Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks about the new iPhone 11.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple will start working again with British chip designer Imagination Technologies, years after dissolving its relationship with the firm.
In a short statement Thursday, Imagination Technologies announced a "new multi-year license agreement under which Apple has access to a wider range of Imagination's intellectual property in exchange for license fees."
The semiconductor company previously designed GPUs, which are graphics chips, for Apple's iPhones and iPads, but Apple decided to cut ties with the firm in 2017 to develop such processing units in-house. Whether this move was ultimately successful remains unclear.
That news sent the once-listed firm's shares tumbling as much as 71%, due to concerns it would heavily impact its future. And it did. Imagination Technologies was subsequently sold to China-backed private equity buyer Canyon Bridge Capital Partners for £550 million ($727 million).
The blow from Apple led to a public dispute as Imagination Technologies scrambled to reach an agreement with the Silicon Valley giant, once its biggest customer. It's unclear what intellectual property Apple will gain access to as a result of the new licensing deal.
Nevertheless, it's a good start to the year for Hertfordshire-based Imagination Technologies, which was once seen as one of Britain's most promising tech companies. The firm competes with another U.K. company, SoftBank-owned Arm Holdings.
Apple shares rose 86% over the course of 2019 as the company grew its services business with new offerings like TV streaming and cloud gaming. The firm is expected to release its first 5G smartphone later this year.
Bosch says it's developed production-ready LiDAR sensors for use in vehicles. It's hoping to keep costs down by making them at scale. That way, it might be able to offer them at a lower price and bolster more widespread adoption of autonomous driving systems.
LiDAR is the final piece of the sensor puzzle for Bosch's self-driving ambitions. The company said it designed the sensors for all autonomous driving use cases.
Laser-based LiDAR systems piece together a high-res, real-time 3D map of the surrounding area, which car systems can use to better understand everything happening nearby and react accordingly. The sensors work in concert with radar and cameras to help cars navigate with optimal safety.
Bosch isn't the only company working on LiDAR sensors, but it's a major supplier. If it can keep a tight lid on production costs, it could help make semi-autonomous and fully autonomous cars more affordable.
Last year, Luminar unveiled a LiDAR system that's said to cost less than $1,000 for production cars. Waymo also said last year it'd start selling LiDAR sensors, possibly for less than $5,000 each. Those are significantly cheaper than some other sensors, which have cost up to $75,000 over the last few years. It's not clear when Bosch will start selling its own sensors or how much they'll cost, but at the very least more competition should help drive down LiDAR prices.
Meanwhile, Bosch said it recently implemented artificial intelligence in its self-driving camera tech. It can detect and categorize objects and measure their movement. It can also recognize "partially obscured or crossing vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists quickly and reliably." This, Bosch suggests, should help driver assistance systems trigger a warning or enable emergency brakes more effectively if needed.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Bosch says it's developed production-ready LiDAR sensors for use in vehicles. It's hoping to keep costs down by making them at scale. That way, it might be able to offer them at a lower price and bolster more widespread adoption of autonomous driving systems.
LiDAR is the final piece of the sensor puzzle for Bosch's self-driving ambitions. The company said it designed the sensors for all autonomous driving use cases.
Laser-based LiDAR systems piece together a high-res, real-time 3D map of the surrounding area, which car systems can use to better understand everything happening nearby and react accordingly. The sensors work in concert with radar and cameras to help cars navigate with optimal safety.
Bosch isn't the only company working on LiDAR sensors, but it's a major supplier. If it can keep a tight lid on production costs, it could help make semi-autonomous and fully autonomous cars more affordable.
Last year, Luminar unveiled a LiDAR system that's said to cost less than $1,000 for production cars. Waymo also said last year it'd start selling LiDAR sensors, possibly for less than $5,000 each. Those are significantly cheaper than some other sensors, which have cost up to $75,000 over the last few years. It's not clear when Bosch will start selling its own sensors or how much they'll cost, but at the very least more competition should help drive down LiDAR prices.
Meanwhile, Bosch said it recently implemented artificial intelligence in its self-driving camera tech. It can detect and categorize objects and measure their movement. It can also recognize "partially obscured or crossing vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists quickly and reliably." This, Bosch suggests, should help driver assistance systems trigger a warning or enable emergency brakes more effectively if needed.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
It’s the end of the decade, and you’re seeing plenty of retrospectives rounding up the last ten years of smartphones, and tech in general – but what about the future, and the tech advances it might bring? How could smartphones change in the next ten years?
We’ve looked at a few trends of the 2010s, and in particular 2019, and guessed at where these trends could go by the year 2030. We’ve looked at everything from foldable phones to USB ports and 6G.
It’s worth pointing out that this speculation could end up being totally, totally off, as guessing tends to be, so come 2030 the smartphone industry could be totally different to how we suggest here.
Foldable phones in the future
The foldable Samsung Galaxy Fold (Image credit: TechRadar)
Foldable phones really entered the public eye in 2019, with multiple devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Motorola Razr 2019 launched (although the latter wasn’t available to buy during the year), and they’re only going to get more popular as more devices are released.
So, by 2029, could we all own foldable phones? Well, that depends on how phone companies navigate the next few years. At the moment, foldable phones are largely considered interesting gimmicks, but ones that most people (other than tech fans) wouldn’t consider buying as their next phone.
This is because of how pricey they are, and also because software hasn’t been developed that really makes the most of the form factor.
So if the next few years brings foldable phones that are affordable and, more importantly, vital for certain functions, people will leap on board. Ten years is a long time, and it’s highly likely that foldable phones will become affordable and useful pretty soon, but that depends on how willing people are to ditch the tried and trusted form factor of ‘normal’ phones.
Will 5G and 6G be popular?
The 5G LG V50 ThinQ (Image credit: LG)
5G is already out and about in several countries, although at the close of 2019 it still remains to be seen how long it will take for people to get on board with the tech. Its added speed doesn’t mean much for people in high-speed areas, where 4G is already faster than most people need, and no apps have been launched that really make the most of the high-speed connection.
But in the coming years, companies will launch more 5G phones and fewer 4G phones, following the pattern of every new generation of connectivity, to the point where it’s ‘normal’ to buy a 5G phone, just as you’d buy a 4G phone now.
That’s less because people need a high-speed phone, and more just because most of the devices on shelves will be 5G, with few (or no) 4G options
Towards the end of the decade, we could even see mentions of 6G (Donald Trump has already been demanding it), but we’ll have to see how much people take to 5G, and if we really need even faster connections, before knowing for sure.
The future of front-facing cameras
The Samsung Galaxy A80 with a pop-up array (Image credit: Future)
One of biggest differentiating features between different smartphones nowadays is the front-facing camera – does your phone have a big notch like an iPhone, a teardrop notch like plenty of phones use, a punch-hole cut-out like many Samsung phones, a pop-up like several companies have embraced, or something else entirely?
Well, it’s possible that future phones will have none of the above – the front-facing cameras could actually be under the display. Oppo has shown off this tech already, and it’s likely other companies are working on it too. This method removes the front snapper from view, so it won’t take up screen space but also won’t take up lots of internal space either (like pop-ups do).
So what about the camera itself? Towards the end of 2019, we've seen a few smartphones use two front-facers, one to take a picture and a secondary snapper for depth sensing, for more accurate background blur.
In the next few years, and especially into 2030, we’d expect this trend to get more established – selfies are one of the main types of picture you’ll take on your phone after all. Phones could even introduce an ultra-wide front-facing camera for group selfies, with a depth sensor or software that can create background blur for a whole group.
Goodbye ports
An Oppo prototype with no ports (Image credit: Future)
Many phones are dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack already, and those things will be ancient history by 2030 – it would be a surprise if many phones even in 2020 kept the port. As more users flock towards wireless headphones over wired ones, the amount of phone users who need to physically plug their headphones into their smartphone will reduce, and in ten years, after years of advances in Bluetooth technology, we’d be surprised if many people use wired headphones at all.
More uncertain is the presence of a USB port to plug your phone into a computer or charger. We’ve already seen a few prototype phones without this port, as handsets can rely on wireless charging to power up and Wi-Fi, mobile data or NFC options to send information and files to a computer.
It’s likely as wireless chargers get more popular and, more importantly, faster at powering up your device, people will rely less on physical wires, making a port more and more redundant. In that way, it echoes the use of wireless headphones, and in 2030 portless smartphones could be the new normal.
More rear cameras?
The Nokia 9 PureView with five rear cameras (Image credit: Future)
While you may think the future will bring you phones with plenty of smartphone cameras, far more so than now, that might not end up being the case: there are only so many different kinds of lens, so we’ll soon reach a point where adding more lenses adds nothing new.
No, in fact, the real change will likely be megapixel count – at the end of 2019 the highest resolution in a smartphone is 108MP in the Xiaomi Mi Note 10, but it looks like a number of phones in 2020 are gearing up to match that. In ten years, though, that number could be through the roof.
Well, at least five times nearer the roof. Scientists have estimated that the human eye sees roughly 576MP, but that’s assuming perfect vision with an image right by your face, so if you’re looking at a phone at arm’s length and don’t have flawless vision, that number is higher than you’ll ever need.
So people don’t need cameras with incredibly high megapixel counts, and it would be a surprise if phone companies decided to even reach 576MP. Saying that, advances in megapixel count will almost certainly be more pronounced in 2030 than the number of rear cameras.
Looking forward, we'll see these features beefed up and gain new tricks -- cameras with oodles of megapixels, phones with outrageously large batteries and screens that give you smoother graphics. We'll see more 5G in more phones. We'll also get some clarity over the role of foldable phones, if they have one at all beyond this fascinating period of experimentation.
Here are the most important things you have to look forward to with this year's phones.
5G becomes more mainstream in 2020
5G networks kicked off in 2019, and at least a handful of phones had to be there to support them. Most of these devices were variants of premium models, with boosted price tags and limited 5G networks to work with.
There were a few success stories. This past September, Samsung said it sold 2 million 5G phones in its home country of South Korea, and some brands worked on cheaper 5G phones like the $520 Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro. But on the whole, there was much ado about nothing, especially since the chips inside aren't terribly efficient yet and tend to chew through battery when you're actually using a 5G connection.
5G phones also have a tendency to overheat when it's hot out, with the 5G connection shutting down to keep the phone from reaching dangerous internal temperatures.
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Despite 2019's growing pains, 5G is still inevitable. In countries where carriers are building out their 5G networks, expect every premium phone to be either 5G-ready or have a 5G variant. For example, Samsung's Galaxy S11 could be one of the first to bring 5G to many more people.
Once 5G networks become more widespread, phones will be able to access significantly higher data speeds and more responsive service, which could mean:
Lighting-fast downloads of large files, like Netflix shows to watch offline.
Seamless video calls.
Amazing graphics on streaming real-time games and AR experiences.
A split-second advantage in responsiveness when shooters like Fortnite.
Will it fold? Phone screens that bend in half are still in question.
Angela Lang/CNET
Foldable phones get real
If 2019 was the year of seeing foldable phones come to life, then 2020 is about determining if phone screens that bend are a potential future or a gimmick destined to be forgotten like 3D displays.
Samsung, Motorola and Huawei have launched foldable phones that work, each with their own design. The Galaxy Fold gives us a book design that opens into a tablet. The even larger Mate X has one big wraparound screen around the outside of the device, which can be used three different ways. And the Motorola Razr is a small phone flips up vertically to reveal a tall, narrow display within.
Foldable phones seek to give you a larger screen in a much smaller body. In 2019, they're expensive, ranging from $1,500 for the totable Razr to over $2,000 for the Galaxy Fold and roughly $2,400 for the Mate X.
That's at least 50% more expensive up front than you'd spend on a premium superphone, like the $1,000 iPhone 11 Pro. Consider, too, that foldable phone screens are made of plastic, a more fragile material than glass. They're more prone to scratches and damage from too much direct pressure.
Mobile phone photography made deep strides in 2019, with advancements in telephoto quality and advanced image processing. For example, telephoto and/or wide-angle sensors have now become standard for high-end phones. The Huawei P30 Pro is notable for its periscope lens that achieves incredible zoom results using a combination of optical and digital zoom.
Phone brands are also using sophisticated sensors and post-processing to achieve shots that were previously only achievable on DSLR cameras. The standout was Google Pixel 4's astrophotography mode, which is capable of taking sharp photos of the starry sky, assuming you're in a dark enough place to begin with. It's astounding.
In 2020, new phone processors will be able to support up to 200-megapixel cameras, and advancements will come to telephoto and ultra-wide angle photography, particularly with more top-tier phones using 5x optical zoom. Slow-motion and high-resolution video will also get a boost, thanks to more powerful processors.
Whoa. Once you get to the right place, you *can* take astrophotography photos with @madebygoogle Pixel 4. This was in New Mexico, very cold 10°F with clear air, the Orion constellation above juniper trees lit faintly by my sister's bedroom light. 4 minutes of combined exposures. pic.twitter.com/esBSfDECb8
Screens on high-end phones will continue to be crisp, detailed and saturated with color. But also expect them to get "faster," with refresh rates of 120Hz -- the Galaxy S11 is rumored to build the feature in.
The standard refresh rate is currently 60Hz. That indicates the number of times the images on your display update per second. So, 60Hz equals 60 refreshes, and 120Hz equals 120 refreshes per second.
A faster refresh rate makes graphics look smoother, which is important for fast-paced and graphically heavy games. But It also enhances graphics for 4K video, screen animations and even scrolling through a web page or your app drawer.
The Pixel 4 has a "fast" screen... if you turn the feature on.
Angela Lang/CNET
A high refresh rate could also help improve the detail or responsiveness of AR graphics, an area that's got a lot of potential, but is mostly used in games right now, like Pokemon Go, Minecraft Earth and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
Right now, only a handful of phones have 90Hz or 120Hz screens built in, like the OnePlus 7T and Google Pixel 4. The setting is optional, because increasing the screen refresh rate by 50% (90Hz) or 100% (120Hz) takes a toll on your battery.
Fast charging will get faster
Your phone is only as good as its battery, because if it runs out of charge, or you're dashing for the nearest outlet, then your phone's no good to you.
A bigger battery that holds more charge is one solution. Fast-charging is another. The idea is that if you can't get everything you need out of your battery, you can at least give yourself most of one in as little as 30 minutes.
The iPhone 11 Pro comes with an 18-watt fast-charger in the box.
Angela Lang/CNET
For example, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus comes with a 25-watt charger that fills up your empty battery in about an hour. It also works with a 45-watt charger that fills your battery up in half the time.
So it's pretty inevitable that fast charging and battery maintenance are going to become even more of a hot topic in 2020. The fastest fast chargers will start showing up as a matter of course, and we could potentially see Samsung start including 45-watt chargers in the box for its most expensive phones.
Phone prices have been on the rise in the last several years, with new camera features and larger screen sizes used to justify the hike in cost.
Enter 5G, foldable phone designs and even more camera, battery and processor enhancements and it's clear to see that prices will only go up, at least on the high end. We'll always see more moderate pricing for midrange phones, especially those that use older technology.
Phones that are 4G-only, or which use a midrange 5G processor like the Snapdragon 765 chipset will also be able to dodge the steepest costs. But on the whole, expect 5G phones to cost more than 4G phones with the same parts. Also expect that affordable 5G phones will downshift specs in exchange for 5G support -- and they might not be all that good.
Samsung has fired a shot in a brewing 8K standards war by announcing that its 8K QLED TVs will be among the first to be certified by the fledgling 8K Association (8KA) sometime next year. That means the sets will hit a minimum 7,680 x 4,320 resolution (twice that of UHD), while peaking out at 600 nits of brightness and supporting HDMI2.1 and HEVC (H.265) standards. That could include models like Samsung's rumored bezel-free Q950T.
The certification is important, as Samsung will be able to promote its 8K TVs as being validated by the 8KA, complete with a logo. "Our goal is to provide consumers with the ability to easily identify premium 8K displays from other devices when making purchasing decisions," said Samsung Display VP Hyogun Lee.
While this might sound like a non-controversial announcement, there's a lot going on behind the scenes. At IFA 2019, LG made clear that it didn't think Samsung's 8K TVs conformed to a true 8K spec, even though it had the correct number of pixels, according to Forbes. It believes that Samsung's QLED pixels are not clearly distinguishable from one another, so the effective resolution is lower than 8K. Naturally, it thinks its own 88Z9 OLED and LM99 LCD TVs are sharper and do meet a true 8K standard.
LG's 88-inch 88Z9 OLED TV
While companies like Samsung, Panasonic and Hisense are part of the 8K Association, LG notably is not. Rather, it based its assertions on measurements from the International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM). That group has devised a "contrast modulation" test that displays alternating one-pixel-wide white and black lines, then effectively counts the lines. The more that appear, the clearer the image on an 8K TV.
Experts on resolution both inside the Samsung camp and outside don't necessarily agree with this. The measurement doesn't take color data into account and Samsung said it set up its 8K TVs not by counting pixels but by looking at the actual image. And the ICDM recently made a statement that watered down LG's claims.
While standard disputes aren't that spicy, this information does matter to buyers. We'll all be relying on groups like the 8KA for 8K TV purchases, just as we did on the UHD Alliance for 4K sets. As such, it's important that they're neutral and subservient to consumers, not manufacturers. All that said, none of this will matter in the foreseeable future, as 8K sets are still crazy expensive and there's virtually no 8K content.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Microsoft has been warning us that this day would come. And now, it’s almost here. Windows 7 end of life lands on January 14, 2020. After that deadline, Windows users running older versions of the desktop operating system will face a difficult choice – cough-up for a hefty bill to upgrade to Windows 10, or brace themselves for some dangerous risks on their home PC.
By ending support for the ageing Windows 7 operating system, which was first launched back in July 2009, Microsoft will stop rolling-out updates with new features, security updates or protections against malware. That means any issues with the software – or any new vulnerabilities discovered by cybercriminals – can be leveraged from indefinitely. Less serious, perhaps – but this also means any annoying bugs or glitches that crop-up will also be immortalised in the operating system.
If you’d like to benefit from the latest security protections and anti-virus solutions from Microsoft, you’ll have to update your machine to an operating system the Redmond-based company does support – namely, Windows 10. Although Microsoft has offered free upgrades to users running official versions of its operating systems in the past, that’s not possible at the moment.
We’ve heard from a number of loyal readers who swear there are still ways to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 for free using tools provided by Microsoft, however representatives from Microsoft tell us that its no-cost upgrade offer expired on July 29, 2016 and there is no officially sanctioned way to update your machine without paying.
The firm also says that for the vast majority of Windows 7 users, moving to a new device with Windows 10 preinstalled is the recommended path – not upgrading the operating system on the older hardware.
"Today’s PCs are faster, lightweight yet powerful, and more secure, with an average price that’s considerably less than that of the average PC over nine years ago," Microsoft said in an email sent to us.
If you’re still pretty fond of your old computer and don’t like the idea of upgrading the hardware simply to ensure that Microsoft supports the operating system that you’re using – it could be a costly update.
Those wanting to install Windows 10 Home edition on their current hardware will need to pay £119.99 which is licensed to one PC. And that's the cheapest available option.
The price to upgrade your PC spirals to £219.99 for Windows 10 Pro and a jaw-dropping £339 for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. If you’re thinking about using the money from your Christmas cards from nan for a bit of summer sun – think again. At £219.99 for the upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, Microsoft’s argument about moving to a new notebook, with all the benefits of a new display, trackpad, keyboard, and most importantly of all, battery – makes a little more sense.
It’s unclear whether the US company will offer any kind of price cuts, discounts or promotions nearer to the final deadline. But as of now, you’re looking down the barrel of a pretty hefty bill if you want to upgrade.
It’s worth noting that Microsoft does offer some concessions around its Windows 10 upgrade. For example, people with accessibility issues are able to upgrade to the new operating system, which offers better support and a number of new features designed to make using the software easier for these users, without paying the upgrade fee.
Explaining more about the end of Windows 7 and why it is no longer offering updates, the US firm said: "Microsoft made a commitment to provide 10 years of product support for Windows 7 when it was released on October 22, 2009. "When this 10-year period ends, Microsoft will discontinue Windows 7 support so that we can focus our investment on supporting newer technologies and great new experiences.
"The specific end of support day for Windows 7 will be January 14, 2020. After that, technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect your PC will no longer be available for the product.
"Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 sometime before January 2020 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available.
"You can continue to use Windows 7, but after support has ended, your PC will become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Windows will continue to start and run, but you will no longer receive software updates, including security updates, from Microsoft."
