Latest Tech News

Stay updated with the latest in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and more

Filtered by: chip Clear Filter

Report: Apple looked into building its own AWS competitor

The Information is out with an interesting report about how Apple has considered spinning up its own developer cloud services, in a move that would put it against some of its competitors’ biggest revenue streams. Here are the details. Project ACDC As reported by Aaron Tilley, Apple’s Project ACDC (which stands for Apple chips in data centers) would not be that different from Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft’s Azure, or Google’s Cloud Platform: “The idea discussed was for Apple to rent out servers runn

Finally, Bluetooth trackers for Android users that beat out my AirTags (and cost less)

ZDNET's key takeaways The Chipolo One Point and Card Point normally retails for $26 and $24, respectively. They're highly accurate, robust, and integrate well into the Google ecosystem. However, the One is only splashproof, and the Card version has a non-user-replaceable battery. $28 at Amazon For a limited time, you can pick up the Chpolo One Point for as little as $21 on Amazon and other major retailers. AirTags are one of the things that have set the Apple ecosystem apart from the Android

US chipmakers could see bigger tax credits if Trump’s spending bill passes

In Brief The semiconductor industry could see a big tax benefit if the Trump administration is able to pass the current version of its spending bill. The latest draft of the Trump administration’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which already passed in the Senate, will raise the tax credit for chipmakers building manufacturing plants in the U.S. from 25% to 35%, as originally reported by CNBC. Companies including Intel, TSMC, and Micron Technology could reap these benefits if they continue to expand t

A ‘Cheap’ MacBook With an iPhone Chip Could Bring Battery Life Like We’ve Never Seen Before

There’s an Apple rumor going around that I can’t stop musing about. (No, it’s not about a foldable iPhone.) It’s for a low-cost 13-inch MacBook that could cost hundreds of dollars less than Apple’s current $999 13-inch M4 MacBook Air. Noted tech analyst and supply chain sleuth Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities said on Sunday that Apple is working on a 13-inch laptop powered by an A18 Pro chip. The tech blogosphere immediately erupted with skepticism that Apple would use a chip that po

SoftBank's acquisition of AI chip designer Ampere may be facing an FTC probe

SoftBank's $6.5 billion acquisition of AI-chip designer Ampere is facing an in-depth US government probe that may delay the deal, according to Bloomberg. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a so-called second request for information, a relatively rare investigation that can go on for more than a year or even lead to a lawsuit blocking it, according to people familiar with the matter. Neither SoftBank nor Ampere have commented on the matter. Japan's SoftBank, headed by Masayoshi Son, a

Apple to Release Cheaper MacBook Air Powered by iPhone Processor, Analyst Says

Apple will release a cheaper MacBook Air laptop powered by an iPhone processor, according to a Monday post on X by respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities. According to the report, the 13-inch thin-and-light laptop will enter production in late 2025 or early 2026 and will be powered by the A18 Pro processor, the same chip powering the iPhone 16 Pro. This laptop might also give you more color options, including pink and yellow, along with the standard silver. Apple is targ

First reference to MacBook with A18 Pro discovered in Apple code

Earlier today, Ming-Chi Kuo reported that a new, cheaper MacBook would include the iPhone’s A18 Pro chip. Now, the first reference to the device has been discovered in Apple code. Mac with iPhone chip seemingly confirmed by Apple code Last summer, Apple inadvertently leaked future product listings in code related to Apple Intelligence. As shared by Aaron Perris at the time, the code leaked several iPhone 16 and 17 models, plus referenced a variety of Mac and iPad models. Nearly a year later,

Kuo: Apple to release cheaper MacBook powered by iPhone processor

Apple’s current entry-level laptop is the $999 MacBook Air, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple is aiming to launch an even more affordable model soon. He writes on X that Apple will go into production in late 2025 or early 2026 on a new MacBook model that will be powered by the A18 Pro chip, rather than an M-series processor. This is the same chip used in the iPhone 16 Pro line. The machine may feature colorful casing options, including silver, pink and yellow. Unfortunately, it isn’t yet

Topics: a18 apple chip mac pro

Microsoft's custom AI chip hits delays, giving Nvidia more runway

Microsoft's push into custom artificial intelligence hardware has hit a serious snag. Its next-generation Maia chip, code-named Braga, won't enter mass production until 2026 – at least six months behind schedule. The Information reports that the delay raises fresh doubts about Microsoft's ability to challenge Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market and underscores the steep technical and organizational hurdles of building competitive silicon. Microsoft launched its chip program to reduce its h

Reverse Engineering the Microchip CLB

Microchip added a very cool peripheral called the Configurable Logic Block (CLB) to there new PIC16F13145 microcontroller family. It’s essentially a small FPGA (32 LUTs) that can connect to the internals of the chip. However, they don’t document how to configure it yourself, only referring you to their online configurator tool that submits jobs to an API that places and routes to LUTs. The [CLB] Interface does not appear as an SFR in the Register Map and is not directly user-accessible; it is

The Unsustainability of Moore's Law

Roughly every two years, the density of transistors that can be fit onto a silicon chip doubles. This is Moore’s Law. Roughly every five years, the cost to build a factory for making such chips doubles, and the number of companies that can do it halves. 25 years ago, there were about 40 such companies and the cost to build a fab was about $2-4 billion. Today, there are either two or three such companies left (depending on your optimism toward Intel) and the cost to build a fab is in excess of $1

Samsung may build Qualcomm’s most advanced chip ever for the Galaxy S26 series

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority TL;DR Samsung could reportedly fabricate one variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Qualcomm. While the normal chip would be made with a 3nm TSMC process, Samsung’s could be a 2nm chip. This 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 may debut with the Galaxy S26. There’s arguably no single component that more influences how a smartphone comes together than the choice of its system-on-a-chip (SoC). And while a phone is a whole lot more than just how fast it can crunch numbe

Did this Google Pixel 11 leak just kill the Pixel 10?

Ryan Haines / Android Authority If the rumors are true, the Google Pixel 10 is just a few short months away. And between new camera features, a 3nm Tensor G5 chipset, and a host of new AI capabilities, there’s a lot to look forward to. But does any of that matter anymore? Yesterday, a new report shed light on fresh details for 2026’s Pixel 11 series — specifically that Google’s Pixel 11 handsets will feature a TSMC-made Tensor G6 chip with a 2nm fabrication design. Not only would that be a jum

Reading NFC Passport Chips in Linux

For boring and totally not nefarious reasons, I want to read all the data contained in my passport's NFC chip using Linux. After a long and annoying search, I settled on roeften's pypassport. I can now read all the passport information, including biometrics. The NFC chip in a passport is protected by a password. The password is printed on the inside of the physical passport. As well as needing to be physically close to the passport for NFC to work, you also need to be able to see the password.

PicoEMP: low-cost Electromagnetic Fault Injection (EMFI) tool

The PicoEMP is a low-cost Electromagnetic Fault Injection (EMFI) tool, designed specifically for self-study and hobbiest research. Under the safety shield it looks like this: You can see some details of the design in the Intro Video. Thanks / Contributors PicoEMP is a community-focused project, with major contributions from: Colin O'Flynn (original HW design, simple Python demo) stacksmashing (C firmware for full PIO feature-set) Lennert Wouters (C improvements, first real demo) @nilswier

The xMEMS 'fan on a chip' is ready for smart glasses

As AI reignites Big Tech's push for smart glasses, here's a tech that could play a central role. xMEMS, which debuted a solid-state "fan on a chip" last year, has a new one for wearables. This could help future smart glasses melt your face figuratively — and not literally. Founded in 2018, xMEMS specializes in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The California-based company started with solid-state speakers. Last year, it introduced its µCooling "fan on a chip" for phones and oth

Gemini’s homescreen could take this idea from its biggest rival (APK teardown)

Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Gemini is taking some inspiration from ChatGPT. There are now suggestion chips on Gemini’s homescreen. Google also appears to have made a tweak to the greeting text. Save for a brief, friendly greeting and text box at the bottom, Gemini’s homescreen is fairly empty. However, Google could fill up some of that unused space by taking an idea from one of its rivals. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Au

TPU Deep Dive

I've been working with TPUs a lot recently and it's fun to see how they had such different design philosophies compared to GPUs. The main strongpoint for TPUs is in their scalability. This is achieved through a co-design of both the hardware side (e.g. energy efficiency and modularity) and the software side (e.g. XLA compiler). Background To give a brief tldr on TPUs, it's Google's ASIC that focuses on two factors: extreme matmul throughput + energy efficiency. Their origins go back to Googl

Topics: chip chips tpu tpus tpuv4

TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) Deep Dive

I've been working with TPUs a lot recently and it's fun to see how they had such different design philosophies compared to GPUs. The main strongpoint for TPUs is in their scalability. This is achieved through a co-design of both the hardware side (e.g. energy efficiency and modularity) and the software side (e.g. XLA compiler). Background To give a brief tldr on TPUs, it's Google's ASIC that focuses on two factors: extreme matmul throughput + energy efficiency. Their origins go back to Googl

Topics: chip chips tpu tpus tpuv4

Which MacBook should you buy in 2025?

MacBooks are great computers, but there’s a number of different varieties to think about. Between last gen hardware and all of the current models available now, it can feel like there’s a lot of options. Today, we’ll be breaking down which MacBook is right for you, depending on your budget and what you need it for. At the most basic level, Apple offers two MacBook models: the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro. Both come in smaller and larger sizes (13-inch and 15-inch for MacBook Air, 14-inch an

Topics: chip inch m4 macbook pro

US tech czar warns China is only two years behind in semiconductor and chip design

TL;DR: White House technology adviser David Sacks has raised concerns that China is rapidly narrowing the gap with the United States in semiconductor design, estimating the difference is now just one and a half to two years. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Sacks said Chinese companies, especially Huawei, have become adept at finding ways around US restrictions on advanced chip technology. According to Sacks, Huawei is making swift progress in chip design and could soon begin exporting its

Texas Instruments unveils $60 billion 'historic' plan to expand US chipmaking

Forward-looking: Texas Instruments has unveiled plans to invest more than $60 billion to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the United States, marking what the company describes as the largest single investment in foundational chip production in US history. The initiative will include the construction and expansion of seven semiconductor fabrication plants across Texas and Utah, a move expected to create approximately 60,000 jobs. The investment comes amid ongoing efforts by t

Texas Instruments pledges 'historic' $60bn US chip investment

Texas Instruments pledges 'historic' $60bn US chip investment Texas Instruments operates 15 sites around the world, including facilities in the US and Asia Computer chip giant Texas Instruments (TI) will invest more than $60bn (£44.74bn) in the US, as President Donald Trump pressures big technology firms to increase manufacturing in the country. The company said it plans to build or expand seven chip-making facilities at three sites in Texas and Utah, and create 60,000 jobs. TI did not give a

Texas Instruments to make 'historic' $60bn US chip investment

Texas Instruments to make 'historic' $60bn US chip investment Texas Instruments operates 15 sites around the world, including facilities in the US and Asia Computer chip giant Texas Instruments (TI) will invest more than $60bn (£44.74bn) in the US, as President Donald Trump pressures big technology firms to increase manufacturing in the country. The company said it plans to build or expand seven chip-making facilities at three sites in Texas and Utah, and create 60,000 jobs. TI did not give a

AWS' custom chip strategy is showing results, and cutting into Nvidia's AI dominance

Amazon Web Services is set to announce an update to its Graviton4 chip that includes 600 gigabytes per second of network bandwidth, what the company calls the highest offering in the public cloud. Ali Saidi, a distinguished engineer at AWS, likened the speed to a machine reading 100 music CDs a second. Graviton4, a central processing unit, or CPU, is one of many chip products that come from Amazon's Annapurna Labs in Austin, Texas. The chip is a win for the company's custom strategy and puttin

AMD shares rise 9% after analysts say they expect a 'snapback' for chipmaker

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices rose nearly 9% on Monday after analysts at Piper Sandler lifted their price target on the stock on optimism about the chipmaker's latest product announcement. The analysts said they see a snapback for AMD's graphics processing units, or GPUs, in the fourth quarter. That's when they expect the chipmaker to be through the bulk of the $800 million in charges that AMD said it would incur as a result of a new U.S. license requirement that applies to exports of semico

AMD shares rise 10% after analysts say they expect a 'snapback' for chipmaker

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices rose nearly 10% on Monday after analysts at Piper Sandler lifted their price target on the stock on optimism about the chipmaker's latest product announcement. The analysts said they see a snapback for AMD's graphics processing units, or GPUs, in the fourth quarter. That's when they expect the chipmaker to be through the bulk of the $800 million in charges that AMD said it would incur as a result of a new U.S. license requirement that applies to exports of semic

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max and foldable iPhone get first dibs on TSMC's 2nm process, A20 chip

In a nutshell: Apple is on track to become the first handset maker to ship a smartphone powered by processing hardware based on TSMC's 2nm process. The chip, tentatively referred to as the A20, will also reportedly utilize the latest wafer-level multi-chip module (WMCM) packaging technology. Sources familiar with the matter tell the Commercial Times that production of the A20 SoC will begin at the Chiayi AP7 plant in Taiwan. The current generation iPhone 16 utilizes the A18 SoC, and the iPhone

Finally, Bluetooth trackers for Android users that work better than AirTags (and are cheaper)

ZDNET's key takeaways The Chipolo One Point and Card Point normally retails for $26 and $24, respectively. They're highly accurate, robust, and integrate well into the Google ecosystem. However, the One is only splashproof, and the Card version has a non-user-replaceable battery. View now at Amazon View now at Chipolo more buying choices AirTags are one of the things that have set the Apple ecosystem apart from the Android ecosystem. But now that Google has rolled out its Find My Device netwo

Nvidia to exclude China from its revenue and profit forecasts

In Brief Nvidia doesn’t think the U.S. will backpedal its chip export restrictions to China anytime soon. The chipmaker is so convinced of that fact that it’s not going to include the Chinese market in its revenue and profit forecasts, CEO Jensen Huang told CNN on Thursday. Huang said he’s not counting on the Trump administration reversing its chip export controls and that it would be a nice “bonus” if they did. The Trump administration introduced licensing requirements for Nvidia’s H20 chip