depth sensor and an 8MP ultrawide camera. The front camera is a 16MP selfie shooter. 

The Samsung Galaxy A30s which launched at Rs 16,999 is now available for Rs 15,999. 

Moving to the Samsung Galaxy A50s, the device sports a 6.4-inch Infinity-U Super AMOLED display with a 1080 x 2340 pixel resolution. Under the hood, it is powered by 10nm Octa-core Exynos 9610 processor, coupled with 4GB/6GB RAM and 128GB storage options. The smartphone also sports an in-display fingerprint scanner. For the camera, the Galaxy A50s sports a triple rear camera setup - a 48MP primary camera with an f/2.0 lens along with an 8MP ultrawide camera and a 5MP depth sensor. The front has a 32MP selfie shooter. The Samsung Galaxy A50s packs a 4000mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging.

The Samsung Galaxy A50s which launched at Rs 22,999 for the 4GB RAM + 128GB storage variant and Rs 24,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant is now available for Rs 19,999 and Rs 21,999 respectively.

Both the smartphones are available online via Samsung’s online store and Flipkart. 

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