Qualcomm has typically used its annual Snapdragon Tech Summit to unveil an array of new mobile platform technologies, concept products and innovations, and this year’s event – which is currently underway (and livestreamed from Hawaii) – is no exception. On this first day of the 2021 Snapdragon Tech Summit, Qualcomm not only announced a collaboration with Google Cloud regarding Neural Architecture Search (NAS) technology, which is designed to enable companies to create and optimize AI models automatically, but the company also unveiled the brand-new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform is the first mobile SoC in Qualcomm’s line-up to adopt a fresh branding strategy that eschews the triple-digit naming convention of its predecessors, and as expected, it is Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile platform to date. Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 features significant advancements to virtually every part of the platform, from the bleeding-edge process used to build the chips, to its updated CPU, GPU and AI processing engines, its extensive camera and imaging technologies, and its comprehensive array of wireless connectivity options.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Chips — Front And Back
Qualcomm
Powerful AI And Processing Engines
The upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will be manufactured using an advanced 4nm process and features numerous updates and enhancements, which boost platform performance, power efficiency and enable new features and capabilities. Like its immediate predecessor, the Snapdragon 888+ 5G, the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 features a mix of Arm CPU cores – 8 in total. Its updated Kyro CPU complex has a single high-performance Prime Cortex-X2 core (up to 3GHz), three Cortex A71 Performance cores (up to 2.5GHz), and four Cortex A51 Efficiency cores (up to 1.8GHz). The Prime core is used for threads which require the highest priority (and most performance), while the Performance cores handle the rest of the heavy lifting, supplemented by the Efficiency cores for less-demanding background tasks. Overall, Qualcomm is claiming processing performance has been increased by approximately 20%, but at a 30% reduction in power consumption versus its previous-gen Snapdragon 888.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s AI performance also gets a major boost. The 7th Gen Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine on-board is reportedly 4X faster than its predecessor, thanks in part to an updated Qualcomm Hexagon processor with double the shared memory and a tensor accelerator that’s twice as fast as well. A 3rd Gen Qualcomm Sensing Hub is also incorporated into the design, which manages the always-on sensors and operates at lower power than its predecessors too. All told, in addition to its huge AI performance uplift, Qualcomm is claiming a 1.7X improvement in power efficiency.
Power and performance aren’t the only orders of the day, either. Qualcomm stepped-up security with its new mobile platform as well. In fact, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the world’s first smartphone platform that’s compliant with the Android Ready Secure Element (SE) Alliance. The Android Ready SE Alliance was formed to enable vendors to produce discrete, tamper resistant hardware, while also allowing for remote updates, to securely enable new features as they are introduced into the Android platform.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Block Diagram
Qualcomm
Unrivaled Camera And Imaging Features
With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Qualcomm is also announcing Snapdragon Sight Technology, which is an umbrella term used to describe the new suite of cutting-edge premium camera features and technologies incorporated into the platform. For example, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the first SoC in Qualcomm’s history to feature an 18-bit ISP (Image Signal Processor) capable of processing speeds up to 3.2 gigapixels per second. Previous-gen platforms offered up to a 14-bit ISP. While an increase of 4-bits may not sound like much, it actually represents a massive increase that requires the camera ISP to capture over 4,000X more data.
Like its recent predecessors, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s Spectra Image Signal Processor features a triple ISP configuration, which essentially means it’s capable of capturing photos and videos from three separate cameras simultaneously. In the case of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, it is capable of capturing up to 200MP from a single sensor, or up to 36MP photos from three sensors at once. It is also capable of capturing an impressive 240 12MP images in one second, which should allow for some high-quality, high-resolution slo-mo video modes as well. (8K HDR video + 64 MP photo capture is a feature, as is 4K 120FPS video).
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Camera Highlights.
Qualcomm
With the huge amounts of data at play, in addition to the immense processing resources available with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s 18-bit ISP, Qualcomm is points out that this is the first Snapdragon mobile platform to offer support for 8K HDR video capture with wider effective dynamic range (that can record over a billion shades of color). The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will also offer a significantly enhanced night mode that captures up to 30 images – 5X more than its predecessor – which are then composited for a higher quality final result. The platform offers an array of other improvements too, including a 4-stop increase in dynamic range, AI-based face detection, a dedicated Bokeh engine, and an Ultrawide Engine that will automatically de-warp and minimize chromatic aberration with wide-angle cameras.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will feature an ultra-low-power Always-On camera ISP as well. This will allow mobile devices to leave a select camera enabled, without compromising battery life, to speed-up face detection for face unlock systems, etc.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Reference Device.
Qualcomm
Major Advancements In Wireless Connectivity
Qualcomm is already well known for being a leader in 5G, but the radio enhancements in Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 take wireless connectivity even further. Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 leverages Qualcomm’s 4th gen Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System, which features the world’s first 10 Gigabit 5G modem and the first 3GPP Release 16 5G solution. As you would expect, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X65 supports a wide range of modes including 5G NR, LTE including CBRS, WCDMA, HSPA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA 1x, EV-DO, and GSM/EDGE.
Wi-Fi connectivity is getting a significant upgrade as well. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is equipped with the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Mobile Connectivity System, which supports the fastest Wi-Fi 6 and 6E speeds available, at up to 3.6Gbps. The platform also features Bluetooth 5.2 with support for Snapdragon Sound with Qualcomm aptX Lossless Technology for CD-quality wireless audio. It is the first Snapdragon platform to support LE Audio features like broadcast audio, stereo recording, and voice back-channel for gaming as well.
Snapdragon Elite Gaming Feature Highlights.
Qualcomm
More Immersive Gaming, Graphics And Sound
Qualcomm also enhanced the GPU in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The chip is equipped with a re-architected Qualcomm Adreno GPU that offers up to 30% better performance, with a 25% improvement in power efficiency.
With its high-performance CPU and GPU, and leading platform and IO technologies, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 also fully supports the 4th Gen Snapdragon Elite Gaming feature set, including Variable Rate Shading and Volumetric Rendering. It is also the first Snapdragon platform with support for Audiokinetic technology. Audiokinetic develops audio authoring tools and a cross-platform sound engine that seamlessly integrates into many of the most popular game engines.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Is Coming VERY Soon
As has been the case for all of Qualcomm’s previous-gen flagship mobile platforms, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will be featured in a wide-array of upcoming, top-of-the-line Android devices. That probably won’t be a particularly shocking revelation to many of you, considering Qualcomm’s consistent pervasiveness in the entire Android ecosystem, but what may be a surprise is that devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 are due to arrive almost immediately.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Feature Highlights.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm informs me that Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will be utilized by an array of partners worldwide, including Black Shark, Honor, iQOO, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, SHARP, Sony Corporation, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE, and the first wave of commercial devices featuring the platform are expected to arrive in market by the end of 2021.
Overall, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 appears to be a major step forward for Qualcomm. The platform’s CPU, graphics and AI processing all get major performance boosts and increased efficiency, its wireless connectivity features are second to none, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s camera and imaging technologies will be unmatched in the smartphone market at launch. I l look forward to getting my hands on a device for testing soon.
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.
Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.
The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.
The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.
The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.
Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.
“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.
The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.
“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”
The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.
However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.
That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.
“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.
“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”
The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.
About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.
“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.
Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.
In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.
The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”
“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.
“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”
Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.
Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.
In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.
The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.
Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.
“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.
Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.
Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.
“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”
Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.
As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.
But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.
Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.
The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
