Intel’s CES 2019 press conference was filled with fresh electronic beats, the latest generation in computer processing technology, autonomous cars ready for a bit of assertive driving, and a blip of the company’s vision for the future of computing. Dropping updates on the company’s upcoming 5G wireless strategy, along with its Coffee Lake and Ice Lake CPUs, a lot of new technology will be heading into the hands of consumers and enterprises alike.
The Intel CPU is continuing to shrink, and Ice Lake is promising to bring computing down to a 10nm production node this holiday season. The processor promises to include the typical improvements we see with every generation including better battery performance and faster graphics, but it has a few tricks up its sleeves.
The new SOC running the Sunny Cove architecture will feature Intel’s DL boost technology, allowing for faster AI computations. Intel notes that the included tech will enable Intel’s CPUs to perform machine learning tasks up to two times faster than a chip without DL boost
Ice Lake CPUs will also include integrated, native Thunderbolt 3 support and Wi-Fi 6 capabilities for the fastest connections via wired or wireless options.
Last October Intel launched its first collection of ninth generation Coffee Lake CPUs for desktop systems. Today at CES, the company introduced six additional chips that will be joining the family, including the Core i5-9400.
With six cores, a base clock of 2.9GHz, and a boost clock of 4.1GHz, the Core i5-9400 is targeted at, well, just about everyone. Like the Core i5-8400 before it, and the i5-7400 before it, the i5-9400 is a solidly mainstream component that should work for just about everyone.
The first new processors will be available January 2019, with more coming through the second quarter of 2019.
It wasn’t that long ago machines were unable to switch on-the-fly between different graphics solutions, providing an experience that might be powerful, but also took a hard hit on battery life. Intel’s latest project showcasing Lake Field CPUs aims at solving similar issues within processors using a hybrid approach. Packed inside a Lake Field chip is five individual cores — four Atom-based cores for less intensive tasks and a larger fifth core for more power-hungry tasks.
Intel’s Foveros packaging technology helps to enable the new hybrid CPUs with a stacking design. Facilitating the creation of smaller boards and thinner PCs, the Foveros packaging process allows Intel to stack chip technology vertically, reducing the overall physical size of the chip.
Intel stopped taking about Project Athena at their press conference almost as soon as they began talking about it. A new set of industry standards, similar to when Intel introduced the ultrabook, Project Athena is planning on changing the way we compute. Or, at least, that’s what Intel says.
For now, all we know is that Intel’s vision is squarely focused on building hybrid machines that keep us connected, and are adaptable to our daily lives. From the company’s included imagery on-stage, and past comments from the company, we know that Intel sees the physical keyboard as dead with dual screen machines taking the spotlight.
From Intel’s showcase in Las Vegas, we know that the company will be teaming up with Alibaba to create 3D athlete tracking technologies using regular camera data. Viewers and judges of the 2020 Olympics will be able to carefully analyze athlete data and statistics thanks to DL Boost technology found on the company’s Xeon Cascade Lake chipset, in addition to future technology not yet released to enterprise users.
Intel also showcased research coming from MobileEye, an Intel-owned company, focused on creating advanced computer vision solutions for the world of autonomous vehicles. Both Intel and Ordnance Survey, Great Britain’s national mapping agency, will set out to bring higher-precision data to local government agencies and businesses. Additionally, the company has announced how they have begun integrating assertive, yet safe, driving techniques into their autonomous vehicles thanks to machine learning.
Intel is breaking into a new market with their Snow Ridge chipset, producing telecom equipment to enable faster 5GB performance for mobile devices. A business that Intel had previously steered clear of, beyond modem production, the company now confidently states they will have over a 40 percent stake within by 2020. Developing new hardware designed and inspired by existing server technologies, Intel will be shrinking down boards to produce the cellular phone equipment, hopefully ushering in the next wave of mobile broadband technology.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.