Intel

I’ve reviewed several Thunderbolt 3 SSDs over the last year or so, and the Akitio Node Lite with Intel Optane SSD is the best performer of them all. Advertising speeds up to 2600 MB/s read, it’s the only external SSD that I’ve tried thus far that skirts close to such a speed rating without being affected by noticeable thermal throttling.

Granted, the combo package of Akitio Node Lite + Intel Optane SSD should be a great performer, after all its price is $1500 for a 960GB SSD. That’s a lot of money to pay for storage when you can buy a 1TB version of Samsung’s bus-powered Thunderbolt 3 SSD for less than half the cost.

But if you’re in the market for an SSD that delivers workstation-class performance and endurance, then the Akitio Node Lite with Intel Optane SSD is worthy of consideration. Not only does it have a high performance ceiling, but it can sustain that performance while under load. Watch our hands-on video for more details.
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After much speculation and teasing, Intel today officially announced its new eighth-generation U-series and Y-series processors. The former was originally code-named Whiskey Lake, while the latter was referred to as Amber Lake. Both are optimized for use is “thin, light” laptops, according to the chipmaker.

Across the board, Intel touts that its new processors focus on providing “ultimately mobile performance and long battery life” for thine and light laptops, as well as 2-in-1s.

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It’s long been rumored that Apple is working on Macs powered by custom-designed ARM CPUs, moving away from Intel ones. Here at 9to5Mac we’ve long argued that it’s a question of when and not if, with one report even suggesting that Apple could make the switch as early as 2020.

That idea gets a big boost today as ARM claims that its upcoming CPUs will out-perform Intel ones …

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Earlier this month, Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro line with faster performance, but the company was forced to stick with 14-nanometer Coffee Lake processors due to delays from Intel. During its Q2 earnings call this week, however, Intel finally offered more details on when its 10-nanometer Cannon Lake CPUs will be available…

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A new report claims Apple has notified Intel that it will not use the chipmaker’s radio chips in its 2020 iPhones. It goes on to say that as Apple was the primary customer for the combined 5G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, Intel has now halted development of the product and disbanded the team working on it …

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Intel is now making its next-generation modems, the XMM 7560, which will be used in the 2018 iPhone lineup. The modem represents a milestone for Intel in a couple of ways; it is the first chip to be manufactured solely in-house and it is Intel’s first chip to support CDMA and GSM. In previous years, Intel outsourced manufacturing to TSMC and all CDMA iPhones (e.g. Verizon and Sprint models) had to use Qualcomm chips as the Intel modem could not support CDMA.

Apple’s original plan for the 2018 iPhones, via Nikkei, was for Intel to have exclusivity on modem orders for the first time — amidst its legal disputes with Qualcomm. However, this is apparently not going to happen this year because Intel has faced some as-yet-unresolved quality issues as it ramps production.

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Apple has reportedly poached multiple engineers and research staff from Intel for a new facility in Washington County, close to the chipmaker’s home base.

The hiring appears to have begun back in November, and is likely to further fuel speculation about Apple replacing Intel chips with its own ARM-based Mac CPUs within the next few years …

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Google’s Project Zero and Microsoft today disclosed the latest variant of the Spectre and Meltdown security flaws that were originally revealed in January. Intel is referring to this one as “Variant 4,” and it uses some of the same security vulnerabilities as the initial discovery…

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Today, Thunderbolt 3 peripheral specialist Akitio announced a new partnership with Intel that has resulted in a special edition version of the Akitio Node PCIe box. The collaboration sees Intel contributing its just-released Optane 905P, a 960GB PCIe SSD — the current king of SSDs from a speed perspective — to the fire engine red Thunderbolt 3 enclosure.
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As its relationship with Qualcomm continues to strain, Apple is looking to move away from the chipmaker entirely as an iPhone supplier. A new report from Fast Company today, however, says Apple won’t be able to ditch Qualcomm entirely this year…

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It’s almost exactly a year since I last discussed the possibility of Apple ditching Intel in favor of Macs powered by Apple-designed CPUs. I argued then that it was a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if,’ echoing a view earlier expressed by my colleague Chance.

Bloomberg yesterday suggested that the ‘when’ might be 2020. That might seem like an ambitious timescale, but I do firmly believe two things. One, Apple is already running ARM-based Mac prototypes internally. Two, if it doesn’t happen in 2020, it won’t be too long afterwards …

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Longstanding rumors of Apple making an eventual switch from Intel to its own Mac CPUs may have been given fresh impetus by yesterday’s Bloomberg report, but Macs will be using Intel chips for some time yet.

Intel has today announced a new high-end laptop CPU that could be an interesting candidate for this year’s MacBook Pro …

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Update: President Trump has blocked Broadcom’s takeover of Qualcomm, citing national security concerns.

Some 13 years after Intel turned down the opportunity to make the CPU for the upcoming iPhone, it is now considering the world’s biggest ever tech acquisition to deal with the threat that decision continues to pose today.

In 2005, when Apple was working on the first-generation iPhone to be launched in 2007, Steve Jobs invited Intel to pitch for the CPU business for the planned smartphone. Not believing Apple’s sales projections, and not seeing any way to make money from it, Intel turned him down …

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Intel reportedly did not disclose Meltdown or Spectre security flaws to U.S. cyber security officials after being notified of the flaws because hackers had not exploited the vulnerabilities yet, Reuters reports.

The company did not disclose the information to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, better known as US-CERT, until January 3. This was after the details of the vulnerabilities had leaked online.

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In response to the massive Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities exposed last week, Intel is reaffirming its commitment to security. The company’s CEO Brian Krzanich today published an open letter outlining Intel’s continued focus on security…

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A new report today from KGI shares projections that the 2018 iPhones will include significantly faster baseband chips from Intel and Qualcomm, although Intel will be the main supplier.

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