Latest news with #A-series
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Time of India
Google Pixel 9a review: Camera excellence with no frills
Ratings- 3.5/5 Google's A-series has long been the gateway to its premium Pixel experience at a more accessible price point, and the new Pixel 9a continues that legacy with a refreshed approach. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Priced at Rs 49,999 in India, the Pixel 9a positions itself as the most affordable entry into the Pixel 9 lineup—without cutting too many corners. It arrives with a redesigned chassis, a sleek new camera pill, and under the hood, the same Tensor G4 processor that fuels the flagship Pixel 9. While the smartphone sounds like a solid upgrade over last year's Pixel 8a—but how does it hold up in real-world use? Let's find out Pixel 9a design Using the Pixel 9a for the past few days, the first thing that stood out was how different it feels compared to earlier A-series phones. Google has switched to a flat-edge design this year, and it's a noticeable shift if you've used the Pixel 8a or anything before that. The aluminum frame meets the back glass at sharp right angles, which gives it a more squared-off feel in hand. The camera design also gets a major change. The signature Pixel visor that's been around since the Pixel 6 is gone. In its place is a small, pill-shaped camera glass. At once, it may look off and may become a talking point, but you get used to it. Another surprise is the speaker placement. It's now on the right side at the bottom, instead of the left. In daily use, this actually helped while watching videos in landscape mode. As my hand didn't block the sound like it usually does with other phones. The buttons are still in Google's usual order, with the power button above the volume rocker. The materials are what you'd expect at this price point. The front of Pixel 9a uses Gorilla Glass 3, which is a bit dated but holds up okay for daily use. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The back is plastic, with a smooth matte finish. It looks and feels decent. One nice upgrade is the IP68 rating. That means it can handle dust and water better than the Pixel 8a, which was rated at IP67. In terms of size, the Pixel 9a lands in a sweet spot. With 154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9 mm measurements, it's nearly as big as the Pixel 9 (152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm), but still smaller than most phones in this range. Having said that, Pixel 9a 's not a compact phone, but it doesn't feel too large either. Pixel 9a display The Pixel 9a comes with a 6.3-inch pOLED display, and after using it for a few days, it's clear that Google has stepped things up a bit here. The screen is slightly larger and sharper than the one on the Pixel 8a, and it's noticeably brighter. Outdoors, especially under direct sunlight, we had no trouble reading the screen. That said, the bezels are still there. They're uniform on all sides, which helps a bit visually, but you do notice them while watching videos or gaming. They are not a dealbreaker and are comparatively thick by today's standards. With a 120Hz refresh rate, the display offers an instantly noticeable level of smoothness, whether you're scrolling through social media, switching between apps, or simply navigating the user interface. Its responsiveness makes interactions feel seamless and fluid. Additionally, the always-on display (AOD) allows for quick glances at the time or notifications without needing to pick up the phone. However, during our review, we opted to disable the AOD to conserve battery life, as keeping it on does contribute to additional power consumption. Under the screen is the optical fingerprint scanner which gets the job done. There's no Dolby Vision support here, which limits some of the HDR playback options, especially on platforms that support it. You still get HDR10, and most users won't notice the difference, but if you watch a lot of HDR content, it's worth knowing. Pixel 9a performance Google Pixel 9a runs on the same Tensor G4 chip that powers the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, and it shows. In everyday use, performance felt smooth and reliable. Apps opened quickly, multitasking was easy, and even during prolonged usage, the phone didn't slow down or heat up noticeably. We used the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant, and it handled everything we threw at it—whether it was switching between apps, browsing with multiple tabs open, or even editing photos in Google Photos. The UFS 3.1 storage also means apps load fast and large files don't take long to copy or move. On the software front, the Pixel 9a ships with Android 15 and comes with a promise of seven years of major Android updates. That's more than most phones in this price range and gives the phone a long shelf life. The experience is clean, fast, and free from bloatware—typical of Pixel devices. It's also packed with Pixel-exclusive features like Call Screen, Recorder with AI summaries, and Magic Editor in Photos, all of which actually come in handy once you get used to them. Face unlock and fingerprint both work well, and combined with fast software, unlocking the phone or authenticating apps feels seamless. Overall, the Pixel 9a delivers the same core experience as the more expensive Pixel 9, which makes it a solid performer for its price. Pixel 9a camera The Pixel 9a has a dual camera setup on the back—a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultra-wide. There's also a 13MP selfie camera on the front. The main sensor is new this year, but the ultra-wide and front cameras are the same as last year's Pixel 8a. During everyday use, the main camera delivers impressive results, capturing sharp images with natural colors across various lighting conditions—whether in daylight, indoors, or early evening. It consistently produces clean, well-balanced shots with minimal effort, making it highly reliable. The Ultra HDR feature enhances images further, especially in brightly lit scenes, ensuring vibrant and visually striking photos on the display. Zoom on Pixel 9a is all digital—there's no dedicated zoom lens. There's a 2x zoom toggle in the app, which works well and gives usable shots. Beyond 2x, image quality drops quickly. You'll see a loss in detail at 5x or 8x. The ultra-wide camera does okay in good light. It maintains similar color tones to the main sensor. Google Pixel 9a has good macro capabilities and we got some nice close-up shots. Just get close to your subject, and the camera takes care of the rest. Selfies look sharp and well-balanced in good lighting conditions, delivering natural skin tones and clarity. Performance in low-light settings is satisfactory. Portrait mode offers decent background blur. Edge detection occasionally struggles with precise subject separation. Pixel 9a battery Pixel 9a packs a 5,100mAh battery, and in daily use, it really holds up. With regular tasks like calls, chats, scrolling through social media, watching a few videos, and some light camera use, the phone easily lasted a full day. Charging, however, is a different story. The Pixel 9a supports up to 23W wired charging and 7.5W wireless charging, but you don't get a charger in the box. It took more than an hour and a half for Pixel 9a to hit 100%. Verdict Google Pixel 9a comes with a starting price of Rs 49,999, and for that price, it gets a lot right. You get solid performance, clean software with long-term updates, good battery life, and one of the best cameras in this segment. The display is sharp and bright, and the design—while plain—is practical. But there are trade-offs. Charging is not very fast, the camera app needs polish, and the plastic back. All in all, if you value clean Android UI, reliable performance, and great photos over flashy features, the Pixel 9a is a phone worth considering.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TSMC's upcoming 2nm microchip is a breakthrough. Here's what it means for the future of tech — from AI to smartphones.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On April 1, 2025, the Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC introduced the world's most advanced microchip: the 2 nanometre (2nm) chip. Mass production is expected for the second half of the year, and TSMC promises it will represent a major step forward in performance and efficiency — potentially reshaping the technological landscape. Microchips are the foundation of modern technology, found in nearly all electronic devices, from electric toothbrushes and smartphones to laptops and household appliances. They are made by layering and etching materials like silicon to create microscopic circuits containing billions of transistors. These transistors are effectively tiny switches, managing the flow of electricity and allowing computers to work. In general, the more transistors a chip contains, the faster and more powerful it becomes. The microchip industry consistently endeavors to pack more transistors into a smaller area, leading to faster, more powerful, and energy efficient technological devices. Compared to the previous most advanced chip, known as 3nm chips, TSMC's 2nm technology should deliver notable benefits. These include a 10%-15% boost in computing speed at the same power level or a 20-30% reduction in power usage at the same speed. Additionally, transistor density in 2nm chips is increased by about 15%, over and above the 3nm technology. This should enable devices to operate faster, consume less energy, and manage more complex tasks efficiently. Taiwan's microchip industry is closely tied into its security. It is sometimes referred to as the "silicon shield", because its widespread economic importance incentivises the US and allies to defend Taiwan against the possibility of Chinese invasion. Related: China's new 2D transistor could soon be used to make the world's fastest processors TSMC recently struck a US$100 billion deal (£76 billion) to build five new US factories. However, there is uncertainty over whether the 2nm chips can be manufactured outside Taiwan, as some officials are concerned that could undermine the island's security. Established in 1987, TSMC, which stands for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, manufactures chips for other companies. Taiwan accounts for 60% of the global "foundry" market (the outsourcing of semiconductor manufacturing) and the vast majority of that comes from TSMC alone. TSMC's super-advanced microchips are used by other companies in a wide range of devices. It manufactures Apple's A-series processors used in iPhones, iPads, and Macs, it produces NVidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) used for machine learning and AI applications. It also makes AMD's Ryzen and EPYC processors used by supercomputers worldwide, and it produces Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors, used by Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Google phones. In 2020, TSMC started a special microchip miniaturization process, called 5nm FinFET technology, that played a crucial role in smartphone and high-performance computing (HPC) development. HPC is the practice of getting multiple processors to work simultaneously on complex computing problems. Two years later, TSMC launched a 3nm miniaturization process based on even smaller microchips. This further enhanced performance and power efficiency. Apple's A-series processor, for example, is based on this technology. Smartphones, laptops and tablets with 2nm chips could benefit from better performance and longer battery life. This will lead to smaller, lighter devices without sacrificing power. The efficiency and speed of 2nm chips has the potential to enhance AI-based applications such as voice assistants, real time language translation, and autonomous computer systems (those designed to work with minimal to no human input). Data centers could experience reduced energy consumption and improved processing capabilities, contributing to environmental sustainability goals. Sectors like autonomous vehicles and robotics could benefit from the increased processing speed and reliability of the new chips, making these technologies safer and more practical for widespread adoption. This all sounds really promising, but while 2nm chips represent a technological milestone, they also pose challenges. The first one is related to the manufacturing complexity. Producing 2nm chips requires cutting-edge techniques like extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. This complex and expensive process increases production costs and demands extremely high precision. RELATED STORIES —AI-designed chips are so weird that 'humans cannot really understand them' — but they perform better than anything we've created —Light-powered computer chip can train AI much faster than components powered by electricity —Tiny AI chip modeled on the human brain set to boost battery life in smart devices Another big issue is heat. Even with relatively lower consumption, as transistors shrink and densities increase, managing heat dissipation becomes a critical challenge. Overheating can impact chip performance and durability. In addition, at such a small scale, traditional materials like silicon may reach their performance limits, requiring the exploration of different materials. That said, the enhanced computational power, energy efficiency, and miniaturization enabled by these chips could be a gateway to a new era of consumer and industrial computing. Smaller chips could lead to breakthroughs in tomorrow's technology, creating devices that are not only powerful but also discreet and more environmentally friendly. This edited article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Forbes
07-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Samsung Releases New Feature Boost To More Galaxy Phones
After making a new $180 offer to Galaxy A56 buyers, Samsung has now announced that it is rolling out more AI tools for its A-series of Galaxy phones titled 'Awesome Intelligence.' Much like fun-sized chocolates, the 'awesome' part is a bit of marketing that actually represents a smaller, lesser, version of the real thing. Awesome Intelligence is separate from Galaxy AI, with the latter offering premium generative abilities that aren't possible to less powerful hardware. The new AI toolkit is available on Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G models. Beyond Circle to Search, this is the first introduction of a named, dedicated, AI suite of tools for Samsung's more budget-friendly models, with Samsung citing its hope to "democratize AI" as a motivating factor. The full suite of features focuses on automating common tasks. The heavyweight generative AI features, such as Live Translate, Note Assist, and Generative photo editing, alongside others, are missing from the new AI experience. Part of this will be down to the hardware limitations of budget phones. With that said, the most complex AI tools rely on cloud processing. It's not entirely clear if the cheaper Galaxy devices could run the generative tools considering they're mostly cloud-based. But it makes business sense for Samsung to distinguish between its premium and budget handsets. Samsung, Google and Apple have spent a lot of ad money on marketing AI as the cutting-edge premium smartphone experience. Making Galaxy AI available to sub-$500 phones, which are often heavily discounted, doesn't fit in with that high-end image—even if it is possible to extend the full suite to all modern phones thanks to cloud processing. Stay on top of the latest deal news by hitting the follow button below, or following me on Facebook.
Asia Times
05-04-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
Taiwan's new 2nm chip set to power the AI revolution
On April 1, 2025, the Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC introduced the world's most advanced microchip: the 2-nanometer (2nm) chip. Mass production is expected for the second half of the year, and TSMC promises it will represent a major step forward in performance and efficiency – potentially reshaping the technological landscape. Microchips are the foundation of modern technology, found in nearly all electronic devices, from electric toothbrushes and smartphones to laptops and household appliances. They are made by layering and etching materials like silicon to create microscopic circuits containing billions of transistors. These transistors are effectively tiny switches, managing the flow of electricity and allowing computers to work. In general, the more transistors a chip contains, the faster and more powerful it becomes. The microchip industry consistently endeavors to pack more transistors into a smaller area, leading to faster, more powerful and energy-efficient technological devices. Compared to the previous most advanced chip, known as 3nm chips, TSMC's 2nm technology should deliver notable benefits. These include a 10%-15% boost in computing speed at the same power level or a 20%-30% reduction in power usage at the same speed. Additionally, transistor density in 2nm chips is increased by about 15%, over and above the 3nm technology. This should enable devices to operate faster, consume less energy, and manage more complex tasks efficiently. Taiwan's microchip industry is closely tied to its security. It is sometimes referred to as the 'silicon shield', because its widespread economic importance incentivizes the US and allies to defend Taiwan against the possibility of Chinese invasion. TSMC recently struck a US$100 billion deal to build five new US factories. However, there is uncertainty over whether the 2nm chips can be manufactured outside Taiwan, as some officials are concerned that could undermine the island's security. Established in 1987, TSMC, which stands for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, manufactures chips for other companies. Taiwan accounts for 60% of the global 'foundry' market (the outsourcing of semiconductor manufacturing) and the vast majority of that comes from TSMC alone. TSMC's super-advanced microchips are used by other companies in a wide range of devices. It manufactures Apple's A-series processors used in iPhones, iPads, and Macs, it produces NVidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) used for machine learning and AI applications. It also makes AMD's Ryzen and EPYC processors used by supercomputers worldwide, and it produces Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors, used by Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Google phones. In 2020, TSMC started a special microchip miniaturisation process, called 5nm FinFET technology, that played a crucial role in smartphone and high-performance computing (HPC) development. HPC is the practice of getting multiple processors to work simultaneously on complex computing problems. Two years later, TSMC launched a 3nm miniaturization process based on even smaller microchips. This further enhanced performance and power efficiency. Apple's A-series processor, for example, is based on this technology. TSMC makes the world's most advanced microchips. Photo: Michael Vi / Shutterstock Smartphones, laptops and tablets with 2nm chips could benefit from better performance and longer battery life. This will lead to smaller, lighter devices without sacrificing power. The efficiency and speed of 2nm chips have the potential to enhance AI-based applications such as voice assistants, real-time language translation and autonomous computer systems (those designed to work with minimal to no human input). Data centers could experience reduced energy consumption and improved processing capabilities, contributing to environmental sustainability goals. Sectors like autonomous vehicles and robotics could benefit from the increased processing speed and reliability of the new chips, making these technologies safer and more practical for widespread adoption. This all sounds really promising, but while 2nm chips represent a technological milestone, they also pose challenges. The first one is related to the manufacturing complexity. Producing 2nm chips requires cutting-edge techniques like extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. This complex and expensive process increases production costs and demands extremely high precision. Another big issue is heat. Even with relatively lower consumption, as transistors shrink and densities increase, managing heat dissipation becomes a critical challenge. Overheating can impact chip performance and durability. In addition, at such a small scale, traditional materials like silicon may reach their performance limits, requiring the exploration of different materials. That said, the enhanced computational power, energy efficiency, and miniaturisation enabled by these chips could be a gateway to a new era of consumer and industrial computing. Smaller chips could lead to breakthroughs in tomorrow's technology, creating devices that are not only powerful but also discreet and more environmentally friendly. Domenico Vicinanza is an associate professor of intelligent systems and data science, Anglia Ruskin University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Google officially introduces the Pixel 9a for $499
Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products. Google has followed up an ocean's worth of leaks with the official announcement of its Pixel 9a smartphone, which will retail for $499. Possibly the biggest change to the new A-series model is in its appearance, with the removal of the camera bar on the back of the phone. In the 9a, the camera housing is "slightly domed," sitting nearly flush with the rest of the frame, giving this midrange model a sleeker appearance. There are also new colors for this series — a pale purple dubbed Iris and a vibrant pink named Peony — joining the usual Porcelain and Obsidian options. (The peony option is similar to that on the pricier Pixel 9.) The Pixel 9a is also getting a chip upgrade, moving up to Google's Tensor G4 processor from the G3 that was in Google's excellent Pixel 8a. Performance in the 8a was already quite good, so expect even smoother control with the G4. As with the 8a, the 9a is equipped with 8GB of RAM and comes with either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The new A-series also promises up to "30+ hour battery life." Cameras were a big reason why we liked the Pixel 8a, naming it our top pick for a midrange smartphone. The housing is different in the 9a, but it's also got slightly different specs inside. The rear dual cameras in the 9a offer 48MP wide and 13MP ultrawide lenses, while the front is equipped with a 13MP selfie camera; the 8a had 64MP wide in the rear camera. It'll support AI-powered features such as Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Best Take and Photo Unblur. Google is bringing the Macro Focus option to the A-series for the first time for photos with lots of close-up details. There's also Night Sight to help improve your nocturnal photography. The 9a will be available in the US and Canada in North America, as well as numerous other countries in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Google says the device will be available in April, with no further detail on specific timing. Update, March 19 2025, 12:16PM ET: This story has been updated to correct the last sentence, which said pre-orders would open in April. There will be no pre-orders.
