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Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 announced with big focus on speed, photography, AI — and 5G

Qualcomm has taken the full wraps off the Snapdragon 888, its latest and greatest mobile processor that will power the next wave of flagship phones starting early 2021. Following in the footsteps of the Snapdragon 865/Snapdragon 865+, the Snapdragon 888 promises up to 25 percent faster CPU performance and up to 35 percent faster graphics plus better carrier aggregation and download speeds up to 7.5 Gbps thanks to its “integrated” Snapdragon X60 5G Modem-RF System.

The 5nm Snapdragon 888 has a Kryo 680 CPU based on Arm’s new Cortex-X1 core. This CPU can peak 2.84GHz clock speed. This is paired to an Adreno 660 GPU. Qualcomm says the Kryo 680 and Adreno 660 can sustain their performance over long periods of time with the CPU being billed as 25 percent and the GPU up to 20 percent more power-efficient compared to those on the Snapdragon 865.

Here is what the whole configuration looks like:

8-core CPU, with one ARM Cortex-X1 core clocked at 2.84GHz, three Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.42GHz, and four ARM Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz

Adreno 660 GPU

As expected, Qualcomm is also highlighting that big improvements will be coming to Snapdragon 888-powered devices in areas like photography, artificial intelligence and gaming — though this would ultimately depend on how well OEMs will be able to implement them.

Photography

The Spectra 580 inside the Snapdragon 888 is the first from Qualcomm to feature a Triple Image Signal Processor (ISP). This would allow capturing three 4K HDR video streams or three 28MP photos simultaneously at “breakneck” processing speeds of up to 2.7 gigapixels per second. This is notably a 35 percent improvement over the predecessor. Moreover, the ISP’s new low light architecture should entail brighter photos “even in near darkness,” according to Qualcomm.

AI

The Hexagon 780 AI processor coupled with Qualcomm’s sixth-generation AI Engine inside the Snapdragon 888 can theoretically perform 26 trillion operations per second (TOPS) with up to three times performance per watt improvement over the previous generation. The dedicated low-power Sensing Hub, now in its second-generation, should meanwhile ensure the phone has to rely even less on the main processor for smaller tasks like raise to wake.

Gaming

The Snapdragon 888 is claimed to be the first processor of its kind to enable Variable Rate Shading (VRS) on mobile devices for up to 30% faster game rendering while also improving power.

Soon-to-launch Snapdragon 888-powered devices

Realme Race

Xiaomi Mi 11

Red Magic 6

Oppo Find X3

Nubia Z

ZTE Axon 30

There will of course be more devices incoming. Some of the biggest names being Samsung’s next Galaxy S (likely the S21) and OnePlus 9. Qualcomm has also confirmed that Asus, Black Shark, LG, Lenovo, Meizu, Motorola, and Sharp will be some of its other “partners” for Snapdragon 888-powered devices.

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Digital could drive over 80% of spend for enterprises in near term: Report

The pandemic has accelerated digital adoption, and over 80 per cent of the near-term spending may be driven by COVID-19 resilient digital offerings as enterprises look at re-wiring their operating models for the new normal, a report by Nasscom said on Thursday.

The report titled ‘Future of Technology Services – Navigating the New Normal’, compiled by McKinsey & Company as knowledge partner, said there has been an extensive acceleration in digital adoption by enterprises and that there is a potential increase in outsourcing intensity due to remote working.

Digital transformation deals have seen 30 per cent jump; 80 per cent jump in cloud spending, and 15 per cent rise in customer experience have been witnessed since the pandemic, it said.

These are contributing to the faster than expected recovery for the technology services industry, and top Indian technology service providers have performed better than analyst estimates in the second quarter of 2020-21.

The report highlighted that ‘Tech Natives and Digital Reinventors’ with revenue over USD 3 billion have driven 65 per cent of the about USD 6 trillion growth in market capitalisation between January to July 2020, highlighting that technology is now core to future business recovery.

“The report suggests that the world has leapfrogged on digital adoption by 3-5 years in the last 9 months. We are seeing an increased emphasis on digitization across verticals and our analysis shows that 80 per cent-plus of the near-term spending may be driven by COVID-19 resilient digital offerings,” McKinsey & Company Senior Partner and Global Leader (Analytics) Noshir Kaka said.

The strategic gameboard has changed tremendously in the last nine months and agile companies have made the most of this by reimagining the way they look at growth (micro verticals, customer segments, geographies etc.) and are re-wiring their operating models for the new normal, he added.

The COVID-19 pandemic  has accelerated digital adoption across industries, technology service providers are witnessing a sharp growth in digital deals.

“…in the short period of 6-9 months during the pandemic, we have demonstrated resilience and I am extremely confident that we will take advantage of the opportunities in front of us and that industry will become very strong in the next 12-18 months and also pivot itself for the next three to five years to take advantage of the business shifts that we are seeing today,” Infosys Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao said.

He added that companies need to invest in building capability of people, including through inorganic acquisitions.

“…M&A will also be an opportunity for you to fast-track some of the capabilities. And if you are able to do it successfully then obviously you can build mind share with the client, you can proactively reach out to the clients,” he said.

Rao said the hybrid model of work will continue for some time, and could increase the propensity of outsourcing.

“…future of work will be hybrid. People will have the ability to work anywhere, and there is an increasing acceptance from the client and this also increases the propensity to outsource as well,” he said.

With an increasing focus on remote enablement, companies are also reporting an increase in the digital dexterity of their employees and are actively reviewing processes to identify opportunities for automation and digitisation, the report said.

“The next 10 years will be fundamentally different from the past and require all stakeholders to develop strategies and insights to identify new opportunities and mitigate the risks. To ensure faster recovery, companies need to develop a two-part response to the evolving landscape: near term plan of action and long-term strategic rethinking,” Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said.

Discussions with enterprise CIOs suggest that many enterprises are looking to either increase or reprioritise their outsourcing spend, with business digitisation (including remote enablement) and cloud transformation being the top two spend priorities over the next 12-18 months. They are also focusing on efficiency, resilience, and optimising spend wherever possible.

An increase in enterprise demand for digital technology and the rise of remote working could also force service providers to revisit their delivery operating model, talent acquisition strategies, and people supply chains.

Enterprises are already adopting an analytics-driven, recruitment process for improved efficiency and digitising the recruitment process by using social media profiling, hackathons, video interviews for improved conversion rate and offer to join ratio.

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Google announces best games, apps of 2020; details inside

Google Play has listed the best games and mobile applications of the year. In addition to the apps and games, Google Play also announced the winners of the User’s Choice Awards 2020. While the lists of the applications are localised, the winners have been chosen from across the regions. Sleep stories for calm sleep – Meditate with Wysa by Touchkin has been declared the best application by Google Play for this year. In its appreciation of the application, Google said that the app stood out from among its peers and this was the finest example of utility meeting ingenuity and delight. The company said that the app was beautifully designed and thoughtfully executed by the team. With the help of this application, users can use a range of tools and exercises that help them calm their mind and relax it with tools like meditation and journaling.

In the Games segment, the choice for the best Game award went to the Legends of Runeterra by Riot Games for the year 2020. Google said that the game was compelling to the core, accessible and had genre defining experiences to offer to the players. The game which emerged on the top this year on Google’s list asks its users to adapt, outwit and outplay their opponents in a quick fire card battle.

Google while announcing the names of select apps and games also said that these applications helped the users escape their reality and helped them to adapt to the tough times the year brought in due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Google awarded Microsoft Office which comprises Word, Excel and Powerpoint among others with its Users’ Choice App Award this year. Similarly, The Users’ Choice Game of 2020 was awarded to World Cricket Championship 3. The tech giant while announcing the awards also said that the users relied on these applications, tools and games in the year 2020 extensively as they helped them cope with the noise in the outer world and get some respite. Google also said that applications also helped many users develop different hobbies when the users were locked inside their homes during the Coronavirus restrictions. 

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Govt mulls plan to bring FAME-like scheme for hydrogen-powered systems: Niti Aayog member

The government is mulling a proposal to bring a FAME-like scheme for hydrogen-powered systems, to push the hydrogen economy in a big way, Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat said on Friday.

Addressing a virtual event organised by industry body FICCI, Saraswat said the government is planning to form an overarching committee for steering the hydrogen economy in its totality.

“Can we bring schemes like FAME, which has been done in the case of battery?vehicles, in the case of hydrogen-powered systems or fuel cell-powered systems, can we bring in the same kind of GST infrastructure, all these thoughts are going on,” he said.

The government in April 2015 launched the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme.

The main objective of the scheme is to encourage faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles by way of offering upfront incentive on purchase of electric vehicles and also by way of establishing necessary charging infrastructure for EVs.

Saraswat said that already, there is a top-down approach as far as the hydrogen economy is concerned, right from the office of the Prime Minister and the Niti Aayog.

“There has been a major push for bringing all the stakeholders together and come up with an overarching committee which will steer the process of the hydrogen economy development in the country,” he said.

Saraswat said this process is strongly on and he had a couple of meetings, including with industry partners like Mahindra and Mahindra.

The Niti Aayog member said research in production of hydrogen needs investments and also needs participation of industry.

“Hydrogen will be key part of India’s energy mix as prices of hydrogen will come down in 2-3 years,” he said.

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Forex reserves climb $2.518 billion to record $575.29 billion

The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 2.518 billion to touch a lifetime high of USD 575.29 billion in the week ended November 20, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the previous week ended November 13, the reserves had surged by USD 4.277 billion to USD 572.771 billion.

In the reporting week, the increase in the forex kitty was on account of a rise in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCAs rose by USD 2.835 billion to USD 533.103 billion, according to the weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

The gold reserves declined by USD 339 million in the reporting week to USD 36.015 billion, as per the central bank data.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) marginally rose by USD 4 million to USD 1.492 billion.

The country’s reserve position with the IMF also increased by USD 19 million to USD 4.680 billion.

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Rising FDI indicates investors’ preference for India’s enabling environment: Goyal

Increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in July-September 2020 to USD 28.1 billion indicates global investors’ preference for the country’s enabling environment, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday. FDI during September quarter 2019 stood at USD 14.06 billion.

“Despite COVID, FDI doubles year-on-year upwards arrow. Indicating global investors’ preference for India’s enabling environment under PM @NarendraModi ji, FDI increased from USD 14.06 billion to USD 28.1 billion in the July-September quarter,” he said in a tweet.