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Author: Olivier Blanchard

Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Apple Search for Automotive LiDAR Supplier Fuels New Rumors About Project Titan

Futurum’s Olivier Blanchard on Apple’s search for automotive LiDAR supplier fueling new rumors about Project Titan. While it may make more sense for Apple to stay in its consumer electronics lane, where it could focus on building a first rate Smart Home ecosystem to displace Alphabet and Amazon, and make XR cool enough to displace Microsoft, Oculus (Facebook), and potentially other consumer electronic giants like Samsung, Sony, HTC, and more, the real flex play for Apple this decade, its boldest hard swing for the fences, lies in entering the automotive market to take on Tesla.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Microsoft’s 3 New Versions of Office Aim to Meet Customers Where They Are

Microsoft finally optimizing its unified Office mobile app for Apple’s iPad devices isn’t just great news for iPad users – it’s also a clear signal from Microsoft that it intends to be more proactive about servicing segments of its ecosystem that may have, until now, been under-prioritized. Microsoft has also designed for specific segments of the Office User ecosystem, which is impressive. This ability to understand the user preferences and nuances involved in these unique segments of its ecosystem makes it clear that Microsoft has spent time and resources learning what these users’ needs are and that it has developed solutions so as to best to meet them.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Qualcomm’s new Fixed Wireless Access Platform to Bring mmWave 5G Performance to the Network Edge in 2022

Futurum’s Olivier Blanchard takes a dive into Qualcomm’s new Fixed Wireless Access platform, which is expected to bring mmWave 5G performance to the network edge in 2022. Until now, the prevailing expectation surrounding mmWave cell deployments was that network operators would focus mostly on high density markets like urban centers, stadiums, airports, highly industrialized areas, and so on, and that therefore, suburban and rural areas would mostly miss out on ultra-fast mmWave 5G performance. Qualcomm’s introduction of its new mmWave 5G FWA CPE platform changes things. By extending mmWave 5G performance to the network edge, many suburban and rural markets that until now fell just out of reach of the best that 5G has to offer will soon have access to mmWave 5G performance just like densely populated markets.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Qualcomm’s Upgradable New Snapdragon X65 Modem Promises to Bring 10gbs speeds to 5G phones as Early as this Year

Qualcomm’s upgradable new Snapdragon X65 modem promises to bring 10gbs speeds to 5G phones as early as this year. Next-gen 5G phones with 10 gigabit per second speeds, all-day battery life, and smart AI-optimized mmWave antennas are coming — and quickly. By delivering not only an upgradeable 10gbs 5G modem but complete RF/RFFE solutions optimized to support global sub-6GHz and mmWave bands, Qualcomm manages yet again to give major OEMs a compelling reason to build their premium and flagship 5G devices around Snapdragon modem-RF systems.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Microsoft’s New Employee Experience Platform, Microsoft Viva, Connects Employee Productivity and Wellness to Smoother Work Experiences

Could Microsoft Viva’s plan to humanize the workplace be the key to boosting employee productivity, creativity, and retention? Seeing technology now being used to re-humanize the workplace, humanize workflows, and give people rather than systems more agency and initiative, seems to Futurum’s Olivier Blanchard to be a very positive and welcome change in the enterprise. Microsoft’s new Viva employee experience platform certainly appears to be aiming to deliver on that vision.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Qualcomm’s Automotive Sector Strategy Shifts into High Gear this Week With a Bevy of Announcements

Qualcomm’s automotive sector strategy shifts into high gear this week with a bevy of announcements combining powerful SOCs, homogeneous system design and 5G to deliver best-in-class technology solutions to global automakers.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Moving on from Huawei, Honor May Find The Perfect 5G Mobile Platform Partner In Qualcomm

In the wake of becoming independent from Huawei last year, the company is now free to work with U.S. chipmakers. While the company reports multiple partnership with key global chipmakers, Futurum’s Olivier Blanchard has his eye on Honor and Qualcomm and the ability of Qualcomm’s mid-range and budget SOCs as early as next year. Why? The Snapdragon platform’s ability to deliver mmWave-ready modems and complete SOCs across a range of price-points is an advantage that may prove difficult for Mediatek to overcome.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

GSMA Intelligence Report: Mobile Operators May Still be Underestimating the ROI of 5G mmWave Deployments

In the new GSMA Intelligence report published today, it’s clear that mobile operators may still be underestimating the ROI of 5G mmWave deployments. The comprehensive report shows various inflection points where mmWave begins to become profitable in areas where demand for capacity is concentrated (like dense urban areas, large buildings, airports, advanced manufacturing plants, and stadiums), and where 3.5 GHz networks can no longer keep up with demand, with and without the deployment of FWA solutions. Most importantly, the report illustrates that overcoming misconceptions about mmWave’s financial viability faster than other operators may be the ultimate competitive advantage in a maturing 5G economy.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Mobile News from CES: Qualcomm Powers Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Lineup, Featuring the Snapdragon 888 5G Platform

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 5G platform powering the Galaxy S21 lineup confirms Samsung’s focus on remaining leader in premium mobile experiences. It is reassuring to note that Samsung chose not to cut corners by selecting a slightly lower-tiered mobile platform for its S21 lineup. Samsung clearly wants to remain a leading player in the premium Android space and isn’t beyond potentially cutting into its own margins this year to protect its enviable market-share in order to achieve that goal. Equally as important, the biggest winners here are obviously consumers, who will not only enjoy best-in class 5G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity, but also mind-blowing professional quality photo and video features, elite-level mobile gaming, and a long list of true premium mobile experiences no longer guaranteed to be offered by all Samsung competitors. This is also a win for Qualcomm, which gets to showcase its new Snapdragon 888 5G platform in Samsung’s latest Galaxy S-series phones, which are likely to set the standard for the rest of the mobile industry in 2021. Exciting times, to be sure!
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

What Google’s Acquisition of Fitbit Means for Google’s Expanding Experience Ecosystem, the Future of Wear OS, and User Privacy

Futurum’s Olivier Blanchard covers Google’s acquisition of Fitbit and how it could deliver the missing piece in Google’s product ecosystem — and perhaps make Apple nervous in the process. Why? Aside from Google’s wearables business suddenly absorbing Fitbit’s nearly 30 million active users worldwide, Google also finally has the tools to become an implementer of its own Wear OS platform.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile Platform Expands the Company’s Portfolio Into Budget Tier

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile Platform expands the company’s portfolio in the budget tier, offering price points at mid- and high-tier levels that seem pretty certain to expand its market share ahead of competitors. This is a smart business strategy for a chipmaker looking to leverage 5G early to accelerate revenue growth with minimal friction from competitors. It’s also a smart ecosystem strategy, as Qualcomm can use this opportunity to prove to handset makers that it can become their single source of 5G mobile SOCs at every price point.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard

Pexip’s New Private Cloud — The Missing Piece in Video Conferencing’s Security vs Scalability Conundrum

Scalability, enterprise-class security, geographic specificity, and data portability define Pexip’s impressive new Private Cloud for video conferencing. Every organization that was looking for a way to quickly scale its video-conferencing deployments but didn’t have confidence that public clouds could provide adequate levels of data security and privacy, no longer has to choose between scalability and security. They can have both. Here’s an overview of the specifics of the Pexip Private Cloud.
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