GoKawiil
Tech News
Three contractor employees were killed and a fourth left in intensive care after falling from an upper floor during steel-hoisting work at TSMC's Fab 22 construction site in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Officials suspect a bolt on a steel connection plate broke, sending the workers and steel components down; TSMC and the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau have halted related steel hoisting and launched an investigation.
Android Authority ran Geekbench 6 tests on a reference phone powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip, built on TSMC's 2nm process with prime CPU cores clocked up to 5GHz. Single-core performance rose about 10% over last year's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, while multi-core gains were minimal at roughly 1.5% despite efficiency cores jumping to 4GHz.
Qualcomm has unveiled two high-end mobile processors simultaneously, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, both built on a new Oryon CPU revision with a 5GHz peak clock speed. The chips share the same X105 5G modem, FastConnect 8800 wireless module, imaging tools like Intelligent Pixel Control and Elite Color Engine, and a new Hexagon Element Accelerator for on-device AI, though some AI capabilities differ subtly between the two versions.
Qualcomm has unveiled two new flagship phone chips: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and a higher-end 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, both built on a 2nm process. The Extreme version shares most specs with the standard chip but offers upgraded AI processing, video capture up to 8K at 60fps, and slightly better gaming performance. Motorola's Signature 27 will use the Extreme chip, while Vivo, Xiaomi, Oppo, Honor, iQoo, Nubia, OnePlus, Redmi, Redmagic, and ZTE will adopt both chips.
MediaTek unveiled the Dimensity 9600 Pro, built on TSMC's 2nm process, alongside the 3nm Dimensity 9600M for a broader range of premium phones. The Pro chip features a dedicated neural processing unit for on-device generative AI and boosts prompt processing speed by 51% over its predecessor. MediaTek did not name partner manufacturers or give launch dates for devices using the chips.
MediaTek unveiled the Dimensity 9600 Pro, its new flagship smartphone processor, as the first chip manufactured using TSMC's 2-nanometer N2P process, beating Qualcomm to the milestone. The chip promises significant gains including a 61 percent drop in multi-core power draw, a 17 percent single-core speed boost, and improved gaming and AI performance through a new dual-NPU architecture.
A Geekbench 6 benchmark result attributed to Apple's unreleased A20 Pro chip has surfaced online, showing single-core and multi-core scores roughly 25% higher than the current A19 Pro. The chip, built on a 2nm process, is expected to power the upcoming iPhone Duo foldable and iPhone 18 Pro models, with clock speeds nearing 5 GHz.
Apple detailed its A20 Pro chip, which will power the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Duo. Built on a 2nm process, the chip features a six-core CPU with two new 'super cores' up to 20% faster than the A19 Pro, a redesigned seven-core GPU with 40% better graphics performance, and a dual Neural Engine offering twice the AI compute of its predecessor. Apple also boosted memory bandwidth by 50% and added neural accelerators to every CPU core.
At its 'Surprise and Shine' event, Apple introduced the A20 Pro chip, built on 2nm technology, which will power the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. The chip features a six-core CPU with faster supercores, a seven-core GPU offering up to 40% better performance, and a 32-core Neural Engine with double the compute capability. Apple also boosted memory bandwidth by 50% and redesigned chip packaging to improve cooling, borrowing techniques from its M-series processors.
Apple introduced its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, at a Cupertino event, featuring a 7.6-inch inner folding screen and a 5.4-inch outer display, both protected by Ceramic Shield 2. The device runs on Apple's new A20 Pro chip built on TSMC's 2nm process, with a titanium frame and dual rear cameras including a 48MP main sensor and 12MP telephoto lens.
Apple unveiled its M6 processor, first appearing in the Mac Mini, built on a 2nm manufacturing process with 12 CPU cores, a 12-core GPU, and a dual 16-core neural engine. Apple claims roughly 20% faster multithreaded performance and larger GPU gains over the M5, along with memory bandwidth up to 170GB/s, though independent testing hasn't yet confirmed these figures.
Apple has updated the Mac mini for the first time in nearly two years, keeping its compact design but switching to a new chip lineup. The base model now runs on the newly introduced M6 chip, Apple's first built on a 2nm process, while the higher tier uses the M5 Pro chip that debuted earlier this year in the MacBook Pro. Both configurations are available for pre-order starting today.