Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 8c and 7c for Always On, Always Connected PCs

Last year, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8cx 5G platform, the world’s first 7nm SoC for laptops, in an attempt to capture the growing market of hybrid, thin-and-light always-connected personal computers (ACPCs). This was the latest in a series of Qualcomm chips for ACPC as the company had previously tested the waters with the Snapdragon 850 and Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC platforms. While we saw Snapdragon 835-powered Windows 10 ACPCs as early as 2018, the Snapdragon 850 was even better tailored for Windows on ARM, which was brought about by concerted effort from Microsoft and Qualcomm. Now, at this year’s Snapdragon Tech Summit, the ACPC chipset portfolio is expanding with the announcement of the new Snapdragon 8c and Snapdragon 7c mobile PC platforms.

These mobile processors allow hybrid and thin-and-light laptops to make use of the integrated modem in Snapdragon chips, and also take advantage of the higher power-efficiency for extended battery life. Those looking for ACPC devices usually prioritize mobility and battery life, thus these efficient Qualcomm chipsets with LTE connectivity are a great fit for on-the-go devices. While ACPC use cases do not require a ton of performance, last year’s Snapdragon 8cx brought about a higher power budget and even better efficiency point for impressive results. The 8cx was essentially a larger Snapdragon 855, featuring the same 8th generation Kryo 495 cores in a 4+4 configuration as well as the Adreno 680 GPU. However, it also came with improvements tailored to the form factor, such as double the memory width through a 128-bit wide interface, capable of up to 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and more PCIe connections. This new premium computing tier was not meant to replace the Snapdragon 850, but rather coexist with it by giving OEMs more options when picking the right processor for their ACPC.

This new effort by Qualcomm has seen marked success, even subtly making headlines through the Surface Pro X and its Microsoft SQ1 chip, a Snapdragon 8cx derivative with an upgraded Adreno 685 GPU. This is where the Snapdragon 8c and Snapdragon 7c come into play: While 855-based designs have already made their mark in the premium segment through devices like the Surface Pro X (Microsoft SQ1) and the Galaxy Book S (running the 8cx), the Snapdragon 850 chips are due for an update. Thus, Qualcomm has introduced the high-end Snapdragon 8c, which it directly compares with the Snapdragon 850, and the Snapdragon 7c aimed at entry-level devices.

The Snapdragon 8c succeeds the Snapdragon 850, similarly to the 8cx at the time, with a CPU performance boost of up to 30%. Just like the preceding 8cx, the Snapdragon 8c is built on a 7nm manufacturing process. We can’t directly contrast this figure with the gains the 8cx promised over the 850 given that, at the time, Qualcomm had not offered us a percentage improvement figure. Though, expect the 8cx to remain the better-performing solution. It also promises up to 6 TOPS through its updated Qualcomm AI Engine, combining performance gains in CPU, GPU, and DSP. Finally, its integrated Snapdragon X24 LTE modem enables multi-gigabit connectivity with Cat. 20 downlink for download speeds of up to 2Gbps and Cat. 13 uplink for upload speeds of up to 316Mbps.

The Snapdragon 7c is arguably an even more interesting portfolio addition given it’s aimed at more affordable ACPCs. Its octa-core Kryo 468 CPU cores promise a 25% boost in system performance over competing platforms in the same segment, and up to twice the battery life in day-to-day usage. It also offers the Snapdragon X15 LTE modem for fast connectivity, with LTE download and upload speeds of 800Mbps and 150Mbps, respectively. It features an Adreno 618 GPU as well, putting ahead of the Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC platform but behind the Snapdragon 850. Finally, it promises up to 5 TOPS through its Qualcomm AI engine, putting the CPU, GPU, and DSP gains to good use in AI-accelerated Windows 10 experiences.

Notably absent from these chipsets is 5G connectivity, though this may not be too surprising considering that the 8cx already fulfills that role for the few premium-tier devices aiming for that functionality (855-based ACPCs like the Surface Pro X and Galaxy Book S skipped 5G anyway).

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Stay tuned for more Snapdragon Tech Summit coverage, and check out our summary to catch up with every announcement!

 

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Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon XR2 5G Platform for VR and XR Headsets

Virtual Reality is still an evolving industry, and as the years have gone by, we’ve seen various OEMs experiment with different solutions and form factors. From headsets utilizing the phone’s internals like the original Gear VR to dedicated solutions like the Oculus Go, it seems like mobile VR in particular has been able to capture enough attention and market share to keep evolving and iterating. Qualcomm has been at the forefront of this space directly and indirectly by supplying the chipsets to both dedicated headsets and phones used in “cardboard” or slot-in solutions. It was with the Snapdragon XR1 announced in 2018, though, that we saw this concerted effort really come into focus, and over 30 devices powered by the XR platform have been launched since then.  Today at the Snapdragon Tech Summit, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon XR2 5G, a direct successor bringing much-needed updates to their eXtended Reality platform.

The Snapdragon XR2 brings several important improvements over the Snapdragon 835-based XR1, which is now several generations behind the performance of the new Snapdragon 865 flagship chipset announced this week. As a result, and by inheriting the advancements brought about by Qualcomm’s premium mobile SoC line-up, the XR2 offers twice the CPU and GPU performance of the original XR platform. The XR2 GPU supports 1.5x the pixel rate and 3x the texel rate, as well as previously introduced features like foveated rendering via eye-tracking and enhanced variable rate shading for smoother refresh rates.

On top of that, the Snapdragon XR2 brings several other improvements that specifically impact virtual reality experiences. For example, the XR2 will offer up to four times the video bandwidth/pixel throughput, six times higher resolution, and eleven times the AI performance. This means that the XR2 is now capable of up to 3K by 3K resolution per eye at 90 frames per second and can support up to 8K 360° videos at 60 frames per second via both streaming and local playback.

The Snapdragon XR2 supports seven concurrent cameras for even better scene and positional tracking, as well as a dedicated computer vision processor to accelerate key workloads such as scene understanding and reconstruction. This enables highly accurate tracking of the head, lips, and eyes as well as 26-point skeletal hand tracking so that users may precisely interact with the VR world surrounding them. Another important feature is low-latency camera passthrough, which lets developers create new mixed reality experiences by overlaying virtual objects onto a video feed of the real-world.

And if that wasn’t enough, Qualcomm is also offering the option for manufacturers to include 5G connectivity into their Snapdragon XR2-powered headsets. While it might sound like overkill, consider that use cases such as streaming 360° video at high resolutions requires not only extremely fast download speeds, but also very low latencies to accompany the positional tracking.

All of these are massive upgrades over the XR1, but that’s to be expected given that, again, that platform was based on the Snapdragon 835. With that said, Qualcomm chipsets have made their way to a number of impressive mobile VR headsets, and the next wave of devices will benefit tremendously from the performance gains brought by this new upgrade. We can expect OEMs to incorporate the Snapdragon XR2 5G platform into their designs starting next year.

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Stay tuned for more Snapdragon Tech Summit coverage, and check out our summary to catch up with every announcement!

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[Update: Available for Pixel 3, 3a, 2] Google will bring the Pixel 4’s Recorder app to older Pixel phones, but won’t backport Screen Attention

Update (12/5/19 @ 11:00 AM ET): As promised, Google’s Recorder app that launched on the Pixel 4 is now available for older Pixel phones.

Now that all the initial hype surrounding the Pixel 4 has died down, people are starting to get into the finer details of the device and its software.  Looking beyond the obvious candidates of the camera software and the buttery-smooth Android experience, one can see that there’s a lot more to the Pixel 4 than just its flagship features.

Screen Attention is a feature that first launched with the Pixel 4. It keeps the screen on while you are looking at it by using the front-facing camera rather than the Soli radar sensor. This is actually quite important to note. While the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are the only devices that feature the Soli chip, basically all phones have front-facing cameras. This means that Screen Attention could be brought to other devices as no special hardware is required.

Unfortunately, however, Google has shot down any hopes of Screen Attention coming to other devices any time soon. When contacted by AndroidPolice, Google said that it did not have any intention of bringing the feature even to older Pixel devices. The one caveat, though, is that they specifically said: “for now“. This implies that if the company receives enough interest from consumers that they could change their minds on the matter.

But for some other features, the future looks brighter. Redditor /u/Valendr0s asked in the Google Pixel subreddit if the Pixel 4’s Recorder app would be brought to older Pixel devices. Google officially replied, saying that they planned to roll the app out in a future software update. No timeframe was specified, nor which models it would come to.

Recorder (Free, Google Play) →

Nonetheless, the promise is there. As Valendr0s pointed out in his post, the Recorder app and its transcription capabilities can be extremely useful for those with disabilities that prevent them from writing out notes. Even for those of us too lazy to go listen to an entire audio recording and would prefer to have a block of text, the importance of the app cannot be understated.

It’s also worth noting that another user commenting on the thread said that the app worked on their Pixel 3 XL when they sideloaded the APK. We can’t be 100% sure that this is true, or if it works on non-Pixel devices as well. That being said, it’s worth checking this route out if you’re really in need of this app.

Source: Reddit
Via: AndroidPolice (1), (2)

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Update: Available for Pixel 3, 3a, 2

Last month, Google said they would be bringing the Pixel 4’s Recorder app to older Pixel devices in a future software update. Version 1.1 of the app adds support for the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3a XL. Unfortunately, it appears the original Google Pixel and Pixel XL are not included (though that doesn’t stop you from sideloading the APK). If you have one of those older Pixel devices, you should now be able to install the Recorder app from the Play Store.

Recorder (Free, Google Play) →

Via: Android Police

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Download: Adobe Photoshop Camera (preview) for Android is now live!

Last month, Adobe announced that it is building its own camera app, complete with AI-powered filters and the Photoshop branding. Adobe Photoshop Camera claimed to make use of Adobe’s artificial intelligence platform Sensei to recognize subjects in photos, and then suggest filters that can be applied. These filters can also be applied in real-time and be previewed through the viewfinder, or be applied to existing images in the media gallery. If you are curious about the hype behind Adobe Photoshop Camera, we have access to the app, which you can also sideload onto your device to try out.

You can sign into Adobe Photoshop Camera with your Adobe, Facebook or Google credentials. You don’t need to be accepted into the preview to actually try out the app — you simply need to sideload it and log in. But be warned, the app is in preview, and the experience so far is laggy, which is expected from a preview. The viewfinder is laggy on several high-end flagships, and the app quickly managed to warm up my OnePlus 7 Pro. I would also recommend closing the app from the Recents screen/force stopping it once you are done.

The main landing page is the camera viewfinder. The camera shutter button is at the center, flanked by buttons for accessing filters or your media gallery. The globe icon on the top left is for the Lens Library from where you can download additional lenses/filters.

The app comes with a few filters built-in and prompts to download a few more. Many more can also be downloaded from the Lens Library.

The filters for portraits are fun to play with, and you can see some of the extensive edits they do to the image. Since you can preview the lens through the viewfinder, you can spend some time to properly frame the photo and do a better job than we did for the above previews. Edge detection definitely needs some work, though.

The lenses for the rear cameras are arguably better. Edge detection isn’t perfect here too. The app offers suggestions, such as “Starry Sky” which adds a filter that swaps out the daytime sky with a starry sky. There are a few fun filters too.

Adobe Photoshop Camera requires Android 9+ to run. The following devices are said to be officially supported:

• Google Pixel3/XL
• Google Pixel4/XL
• Samsung S9/S9+
• Samsung S10/S10+
• Samsung Note 9
• Samsung Note 10/10+

Of these, the app ran poorly on the Samsungs and the older Pixel, but it ran very well on the Pixel 4 XL in our limited testing. Photoshop Camera can also be run on devices that are not mentioned in this list – the Huawei Mate 30 Pro ran the app very well, while the OnePlus 7 Pro offered a less-than-ideal experience. The blame is on the “preview” state of the app though, so we hope things will improve when the app reaches a stable state.

You can try out Adobe Photoshop Camera by downloading it from the link below, and installing it normally.

Download Adobe Photoshop Camera v1.0.41 for Android

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Learn How to Design Your Own Games With This $15 Bundle

For most devoted gamers, the idea of designing games for a living seems too good to be true. But thanks to the success of platforms such as the App Store and Steam, anyone can now turn pro. The Learn Game Design Certification Bundle helps you start creating your own titles, with 15 hours of practical instruction. You can pick up the training for only $15.18 at the XDA Developers Depot when you use code GREENMONDAY20 for 20% off the sale price.

Back in the day, no one cared about graphics. But today, gamers expect something visually appealing. This bundle shows you how to combine virtual eye candy with great gameplay.

Each course covers a different aspect of game design, from concepts through to code. Along the way, you discover how to design beautiful environments, intuitive menus and engaging 2D characters. You also get an introduction to scripting with C# and Unity. 

To supplement the tutorials, the training includes several projects. The most extensive is a full virtual pet game for smartphones, which you build from scratch. In addition to hands-on experience, each course in this bundle offers certificates of completion.

It is worth $1,097, but you can grab the bundle now for just $15.18 with the coupon code this Green Monday.

 

The Learn Game Design Certification Bundle – $15.18

See Deal

Prices subject to change

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Huawei Nova 6 5G, Nova 6, Nova 6 SE with punch-hole displays launched in China

While the rest of the world watches with bated breath on Huawei’s future releases beyond the Huawei Mate 30, China gets to enjoy the goodies. The US trade ban does not affect Huawei’s operations in its domestic Chinese market, as phones sold in China already ship without GMS, leveraging the HMS ecosystem instead. Huawei had been teasing the launch of the Huawei Nova 6 on Weibo for a few weeks now, with leaks giving us an early look at the device. And now, finally, Huawei has launched the Huawei Nova 6, Huawei Nova 6 5G and the Huawei Nova 6 SE for the Chinese market.

Huawei Nova 6 and Nova 6 5G

Specification	Huawei Nova 6 / Huawei Nova 6 5G
Dimensions and Weight	<not disclosed>
Display	6.57″ FHD+ LCD; Oval Punch Hole on top left corner
SoC	HiSilicon Kirin 990
RAM and Storage	Nova 6: 8GB + 128GB Nova 6 5G: 8GB + 128GB 8GB + 256GB
Battery	Nova 6: 4,100 mAh Nova 6 5G: 4,200 mAh
Charging	40W Huawei SuperCharge
Rear Camera	Primary: Nova 6 5G: 40MP, RYYB, f/1.7 Nova 6: 40MP, RYYB, f/1.8 Secondary: 8MP, f/2.4, telephoto, OIS Tertiary: 8MP, f/2.4, ultrawide EIS, 4K video recording
Front Camera	Primary: Nova 6 5G: 32MP, f/2.2 Nova 6: 32MP, f/2.0 Secondary: 8MP, f/2.2, ultrawide EIS, Super Night Scene, 4K @30fps video recording
Android Version	EMUI 10 based on Android 10

Both, the Huawei Nova 6 and the Nova 6 5G are nearly identical devices, with 5G being their main point of difference. The 5G variant comes with the Balong 5000 5G modem paired with the Kirin 990, and also a small bump up to 4,200 mAh for the battery. Camera specifications also have very small variations between the two. Device dimensions have not been disclosed, so we can also presume that the 5G variant is slightly thicker to accommodate the larger battery and connectivity hardware.

Both the devices come with an LCD and not an AMOLED display. As a result, there is no under-display fingerprint scanner, and Huawei had to place the same on the left side of the device, underneath the power button.

The Huawei Nova 6 5G will cost CNY 3799 (~$539) for the 128GB variant, and CNY 4199 for the 256GB variant. The device will go on sale in China from December 12, 2019. The phone will be available in four different colors, with the Red color being exclusive to the 5G variant.

 

The Huawei Nova 6 will cost CNY 3199 (~$454), and will go on sale in China on December 12, 2019, as well. Both the devices are not expected to be available outside of China this year.

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Huawei Nova 6 SE

Specification	Huawei Nova 6 SE
Dimensions and Weight	159.2 mm x 76.3 mm x 8.7 mm
Display	6.4″ FHD+ LCD; Punch Hole on top left corner
SoC	HiSilicon Kirin 810
RAM and Storage	8GB + 128GB
Battery	4,200 mAh
Charging	40W Huawei SuperCharge
Rear Camera	Primary: 48MP Secondary: 8MP, ultrawide Tertiary: 2MP, depth Quarternary: 2MP, macro
Front Camera	16MP
Android Version	EMUI 10 based on Android 10

The Huawei Nova 6 SE appears to have drawn inspiration from Apple iPhone 11’s camera island design, as it clearly appears to be aiming for that aesthetic. The difference is that it comes with a quad rear camera setup, and also with a single punch hole camera. Much like the Nova 6, the fingerprint sensor on the Nova 6 SE is on the side. The Nova 6 SE is decidedly mid-range, as should be apparent with the SE branding, which Apple did popularize for its lower-spec offering.

The Huawei Nova 6 SE will be available from December 25, 2019, in three colors. Customers in China can buy it for CNY 2199 (~$311).

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What are your thoughts on the Huawei Nova 6, Nova 6 5G and Nova 6 SE? Would you like to see these devices launch outside of China? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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TWRP now supports the Redmi Note 8/8T, Xiaomi Mi 9, and Realme X2 Pro

The TWRP custom recovery is undoubtedly one of the best options for the Android community to install any kind of third-party software on their devices. However, the recovery doesn’t offer official support for all devices due to the sheer number of phones launched each month. Thankfully, the team behind the open-source recovery is quite active and keeps adding new phones to the list of supported devices ever so often. Most recently, the developers added support for the Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Nokia 7.2, and Nokia 6.2. Now, the team has extended support for a few more devices.

Redmi Note 8/8T

The Redmi Note 8 is the latest phone in the popular Redmi Note lineup and it offers some impressive hardware at a compelling price. The device packs in a Snapdragon 665 SoC coupled with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage. One of its highlighting features is the impressive quad-camera setup that includes a 48MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultrawide lens, a 2MP dedicated macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The device runs MIUI 11 based on Android 9 Pie and if you’re not a fan of Xiaomi’s software, you can now flash a custom ROM on the device thanks to the TWRP support. The Redmi Note 8T, which is the same device with NFC, has also received TWRP support.re

Official TWRP for the Redmi Note 8/8T

Redmi Note 8 XDA Forums || Buy Redmi Note 8 from Amazon.in

Xiaomi Mi 9

Xiaomi’s Snapdragon 855 powered flagship Mi 9 has also received official support for the TWRP custom recovery, allowing users to flash custom ROMs and kernels on the device. Along with the Snapdragon 855, the device packs in up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The device also features a triple camera setup with a 48MP primary camera, a 12MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP ultrawide shooter. It’s one of the best value flagship smartphones in the market today and with the custom recovery support, users will now be able to make the most out of their phones.

Official TWRP for the Xiaomi Mi 9

Xiaomi Mi 9 XDA Forums

Realme X2 Pro

Realme’s first true flagship, the Realme X2 Pro, packs in top-of-the-line hardware, including a Snapdragon 855+ chip, up to 12GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. In the camera department, the device features a quad camera setup with an impressive 64MP primary shooter, a 13MP telephoto lens, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. But it’s highlighting factor is definitely the 90Hz Super AMOLED display with HDR 10+ support. Realme recently released a bootloader unlock tool and kernel sources for the device kicking off third-party development. And now, with official TWRP support, we can expect the development to further speed up.

Official TWRP for the Realme X2 Pro

Realme X2 Pro XDA Forums

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