Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon Reality Elite Platform, a significant upgrade to its lineup of dedicated SoCs for mixed reality and spatial computing devices. The new platform, designed for premium Android XR devices, boasts improved performance, power efficiency, and on-device AI capabilities. Key features include up to 48 TOPS of AI performance, 60% higher GPU performance, and up to 20% longer battery life. The Snapdragon Reality Elite will power the next wave of Android XR devices, offering [...]

Advanced semiconductor packaging facilities face construction challenges due to the need for parallel Base Build design and Tool Install equipment finalization. Conventional approaches result in oversized utility systems, wasted capital, and rework. An integrated solution combines a Digital Utility Matrix with BIM-based Combined Services Management, enabling right-sizing of utility systems and reducing congestion. This approach has been successfully applied in a case study, reducing main exhaust duct area by 15% and resolving conflicts without affecting the Base [...]

Samsung Electronics' Semiconductor R&D Center has successfully built a 3D Stacked Field Effect Transistor, a breakthrough in overcoming the physical limits of chip miniaturization. The achievement was presented at the VLSI Symposium 2026 and received the Best Paper award. This innovation adopts a vertical structure, stacking devices on top of one another, allowing for twice as many transistors to fit on a wafer of the same area. The research team reduced the gate pitch to 42 nanometers, [...]

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Amkor Technology have signed a 10-year agreement to expand advanced semiconductor packaging capacity in Arizona. This move aims to bring a more complete chip supply chain to the United States. The joint expansion will enhance domestic production capabilities, reducing reliance on international supply chains. The agreement is significant as it marks a major investment in the US semiconductor industry. Amkor Technology will benefit from the partnership, gaining access to TSMC's advanced technology. [...]

Qualcomm is aggressively betting on the next major computing platform not being a phone, with over 40 AI wearable devices in development, including jewelry, earbuds, and smart glasses. To power this vision, the company is announcing two new offerings: Snapdragon Reality Elite, a platform for mixed-reality glasses, and START, a combination of hardware modules and software stack for AI devices. Snapdragon Reality Elite delivers significant performance improvements, enabling better head and hand tracking, see-through capabilities, and quick [...]

The 2nm node manufacturing process poses significant challenges, including tighter material performance and lower defectivity requirements, as well as yield-critical filtration. Global capacity remains limited due to capital intensity, EUV availability, and steep yield learning curves. NY Creates, a semiconductor R&D center, is addressing these challenges through its High NA EUV Lithography Center, a $1 billion investment that has attracted $9 billion in industry investment. Collaborative efforts at the center have led to breakthroughs, including IBM's demonstration [...]

NVIDIA has launched the RTX Spark, an ARM-powered system on a chip designed to compete with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Series and other CPU manufacturers. The RTX Spark features an ARM Cortex-powered CPU and a Blackwell RTX GPU with up to 6,144 CUDA cores. This move comes after Microsoft and Qualcomm laid the groundwork for Windows ARM support with the introduction of the Prism emulation layer and optimized OS tweaks. The RTX Spark will run Windows, unlike NVIDIA's [...]