Daily Authority: 🖥️ A new hope for Arm PCs

👋 Hey there! Today is my first day back after a trip to the US for the MediaTek Executive Summit. Also, I bought a Pixel 7 Pro! So fingers crossed that I don’t suffer from any major issues. Our featured story today is about Qualcomm’s new custom CPU, expected to power PCs at some point down the line.

Qualcomm announces Oryon CPU

US chipmaker Qualcomm already announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 at its Tech Summit in Hawaii this week. But it had something else up its sleeve when it announced the Oryon CPU yesterday (November 16). Details are extremely light at this point, but here’s what we know.

The confirmed details

• The Snapdragon maker confirmed that Oryon is a custom CPU based on its acquisition of Nuvia over a year ago.
• The new CPU will replace Qualcomm’s Kryo CPUs, which are tweaked versions of stock Arm parts.
• Oryon will debut inside Snapdragon computing chipsets, so smartphone processors will need to wait.
• However, Qualcomm added that this was the first step towards a “one-platform solution.”
• In other words, Qualcomm could be using the same one-size-fits-all approach that Apple has used to such great effect.
• You only need to look at our Macbook Air M2 review to see what’s possible with this approach.

What should you expect?

• Nuvia was founded by some key people behind Apple’s own custom silicon efforts.
• So expectations are high that the new acquisition will lead to Apple-beating performance.
• It’s unclear if Oryon is simply a new name for Nuvia’s Phoenix server CPU which was designed before the Qualcomm deal.
• It would make sense though. Nuvia dished out some simulated benchmark results for the Phoenix back in 2020.
• The results show that the Phoenix CPU out-performed the Ryzen 4700U Zen 2 while consuming less power.
• It even out-performed the Apple A13.
• Other chipmakers haven’t been standing still, but Nuvia still claimed its CPU would have a healthy advantage after 18 months.

Rumors for the first product

• The Oryon announcement comes after a leak earlier this month pointed to a 2024 desktop chip. 
• Tipster Kuba Wojciechowski claimed that the chip is code-named Hamoa and could have 12 cores.
• The leak pointed to eight performance cores and 12 efficiency cores based on the Phoenix design. 
• Wojciechowski even claimed that the chip will offer support for discrete graphics — something missing from current Snapdragon PC chips.
• Other purported details include a similar memory/cache setup as Apple silicon and “extremely promising” performance.
• Either way, Qualcomm’s ability to steal a march on Apple in both the smartphone and PC space is dependent on Oryon working out.

Roundup

🎧 Qualcomm also had new audio and augmented reality announcements (Android Authority).

🌌 The newest James Webb wallpapers are here for your smartphone (Android Authority).

🕹️ Samsung expands cloud gaming to its older TVs (Android Authority).

💻 New test shows loose RTX 4090 power connectors cause overheating and melting: Make sure your connector is firmly connected and isn’t bending to the side (Ars Technica).

📱 We asked, you told us: You haven’t experienced any major issues with the Pixel 7 series (Android Authority).

🐦 Musk issues ultimatum to staff — Commit to ‘hardcore’ Twitter or take severance: Elon Musk sent out an email asking employees to commit to much longer hours or be fired (Washington Post).

🚗 Android Auto beta program lets more people sign up to try the redesign (Android Authority).

🔎 Intel introduces real-time deepfake detector: The tech detects blood flow all over a subject’s face to determine whether you’re looking at a deepfake. Intel claims a 96% accuracy rate, but we’re guessing this could soon become a game of whack-a-mole (Intel).

🍎 Only the iPhone 15 Pro will get a speed upgrade with USB-C, says analyst: It sounds like the non-Pro models will get USB-C but no speed boost (The Verge).

⚡ New details emerge about Motorola’s next flagship: Expect a huge charging speed upgrade over Apple and Samsung devices (Android Authority).

🎮 Gamers of Reddit, what are your personal favorite videogame music tracks or songs? (r/AskReddit).

Thursday Thing

NASA has finally launched the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, coming just over a decade after its development first commenced. The rocket was initially scheduled to be ready by 2016, but various challenges delayed the launch until now.

The Artemis 1 launch took place yesterday (November 16) and was a success for the actual rocket launch system. But there’s more to the mission than the launch itself. The unmanned Orion space capsule will orbit the moon for five days before splashing down off San Diego on December 11, Space News reports.

Have an out-of-this-world day!
Hadlee Simons, Editor