The Inquirer posted some findings from Ookla which is bound to be somewhat depressing for Apple users with Intel modems in them. This will not be a surprise for anyone who recalls a certain court case from last year in which Qualcomm accused Apple of slowing down their modems to ensure they did not outperform models with an Intel modem in it. That case has since snowballed into a much larger one.
Tossing the lawyers aside, the data from Ookla shows a large performance different between "Intel-based non-Android smartphones" LTE speeds and any phone utilizing a Snapdragon 845 modem. The Snapdragon phones show "double-digit gains" in latency and "triple-digit gains" in download and upload speeds, which is going to be fairly noticeable. Perhaps the rumours that Intel will no longer be inside the upcoming generations of Apple phones are true.
"Consumers seeking faster everyday 4G LTE connectivity can buy Android smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform, knowing that real-world data supports Qualcomm Technologies' claims of superior wireless performance."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- If at first you, er, make things worse, you're probably Microsoft: Bug patch needed patching @ The Register
- As Computer Vendors Focus On Making Their Laptops Thinner and Lighter, They Are Increasingly Neglecting Performance Needs of Their Customers @ Slashdot
- EC slaps Asus, Philips and others with €111m fine for online price fixing @ The Inquirer
- Hackers On Planet Earth XII: The Circle Of HOPE @ Techgage
- Commodore 64 Mini Coming to North America on October 9 @ [H]ard|OCP
- Spectre rises from the dead to bite Intel in the return stack buffer @ The Register
Well Intel is just not having
Well Intel is just not having much luck in the mobile/smartphone market, now or ever! But Qualcomm has got into trouble by trying to force the phone OEMs into giving Qualcomm a cut of the action instead of Qualcomm just suppling the radio/modem parts to the phone OEMs at a set fair price.
As much as Intel has been a market abuser Qualcomm’s stranglehold on the mobile devices radio/modem market is just as bad. And Qualcomm is way ahead for 5G also but maybe it’s time to limit all these monopoly interests before things get too far out of hand. Qualcomm definitely has the leading IP as far as mobile radios are concerned and Apple’s overpriced and too thin laptops have their issues also.
Intel are really to blame for the non Apple laptop market being afflicted with that thin and light and thermally constrained Apple Like Laptop form factor madness, as before Intel’s Ultrabook(TM) Initiative was foisted on the non Apple Laptop market OEM laptops where thicker with better cooling and could run their CPUs/APUs/SOCs without having thermal throttling issues.
Intel’s modems are crap and Intel’s 5G is not going to compete with Qualcomm’s 5G, no way no how. Well more competition is helping the CPU market but in mobile radios/modems there is not much competition to Qualcomm that can match Qualcomm’s performance. Intel needs to hire more engneers and should have been spending on R&D instead of wasting billions on Contra Revenue in a failed attempt at getting x86 into more mobile devices.
Apple is all about the standard user exerience at the cost of performance, just look at how Apple has alienated their professional users over the last 7 years. Qualcomm trying to get a cut of the OEMs action on each mobile device sold is not helping the consumer likewise as OEMs are passing that extra Modem/Radio cost payments to Qualcomm onto the consumer. Intel is been abusive for so damn many decades that no one has any sympathy for the devil that is Intel.
Well that EU/EC fine article
Well that EU/EC fine article that you listed appears to have not mentioned those automated tools that ASUS/others used to monitor retail channel pricing in the distribution network in order to maintain prices above MSRP illegally. But Techcrunch also lists “sophisticated monitoring tools” that ASUS/Others used to track price changes! ASUS was called out in particular for interfering with its retail channel partners’ notebooks and displays retail pricing. Well so much for AI being used for good and not evil.
From Techcrunch:
“The Commission found the manufacturers put pressure on ecommerce outlets who offered their products at low prices, writing: “If those retailers did not follow the prices requested by manufacturers, they faced threats or sanctions such as blocking of supplies. Many, including the biggest online retailers, use pricing algorithms which automatically adapt retail prices to those of competitors. In this way, the pricing restrictions imposed on low pricing online retailers typically had a broader impact on overall online prices for the respective consumer electronics products.”
“It also notes that use of “sophisticated monitoring tools” by the manufacturers allowed them to “effectively track resale price setting in the distribution network and to intervene swiftly in case of price decreases”.
“The price interventions limited effective price competition between retailers and led to higher prices with an immediate effect on consumers,” it added.
In particular, Asus, was found to have monitored the resale price of retailers for certain computer hardware and electronics products such as notebooks and displays — and to have done so in two EU Member States (Germany and France), between 2011 and 2014.” (1)
(1)
“EU fines Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer $130M for online price fixing”
https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/24/eu-fines-asus-denon-marantz-philips-and-pioneer-130m-for-online-price-fixing/