06:04PM EST - We're here on Day 2 of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit, ready for a keynote on the next generation of Always Connected PCs (ACPCs) and non-Smartphone gaming. We've got new silicon and new handheld devices to talk about.

06:11PM EST - And here we go

06:11PM EST - Day 2

06:12PM EST - Yesterday was all about smartphone, today is about PC and handheld gaming

06:12PM EST - Cristiano taking the lead again today

06:13PM EST - Taking mobile experiences into different devices

06:13PM EST - Qualcomm is most famous in mobile/smartphone

06:13PM EST - That's never going to change - going to continue to be the company that drives the pace of mobile

06:14PM EST - Focusing on connecting billions of devices and making them smarter

06:14PM EST - It's a repeated statement - it's hard to emphasise the growth of the cloud

06:14PM EST - If you believe in growth of the cloud, a company like qualcomm is making those connections

06:15PM EST - Next few years you will see QC at the entire edge, not just mobile

06:15PM EST - The role beyond the smartphone

06:15PM EST - Look at that handheld device

06:16PM EST - Qualcomm has a one technology roadmap

06:16PM EST - Seeing traction at a high pace on a number of devices

06:16PM EST - Look into adding VR/AR/XR

06:17PM EST - Revolution in mobile gaming too

06:17PM EST - Snapdragon automative

06:17PM EST - ICE and digital cockpits

06:17PM EST - This is not a vision, it's happening today

06:17PM EST - 1600+ devices beyond smartphone using snapdragon

06:18PM EST - CEO of Lenovo on a video now

06:19PM EST - Being connected all the time

06:20PM EST - Smart Home, Smart City

06:20PM EST - Lenovo shares this view

06:20PM EST - driving transformation at the edge for consumers and businesses

06:20PM EST - 'the new normal'

06:22PM EST - Better together

06:23PM EST - Back to Qualcomm

06:23PM EST - Metaverse time

06:24PM EST - Regardless of device, you'll need connectivity

06:24PM EST - No matter the version of the metaverse

06:25PM EST - Automotive is part of the metaverse

06:27PM EST - The opportunity is real, it's more than a buzzword

06:28PM EST - 5G driving the evolution of social

06:29PM EST - It's not about one size fits all though

06:30PM EST - Facebook/Meta video now

06:31PM EST - Meta rep and Cristiano in the metaverse

06:32PM EST - Andrew's avatar looks like he's playing a piano

06:33PM EST - well, hands on a keyboard

06:34PM EST - Talking about the industry

06:37PM EST - ok back to QC, talk about gaming

06:37PM EST - Mobile gaming is big (50%+ revenue in gaming)

06:38PM EST - G3x Gen 1 announcement

06:39PM EST - Collab with razer

06:39PM EST - G3x Gen 1

06:40PM EST - Designed for mobile gamers

06:40PM EST - Inspiring new form factors

06:40PM EST - Phones and up

06:40PM EST - Switch like

06:40PM EST - running android

06:40PM EST - Best sustained GPU perf/watt

06:40PM EST - VRR, HDR

06:41PM EST - Snapdragon G3x handheld developer kit

06:41PM EST - Razer video time

06:42PM EST - Ongoing qualcomm support and solutions with Razer

06:44PM EST - Connecting different visual categories

06:44PM EST - Snapdragon Play in automotive

06:45PM EST - The car becomes a hub for distribution for services and media

06:45PM EST - Customized experiences

06:46PM EST - Redefining intelligent transportation

06:46PM EST - Building an ecosystem around qualcomm - the system perspective

06:46PM EST - connectivity, compute, graphics, security, all on Qualcomm

06:47PM EST - Build a platform for all those applications

06:47PM EST - Connected advanced computer on wheels

06:48PM EST - All about platforms

06:48PM EST - Build on the trends of transformation for the cars of tomorrow

06:48PM EST - Working with 25/26 car brands

06:48PM EST - No mention about car issues getting silicon to even manage heated seats

06:48PM EST - Collab with GM and Cadillac

06:49PM EST - video time

06:50PM EST - Cadillac is set to be EV luxury leader

06:51PM EST - Snapdragon Drive has super cruise enabled for 200k miles of roads in the US

06:53PM EST - Cadillac is talking about driving features Tesla had 4 years ago

06:54PM EST - This is going on a bit long

06:55PM EST - 'Please buy the Lyric, there are lots of Qualcomm chips in there'

06:55PM EST - The Cadillac Lyric 2023

06:56PM EST - Now to ACPC

06:56PM EST - ACPC is Redefining the PC for the future

06:58PM EST - The future is all about connected high performance compute

06:59PM EST - next gen productivity

07:00PM EST - transition to new architectures and ecosystems

07:00PM EST - Panos from Microsoft live convo at a distance

07:01PM EST - the delay is about 750ms

07:01PM EST - PCs have become essential to us over last few years

07:01PM EST - the engine that powers the home

07:02PM EST - home, work, and life

07:02PM EST - move between spaces, devices, and remaining connected

07:03PM EST - How does 5G change Windows?

07:03PM EST - It changes how people work, remote work, play, travelling

07:04PM EST - No matter the user, the device, the use case, the company, the connection - on-demand connectivity and compute inspires

07:05PM EST - AI brings so many capabilities

07:05PM EST - Edge and cloud

07:07PM EST - Collab on Windows 11 for Windows on Snapdragon

07:08PM EST - Momentum for software to be native on Windows on Snapdragon

07:08PM EST - x86-64-bit emulation on Windows 11

07:09PM EST - Android compatibility too

07:09PM EST - Android on Windows on Snapdragon - AoWoS

07:10PM EST - I asked one of the QC execs earlier today about the Microsoft x Qualcomm agreement being exclusive. He said he couldn't say

07:11PM EST - More at Microsoft Build 2022

07:12PM EST - Miguel Nunes to the stage

07:13PM EST - Updates to ACPC

07:14PM EST - Enabling the world where everyone and everything is intelligently connected

07:14PM EST - The freedom to stay connected

07:14PM EST - Led by Qualcomm

07:15PM EST - The best of the smartphone to the entire ecosystem

07:15PM EST - 8cx, 8c, 7c

07:16PM EST - There should be a snapdragon for everyone

07:16PM EST - 64-bit emulation of x86 is very important

07:16PM EST - I spoke with Miguel earlier today - the barriers to full emulation were more software than hardware funnily enough

07:17PM EST - 'laptops at the intelligent edge'

07:19PM EST - transforming businesses

07:20PM EST - QC redefined what it meant to be a laptop

07:20PM EST - more than just a laptop

07:20PM EST - security, connectivity, and experiences

07:21PM EST - Battery life that keeps on going

07:21PM EST - Announcing 8cx Gen 3

07:22PM EST - 5nm hardware

07:23PM EST - First 5nm chip for PCs running Windows

07:23PM EST - Qualcomm AI included

07:23PM EST - Also 5G

07:24PM EST - 4x 3.0 GHz Prime cores + 4x 2.4 GHz Efficiency Cores, 14MB Total Cache (8MB L3+6MB System cache)

07:24PM EST - Single threaded perf +40% vs previous generation

07:24PM EST - 85% faster MT perf

07:25PM EST - Matches 22W i5 performance at 9 W

07:26PM EST - Or at 15W offers 25% more perf than i5

07:26PM EST - 60% better perf/watt

07:26PM EST - 8cx Gen 3 GPU - +60% faster Adreno Gen on Gen

07:26PM EST - 40% better GPU perf/watt compared to x86 competition

07:27PM EST - Photoshop and Lightroom have been optimized natively for Adreno

07:27PM EST - Shapr3D too

07:29PM EST - Shapr3D demo time

07:30PM EST - Now gaming, optimizing for snapdragon

07:30PM EST - Eve Online is optimized for snapdragon

07:30PM EST - also Among Us

07:31PM EST - Roblox too

07:31PM EST - 30% longer battery than competing platforms

07:32PM EST - Spectra ISP inside for video conferencing

07:33PM EST - Auto-focus, white balance, up to 4K HDR for Teams and Zoom

07:33PM EST - Up to 4 cameras x 24 MPs

07:33PM EST - Qualcomm Voice Suite - AI Accelerated Echo Cancellation and Noise Suppression

07:35PM EST - 8cx Gen 2 did 9 TOPs, Gen 3 does 29 TOPs (CPU+GPU+Hexagon+ISP)

07:36PM EST - I asked Miguel earlier - some software can use it all, while others are better served by one or a combination of two or three. Otherwise you need separate AI concurrent workloads to get to that value

07:37PM EST - dedicated AI IP on Snapdragon to enable this - not relying on CPU or GPU which might be lower efficiency

07:40PM EST - Now security

07:41PM EST - lowest level root of trust

07:41PM EST - Layered Secure Boot, zero trust, Pluton

07:41PM EST - reduces surface area for attacks

07:42PM EST - Bringing the best of smartphone to the best of laptop

07:44PM EST - VP Strategy on the stage, Miran Chun

07:45PM EST - Best part of market research is talking to end custoemrs

07:45PM EST - hybrid work environment from business customers

07:45PM EST - ACPC are pivotal to WFH

07:45PM EST - Productivity gain and end user satisfaction

07:49PM EST - business video time

07:51PM EST - another business video

07:53PM EST - Qualcomm Small Business Accelerator Program

07:53PM EST - Enabling education with always connected devices - Windows and Chromebooks

07:56PM EST - Back to Miguel

07:56PM EST - Lots of 7c devices in the market at entry

07:56PM EST - New 7c+ Gen3 entry level chip

07:57PM EST - enabling 5G at entry

07:57PM EST - 60% CPU ST vs 7c Gen 2

07:57PM EST - 6.5 TOPs

07:57PM EST - +70% GPU perf

07:58PM EST - Integrated X53 modem for 5G, 3.7 Gbps

07:58PM EST - Coming first half 2022, both Gen 3 chips

07:59PM EST - another business video time

08:02PM EST - Driving convergence of Mobile and PC

08:03PM EST - Now more gaming

08:03PM EST - 52% of revenue is now mobile - but how much of that is IAPs for 2D titles

08:05PM EST - 'it has to feel good in the hands'

08:06PM EST - Snapdragon for gaming devices - Snapdragon G brand

08:06PM EST - G3x as earlier

08:06PM EST - Dedicated to gamers

08:07PM EST - 8-core Kryo + Adreno

08:08PM EST - no details beyond that

08:08PM EST - 5G mmWave = Wi-Fi 6E

08:09PM EST - Snapdragon Sound

08:10PM EST - Now talking about Razer again - didn't we do this already?

08:10PM EST - This feels out of order

08:12PM EST - Razer to the stage

08:14PM EST - talking about developers and content, but nothing new here

08:18PM EST - Designed to maximise sustained performance. It has a fan

08:18PM EST - Gaming for hours

08:18PM EST - Advanced haptics

08:18PM EST - Dual motors in the handle

08:18PM EST - Ergonomics for long gameplay

08:18PM EST - Perfect Weight - feels great in the hands

08:19PM EST - apparently

08:19PM EST - Mapping buttons to physical controls

08:20PM EST - 6.65-inch OLED screen, FHD+, 120 Hz refresh rate, 1 billion colors

08:20PM EST - Doesn't say if VRR or if that 10-bit color is true 10-bit or 8-bit + FRC

08:20PM EST - 4-way speakers

08:20PM EST - 1080p webcam

08:21PM EST - 2 microphones (with AI ANC?)

08:21PM EST - 4K60 external support

08:22PM EST - 5G mmWave support

08:22PM EST - Connect XR viewers

08:23PM EST - 6000 mAh battery

08:23PM EST - This is a dev kit - so even if OLED, do they care about panel accuracy?

08:23PM EST - Android only and related streaming ecosystem services

08:26PM EST - And that's a wrap. Time for demos

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  • ikjadoon - Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - link

    If they're not fitting their ACPC (always connected PC) systems with X2 / A710, we know exactly how "hard" Qualcomm is working in this space. Mediatek's launching A78 Kompanio laptop SoCs this year; smh.

    And how expensive? Apple fit an M1 + the rest of the laptop all into a $999 MacBook Air.
  • Alistair - Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - link

    And the M1 is a doubled up chip, this is just a cellphone chip for Windows. The M1 Pro is a 4x or 8x chip, this is just a 1x chip...
  • ksec - Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - link

    Those ST performance, surely seems Nuvia like?
  • BGQ-qbf-tqf-n6n - Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - link

    The 8cx series never had X1 cores right? They could go right to X2 and get +20% YOY boost * 2 generations, 40% improvement overall (I admit this is extremely handwavey, but pretty sure 8cx Gen 2 never had X1 at all).
  • SarahKerrigan - Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - link

    8cx G1/G2 is A76. You don't need to go to Nuvia to get these gains.
  • MetaCube - Friday, December 3, 2021 - link

    No lol
  • ikjadoon - Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - link

    The naming, oh my lanta. Like a bird shit on a Scrabble board.

    Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
    Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
    Snapdragon G3x Gen 1

    Which mindless Qualcomm executive demanded that insanity? Gotta be Cristiano, no? "The Snapdragon brand means confusion". It's their only branding now 😂...

    Ampere: Q80-33 (80 cores @ 3.3 GHz)
    Apple: M1 (Mac SoC, gen1); M1 Pro (upgraded); M1 Max (flagship)
    Qualcomm: what if it was like that, but worse? How does Intel name CPUs?
  • ikjadoon - Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - link

    And now we can add Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3

    ffs
  • Prestissimo - Tuesday, December 7, 2021 - link

    Ikr, this is worse than the USB naming convention ffs 🤦‍♂️
  • Rudde - Thursday, December 9, 2021 - link

    Intel (and AMD) has consistent generations (12xxx) and product segments (i5, i7). Qualcomm had product segments (7 or 8) and now generation. The generations would just need to be consistent (e.g. everything would be at the same generation now). The G3 product segment is just out of place.

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