Qualcomm’s slick new integrated X60 5G Modem-RF system sets a new high bar for global premium-tier smartphone connectivity. Featuring both a welcome return to an integrated modem design, as well as a focus on global connectivity in the 5G era, as far as I can tell, the X60 delivers the world’s fastest commercially available 5G speeds. 7.5 Gbps is pretty impressive this early into 5G deployments and gets us a lot closer to 10 Gbps than I expected to be in 2020.
Apple is set to launch its next generation of MacBooks. For the first time since the surprise 2005 announcement by Steve Jobs that Apple was moving from PowerPC to Intel (x86), the company is set to take on chip-making responsibility for the Mac.
An acquisition of Xilinx by AMD would be another indicator of a hot semiconductor industry. The race is tightening, and as AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Marvell, and others push for growth, the market benefits from the innovation that’s created.
