See the sun do a somersault, courtesy of NASA’s observatory

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory took a photo of the sun every 12 seconds on July 6th, and the results aren’t quite what you’d expect. A time-lapse video of the images makes it look like the sun is doing a somersault, because the SDO was spinning 360-degrees on one axis when it captured them. The observatory performs the seven-hour maneuver once a year to take an accurate measurement of the star’s edge. See, the solar surface is pretty chaotic, and the spacecraft has tough time finding its outermost layer while it’s stationary. SDO’s images were taken in extreme ultraviolet wavelength, but NASA colorized the sun in the video below, so we can see it tumbling in space.

Source: NASA

TSMC to be Sole Supplier of A11 Chip for Apple’s ‘iPhone 8’

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly secured exclusive orders for the A11 processor expected to power Apple’s 2017 “iPhone 8”.

According to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN), the Taiwan-based foundry will be the sole supplier of Apple’s next-generation A11 chip, which will be built on a 10nm FinFET process.

TSMC co-CEO Mark Liu announced at the company’s recent investors meeting that its first 10nm customer product has been produced with “satisfactory yield” and that three products had already been “taped out”.

Taping out refers to the initial design of the chip having been completed for creation of the masks that will be used to print the actual chips, although further tweaks are likely as test production is carried out. TSMC is said to have begun taping out the design for Apple’s A11 processor in May. Xilinx, MediaTek, and HiSilicon are said to be the other customers that will use the company’s 10nm process technology.

TSMC is already the exclusive manufacturer of Apple’s A10 chip which will power the iPhone 7 range expected to launch this September. TSMC is thought to have reached the deal with Apple thanks to its advanced device packaging techniques, capable of higher-width memory buses and lower-power operation, which for consumers means better performance and efficiency.

TSMC’s production for Apple’s A11 chips is expected to start generating revenues for the company in the first quarter of 2017, with revenues to “ramp steeply” throughout the rest of the year, according to Liu.

Apple is said to have a radical redesign planned for 2017’s “iPhone 8”, possibly coming with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that includes an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor and front-facing camera.

(Via DigiTimes.)

Tags: TSMC, A11 chip
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UK Chip Designer ARM to be Acquired by Japan’s Softbank for $31.4bn

British chip designer and major Apple partner ARM Holdings is set to be acquired by Japanese firm Softbank for $31.4 billion, the BBC has revealed.

According to the report, the board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer, which amounts to a 43 percent premium on its closing market value of $22.2 billion last week.

Shares in the U.K. technology firm surged by 45 percent at the open of the London Stock Exchange this morning on news of the deal, adding $10 billion to ARM’s market value.

The Cambridge-based company was founded in 1990 and employs 3,000 staff. The acquisition is said to be the biggest ever purchase of a European technology company, one that will be funded by Softbank’s own cash reserves and a long-term loan from Japan’s Mizuho Bank. Commenting on the deal, chairman and chief executive of Softbank, Masayoshi Son, said:

This is one of the most important acquisitions we have ever made, and I expect ARM to be a key pillar of SoftBank’s growth strategy going forward.

We have long admired ARM as a world renowned and highly respected technology company that is by some distance the market leader in its field. ARM will be an excellent strategic fit with the Softbank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the Internet of Things.

ARM designs the processors that power all of Apple’s iOS devices, as well as most of Samsung’s smartphones, and receives royalties on each chip made to its specifications. Last year over 15 billion ARM-designed processors were shipped, up 3 billion on the previous year.

Softbank is one of the world’s biggest technology companies, having previously acquired Vodafone’s Japanese operations and U.S. telecoms company Sprint. The latter $20 billion deal was the biggest foreign acquisition by a Japanese firm at the time.

Following the announcement of today’s deal, ARM said it would keep its headquarters in Cambridge and double the number of its staff over the next five years. Softbank also intends to preserve the UK tech firm’s organization, including its existing senior management structure and partnership-based business model.

Tags: ARM, Softbank
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Pocket-lint Adventures: Monkeying around on Go Ape with TomTom Bandit

Although there’s lots to do at ground level in Alice Holt Forest, Surrey, some of the greatest adventures are to be had in the tree tops. With separate Go Ape courses for both adults and children, there’s plenty of monkeying around to be had, for big or little kids.

Go Ape is an easy adventure to get into, because you only need a brief introduction, and to demonstrate you understand how to use the equipment safely, before you’re off climbing your first ladder into the treetops. After that, all you pretty much need is nerves of steel.

Mixed into the adrenaline-fuelled ziplines and confidence-challenging balance beams, there’s a serene sense of calm. Those platforms are high, but the views are amazing. The sounds of walkers on the forest floor drift up, as you test your mettle again climbs, swings and all manner of high-wire trials.

The TomTom Bandit is a welcome companion, capturing the fun along the way. It’s light enough to carry, small enough to slip into a pocket and thanks to its water resistance, it doesn’t matter when it starts raining. 

The unique quick-release mount on the bottom has an added advantage, as you can set the camera down to film from a level platform without needing any extra stands or mounts. Thankfully, the smartphone connection means you can check the view before you start your daring crossing, and make sure you capture the action.

With instant sharing from your phone, and the ability to edit in an instance, the Bandit will make sure that everyone gets to see just how much fun you’ve been having.

The TomTom Bandit has been a great companion for this Pocket-lint Adventure and we can’t wait to tackle the next.

Zemi Aria speaker review: Majors and minors

When we meet Francesco Pellisari, the designer of the Zemi Aria speaker, he’s a mixture of eccentric Italian and yet quiet in that seemingly genius-like manner. Does his latest speaker exhibit the same qualities as its designer?

We’re drawn to the Zemi Aria for a number of reasons: it’s striking to look at, with the same sort of distinction that the original B&W Zeppelin had; it also is distributed in Apple stores – or at least was, it’s since disappeared from the online listings – which means it has mass-market appeal and might already have you wondering whether it’s worth parting with £500 to own one.

The answer is a mixed bag. At its best the Aria is great. At its worst (i.e. at low volumes) it’s average and won’t suit all music genres. Here’s what we’ve come to think after using the speaker for a number of months.

Zemi Aria review: Design

The Aria is about the size of a bowling ball; all round, except for a cut-off front, complete with silver grille with a swirl of circular openings. To the back there’s an open port to for the on button, mini USB connector and power.

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The speaker sits on a separate stand so it can be angled to a sensible position (and not just roll around aimlessly), which is important for the best possible sound projection. That front grille also helps with pseudo stereo separation, although its magnetic connection means it can be easily removed should you prefer.

There’s Bluetooth with aptX for optimum quality and Wi-Fi connectivity for Apple AirPlay connectivity. It does need a wired USB connection to setup via WiFi, though, which sounds like something from the distant past. We’re Android users, so have been restricted to Bluetooth playback – but have found the connection to be solid at all times.

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There’s also an included remote control, should you want to use it, but we don’t think its silver and straightforward design fits with the Aria’s altogether more exuberant design.

Zemi Aria review: Sound quality

Now here’s where things get really interesting: because the Zemi Aria can sound really great… but it can also sound really dull. We’ve found it to be one of those speakers perfect for some situations, but quite the opposite for others.

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When we first setup the Aria it was sat on our desk, as we so often do with review speakers. In this close-to-ears proximity its highs sound far too sharp, almost overly resonant – most notable with hi-hats and the like.

If you don’t want to disturb the neighbours then you’ll want to keep the volume down too. That was our predicament, so with the volume kept to a limited level we wondered what, indeed, it was about the Aria that was worth £500 – because at low volumes it just sounds muddy and lacking any pomp.

But warm the Aria up, set the volume higher, even massage an equaliser in iTunes to give a little enhancement to the low-end, and it can sound fantastic. At those mid-high volumes it can soar.

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That point about an equaliser for bass is a repeat point of note, though, as the Aria is perhaps better set for classic music than it is bass-driven genres. That’s fine, but it won’t suit all, and with no on-board presets – Pellisari is particular about his audio preferences – you’ll need to use third-party software for tweaks.

Verdict

So there you have it: the Zemi Aria is a visually interesting, potentially great-sounding speaker. You’ll just need to raise the volume and, for certain types of music, tweak the bass for the best possible output.

At £500, however, the likes of the Naim Mu-so Qb give the Aria a lot to think about. This Pellisari creation lacks the more technologically advanced processes, there are no presets and no multi-room functionality either.

That and its lack of pomp at lower volumes hold it back from being a vision of greatness. Still, with the settings set right it’s a decent speaker, both visually and aurally.

It’s official: SoftBank is buying ARM for $31 billion

Japan’s SoftBank is acquiring ARM Holdings for $31 billion (£24 billion). The British chip design firm dominates the smartphone market, with its lineup of chips used in 95% of handsets today.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said that ARM would function as an independent business, with an intention to double its headcount in the UK over the next five years:

We have long admired ARM as a world renowned and highly respected technology company that is by some distance the market-leader in its field. ARM will be an excellent strategic fit within the SoftBank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the “Internet of Things”.

This investment also marks our strong commitment to the UK and the competitive advantage provided by the deep pool of science and technology talent in Cambridge. As an integral part of the transaction, we intend to at least double the number of employees employed by ARM in the UK over the next five years.

SoftBank intends to invest in ARM, support its management team, accelerate its strategy and allow it to fully realise its potential beyond what is possible as a publicly listed company. It is also intended that ARM will remain an independent business within SoftBank, and continue to be headquartered in Cambridge, UK.

This is one of the most important acquisitions we have ever made, and I expect ARM to be a key pillar of SoftBank’s growth strategy going forward.

Unlike traditional semiconductor firms like Intel, ARM does not fabricate its own processors. It licenses the IP for its designs to manufacturers like Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, NVIDIA, Apple, and others. Companies can license its Cortex processors, or its chip architecture and design their own CPU, much like what Samsung did with the Exynos M1 CPU on the Exynos 8890 SoC that powers the Galaxy S7. The number of devices running ARM-designed hardware has crossed 60 billion last year.

SoftBank is a major investor in the tech space, having acquired stake in U.S. carrier Sprint, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, India’s e-commerce vendor Snapdeal and local ride aggregator Ola Cabs among others in recent years.

Chinese group’s $1.2 billion takeover of Opera falls through, new deal in place

A Chinese consortium of internet companies has failed to acquire Opera over lack of regulatory approval, according to Reuters. The Norwegian software maker has renegotiated with the consortium for the sale of its browser business for $600 million.

The consortium made a $1.2 billion bid to fully acquire Opera in February, and the move was approved by its shareholders in the month of May. With the deal falling through at the regulatory level, Opera is now selling its desktop and mobile browser business. The Chinese group comprised of mobile game distributor Kunlun and security firm Qihoo, along with investment funds Golden Brick and Yonglian.

OPPO teases the F1s, its successor to the F1 selfie phone

OPPO has announced the F1s, which the company will launch as the successor to the F1 selfie phone that was released earlier this year. Unfortunately, OPPO failed to provide any specifications for the upcoming handset, other than carrying on “the F1’s legacy of superb photography, sleek design and snappy performance, while adding new features and taking others to new heights.”

The company also noted just how popular the original F1 is in numerous markets, taking the $225-300 price bracket by storm. The OPPO F1s is set to arrive in August and we’ll hopefully have more details at hand as to exactly what’s new in the handset by that point.

Press Release

OPPO Announces F1s, Next-Level Successor to F1 “Selfie Expert”

Shenzhen, July 18, 2016 — Building on the strengths of its Selfie Expert F1, OPPO has announced a new successor to the device: the F1s. Set to arrive in August, the F1s will be one of OPPO’s core products for the second half of 2016, and will carry on the F1’s legacy of superb photography, sleek design and snappy performance, while adding new features and taking others to new heights.

At the beginning of the year, OPPO kicked off its photography-focused F series with the launch of the F1, which was positioned to give users the standout daily shooter they demanded at an amazing price. The success of the F1 helped propel OPPO to the highest year-on-year growth in Q1 of any of the top smartphone makers, growing shipments by 153.2%, according to IDC.

The device also occupied the top spot in the $225-$300 price range in India, Indonesia and Vietnam this May, grabbing the second spot in the category in Thailand and Malaysia.

“Global reception for the F1 has been incredible and users have given us a lot of great feedback, so we wanted to go one step further to bring them the ultimate experience. The upgraded F1s is going to be a huge hit,” said Sky Li, OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business.

He also said that OPPO will continue to focus on perfecting and innovating smartphone photography going forward, with new breakthroughs on the horizon.

Google scrapped plans for own Oculus Rift VR headset

Google reportedly had plans to take on Oculus, HTC and PlayStation with its own high-end virtual reality headset. However, it was scrapped with the company said to prefer to continue down the mobile VR route instead.

Recode claims that Google is streamlining its projects, which include ditching the more ambitious plans for VR. It cites “sources familiar with the plans” for the information.

Scrapping the standalone headset came at some cost, claimed the sources, with around 50 employees originally working on it. Interestingly though, they were also working on a VR operating system separate to Android, it is said.

• What is Daydream and when is it coming? Google’s Android VR platform explained
• Best VR headsets to buy in 2016, whatever your budget

The VR unit still remains, but it is likely to be working full time on Daydream now, Google’s unified mobile virtual reality technology.

We’re still waiting for the virtual reality tech market to kick on like many predicted at the beginning of 2016. Pricing and initial shipping delays for both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have ensured that take up of those headsets has been steady rather than explosive. However, the PlayStation VR headset is yet to be released, with units hitting stores in October.

It is thought its price and, more importantly, its compatibility with PS4 consoles millions already own globally could see VR gain momentum.