Articles by Jerry Hildenbrand

If Samsung leverages ARM’s Cortex-X program and AMD graphics we’ll all want to see an Exynos inside our phones.

Most of us only want one thing from the chip inside of our phones, and that’s the power to do everything we want as fast as we want.

Depending on how you use your phone and what model it is, you might not be getting what you want. Our phones do a lot, even when we’re not asking them to do something ourselves. There are hundreds of tasks running through your phone’s application processor at all times and even more when you’re actually using it. That’s a lot of work to ask of a device powered by a relatively small battery.

If you want the fastest phone you can buy today, it will have a Snapdragon chip inside.

Qualcomm has things figured out. The Snapdragon line of SoCs (System on a Chip) are some of the best mobile chipsets that you’ll find. That’s because Qualcomm spends a lot of money taking ARM’s base designs and customizing them into tiny powerhouses. When you com…

After a safe and successful launch in China, 2021 may be the year MediaTek decides to take on the Snapdragon.

MediaTek doesn’t get a lot of press from western technology journalists. It makes plenty of budget-minded chips for companies looking to build entry-level devices, but outside of a few phones or Chromebooks, we rarely hear about any products powered by MediaTek SoCs.

Many expected that to change in 2020 when MediaTek announced the Dimensity 1000. This type of chip was a first for the company and it clearly was designed to go head to head with Qualcomm. The Dminesity 1000 is an octa-core 7nm chip complete with an integrated wireless package that includes Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, and Sub-6 5G in Stand-alone and Non-Stand-Alone configurations.

The Dimensity 1000 compares favorably to Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon line.

Several companies did use the new chip from MediaTek, but none of them are exactly household names in the west. And as pointed out by AnandTech, the chip …

Two-factor authentication over SMS can do more harm than good. It’s time we stop using it and for companies to stop offering it.

You should always enable two-factor authentication whenever a service or account offers the option. In fact, if a service doesn’t offer 2FA, you should look into using a similar service from a different provider. You are the only person who can truly protect your online identity and 2FA is a big step towards doing it.

But not all 2FA is equal. 2FA is simply a second means of proving you are who you claim to be and there are several ways it can be done. You can use an app like Authy, use a security key like the ones offered by Yubico, or use Google’s Titan Security solution through your Pixel phone or a stand-alone key. You can also use SMS to have a code sent to you when you need it, even though you never should.

The problem isn’t with the idea. Getting a 2FA code via a text message isn’t all that different from getting one from an authenticator app. The…

UWB really only matters when there are other products that use it. That’s where Samsung has the advantage.

The Galaxy Note 20 was announced with one feature that mostly flew under the radar: UWB.

UWB stands for Ultra Wideband and you might have heard about it when the iPhone 11 Pro was released with a dedicated chip to power it, but it’s not an Apple idea or invention. UWB is a dedicated wireless standard the same way Bluetooth or Wi-Fi is, but it fills a need that no other wireless solution can — long-range data transfer with precision location services.

There are a lot of ways to get a precise location, but few are as precise as two objects equipped with UWB. One device sends out a signal that the other receives, and once the second device sends back a ping the two can measure a very precise (10-centimeter accuracy) line-of-site distance between them. This could be used for location service, but it’s much more helpful to pinpoint the exact location of an object in relation to …

Every Android smartphone has an application manager that you can get to through the settings menu. It’s usually in the top-level somewhere, though it can vary a little by phone. But once you get to it, you’re at the heart of the matter. This area is where you can see every application that’s installed on your phone or tablet. And it’s a handy place to clean things up a bit should they go wonky.

The app cache (and how to clear it)

As you use applications, they start storing files to reference later. These files are stored in an app “cache.” For instance: When you’re using a web browser, it’ll save images you’ve seen so that they don’t have to be downloaded every single time the app needs them. This cache saves you time and data.

But maybe you want to clear an app’s cached data, either to regain some used space or to try to fix a misbehaving app. This method is how you can do it.

Open the Settings of your phone.
Tap the Storage heading to open its settings page.

If your phone ru…

Best answer: The Raspberry Pi is a small single-board computer designed originally for the education segment. It’s evolved into a project board that millions of people use because of it’s price, ample documentation, and enthusiast community. You can do just about anything with a Raspberry Pi.

The new and improved version: Raspberry Pi 4 ($45 at Amazon)
A year older, but still great: Raspberry Pi 3 B+ ($41 at Amazon)

A little history

It’s the little circuit board that has captured the hearts and minds of the makers, the tinkerers, and the hackers.

However, the Raspberry Pi is more than that. It’s the gateway to the Internet of things, and the tool to teach the next generation how to create it.

The Raspberry Pi is a great tool to teach programming, but it’s also a great small PC for your home.

In 2006, some great minds at the University of Cambridge’s computer lab started to notice a difference in the applicants for the school’s Computer Science program. The hackers, hobbyi…

Best answer: Downgrading your phone to an older version of Android can be easy or impossible. It all depends on the company that made it. If you want to be sure you can install any version you want on your Android phone, your best bet is to buy a Google Pixel.

Easy to downgrade: Google Pixel 4 ($740 at Amazon)
Same phone, bigger package: Google Pixel 4XL ($820 at Amazon)

Not everyone loves updates

Most of us here are update junkies. When a new version of Android (or anything, for that matter) is announced, we start talking about when we’ll get a chance to try it and take a look at the changes. We look at all the leaks or legit news about an update, and we’re ready to install it as soon as we can. It’s half the fun of owning an Android.

But not everyone feels this way.

There are a few cases where upgrading to a new version isn’t something you ever want to do. Enterprise software is notorious for being slow to adapt and new versions of any software may not be supported. You migh…

For most people, the “mid-range” is finally more than enough when it comes to the chip that powers your phone.

The OnePlus Nord shows us one thing: what Qualcomm has done with the Snapdragon line of mobile processors is amazing.

I’m not talking about the latest and greatest and “plusest” high-end chip. Those have always been Qualcomm’s poster-boy and the pride of its lineup. I’m talking about the 700-series chips that everyone loves to think of as the mid-range line. Like the Qualcomm SDM765 (A.K.A. the Snapdragon 765G) that’s inside the Nord and other phones like the LG Velvet.

A phone chip is more than just the processor inside it.

The strength of a phone chipset is measured in more than just raw processing power. If the only thing that mattered was the ability to crunch numbers really fast we would still be using Intel mobile chips. You need to do something with that number-crunching and connect it to the outside world to make a good mobile experience. That’s where I think…

It’s important to stand for justice. It’s equally important to take care of yourself while doing it.

Most of the world is still reeling over the events of the past week. Not because it’s anything new but because in 2020 we finally get to see that for people like George Floyd, their lives are valued at $20.

It’s natural to be outraged and so very American to voice that outrage in the streets — our country was founded on protest. I encourage everyone to use their rights and voice their exasperation over the years and years of abuse at the hands of authority gone sour, but I also hope that everyone can do it safely and peacefully. Your voice drowns in a sea of statistics if you’re injured or arrested.

Staying peaceful is part of staying safe.

That isn’t as hard as you think if you prepare. Staying peaceful means discouraging those with you or around you from committing acts of violence and distancing yourself from people who can’t help themselves for one reason or another. Don…

ARM’s Cortex-X program could mean phone makers have a lot of room for bigger and better things.

We don’t have a lot of details about ARM’s Cortex-X program, where ARM will work with companies that build processors to customize them from the ground up, outside of some press materials and datasheets from ARM itself. We do know that we should expect to see the first of (hopefully) many chips using a custom Cortex-X core soon with the ARM Cortex-X1, which is basically a chip using Cortex-A cores and one of them has its governor removed so it can run free.

That’s what the Cortex-X program is all about. It’s a way for companies who want to sacrifice some room on a silicon wafer and a bit of battery life in exchange for raw power to do so without spending millions to design it themselves. The idea isn’t exactly new, and companies that already design custom ARM-licensed chips have been doing this for a while. That gives us a great view of what to expect: even more of the big leaps we see f…