Earlier in the week it was revealed that NVIDIA had distributed next-gen AI GPUs to its most important ecosystem partners and customers—Dell's CEO expressed enthusiasm with his discussion of "Blackwell" B100 and B200 evaluation samples. Team Green's next-gen family of gaming GPUs have received less media attention in early 2024—a mid-February TPU report pointed to a rumored PCIe 6.0 CEM specification for upcoming RTX 50-series cards, but leaks have become uncommon since late last year. Top technology tipster, kopite7kimi, has broken the relative silence on Blackwell's gaming configurations—an early hours tweet posits a slightly underwhelming scenario: "although I still have fantasies about 512 bit, the memory interface configuration of GB20x is not much different from that of AD10x."

Past disclosures have hinted about next-gen NVIDIA gaming GPUs sporting memory interface configurations comparable to the current crop of "Ada Lovelace" models. The latest batch of insider information suggests that Team Green's next flagship GeForce RTX GPU—GB202—will stick with a 384-bit memory bus. The beefiest current-gen GPU AD102—as featured in GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards—is specced with a 384-bit interface. A significant upgrade for GeForce RTX 50xx cards could arrive with a step-up to next-gen GDDR7 memory—kopite7kimi reckons that top GPU designers will stick with 16 Gbit memory chip densities (2 GB). JEDEC officially announced its "GDDR7 Graphics Memory Standard" a couple of days ago. VideoCardz has kindly assembled the latest batch of insider info into a cross-generation comparison table (see below).

A Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite "X1E80100" processor model was leaked in late February—it is likely that several SKUs have been distributed for evaluation purposes. Geekbench Browser is normally a good source of pre-release information—a benched Lenovo "83ED" laptop was spotted last week. That entry outed a "Snapdragon X Elite-X1E78100" processor, sporting twelve cores with maximum frequencies of 3.42 GHz. The latest exposures arrive courtesy of a Baidu forum post. Qualcomm has publicly revealed its "X Elite" range of Nuvia-designed Oryon core CPUs, but insiders have uncovered an additional "X Plus" family—probably a series of less expensive/lower spec alternatives.

The leaked list of SKUs does not include any detailed information—it reconfirms the existence of Qualcomm's top-tier X1E80100 and X1E78100 models and the presence of Adreno iGPUs. Driver information points to Qualcomm's next-gen integrated graphics solutions being readied for modern APIs: DX11, DX12, and OpenGL. The firm's ARM-based mobile PC CPUs are expected to launch within a mid-2024 period, according to the company's official statements—insiders believe that the NPU-enhanced Snapdragon X processors are destined to debut within next-gen "Windows 12" AI-centric notebooks.

The US government is reported to be preparing a very healthy $3.5 billion investment in Intel Corporation—a mid-week published Bloomberg article proposes that the White House has authored a new "fast-moving spending bill." Congressional aides believe that Team Blue—upon official approval/signing off of funds—will be tasked with the production of advanced semiconductors for military and intelligence programs. Bloomberg posits that the resources will be sourced from a "Secure Enclave" project, seemingly linking to a wider tranche of funds within the US government's CHIPS and Science Act. The agreement/contract is expected to run over a period of three years. According to Bloomberg: "the Senate is expected to pass the legislation by a Saturday (March 9) deadline."

Reports from last November suggested that Intel leadership and US government representatives had engaged in negotiations regarding funds for military and intelligence chip applications—the construction costs for new manufacturing facilities were estimated to be in the $3 billion to $4 billion range. A Commerce Department statement was submitted to Bloomberg, but they only commented on an overall $10 billion budget: "We are still reviewing the effect of the appropriations text on the program...(we look) forward to continuing to work with Congress on implementing the Chips and Science Act in a manner the promotes our economic and national security." TSMC, Micron and Samsung are expected to receive "multi-billion-dollar awards" in the near future—these multinational corporations will assist in a bolstering of North American chip manufacturing capabilities.

Taiwan's Commercial Times has published coverage of a newly launched TSMC recruitment drive—proceedings kicked off last weekend with company representatives heading to the National Taiwan University campus. On the second of March, TSMC set up an outdoor booth on the grounds of Taipei's public research university—where the national comprehensive institute organized a Talent Recruitment Enterprise Expo. Unsurprisingly, TSMC recruiters are seeking potential "talents with high enthusiasm for semiconductors." Ctee's reporter found out that Taiwan's premier foundry is expecting to: "recruit approximately 6,000 new colleagues in Taiwan in 2024, including engineers and technicians." TSMC is reportedly responding to business growth and technology development demands—so much so, that its native manufacturing plants require a fresh influx of workers.

According to Ctee's report, TSMC's March recruitment tour is due to snake through Taiwan and then head over to mainland China: "Tsinghua University, National Cheng Kung University, National Yang-Ming Jiaotong University, Central China University, Zhongxing University, Zhongshan, National Chung Cheng University, Beijing University of Science and Technology, etc., totaling 19 physical activities and four online talent recruitment briefings." A parallel "2024 DNA Summer Internship Program" has also been rolled out: "inviting interested students to join and use internships to personally experience the environment and culture of TSMC." The company's growing global layout also provides opportunities for new employees to work overseas—the article highlights TSMC's newly opened semiconductor fabrication plant in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan as the preferred choice for "internal employees." The multinational firm's Arizona facilities did not get a shout out, despite recent good news. Reports from mid-2023 suggest that TSMC's core values are at odds with North American work culture.

Electronic Arts revealed a workforce reduction program last week—reportedly impacting around 670 employees—alongside announcements regarding a number of major development project cancellations and reassignments. Laura Miele, President of EA Entertainment and Technology, disclosed that Respawn Entertainment's mysterious "Star Wars FPS Action game" had been axed, with staffers moving onto "new projects based on our owned brands" instead of licensed material. Industry insider reports suggested that an internal Respawn team—not assigned to a "Star Wars: Jedi" sequel—had started work on a Mandalorian/bounty hunter-themed first-person shooter IP. The official announcement of a renewed focus on Respawn's "rich library of owned brands" has generated plenty of internet speculation—Titanfall franchise fans have long demanded a proper third entry in the series. Studio boss, Vince Zampella, has teased revisits in the past—an Axios interview revealed that veteran Titanfall game director, Steve Fukuda, was incubating "something new" with a very small skunkworks-type team.

Earlier this week, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb addressed rumored goings-on at Respawn. His "Game Mess Mornings 03/04/24" videocast—co-hosted by Emma Fyffe—included a segment dedicated to EA's adjusted development strategies. Grubb reiterated insider information about "Titanfall Legends" getting canned early on last year—allegedly a single-player Apex/Titanfall crossover experience. Giant Bomb's News Editor has reached out to his network of moles—he shared this inside info during Monday's broadcast: "They're not making Titanfall 3. They just straight up aren't. They do have another team that has been kicking around a project that is very early. There's been a very small team in the prototyping phase and now they're going to go to wider. This is a real project now, but still in the prototyping phase. This game, as it stands today, as far as I understand, is a Titanfall game. It's in the Titanfall universe. But everyone I talk to keeps saying, don't get in your mind that it's Titanfall 3, a game with online multiplayer and a single player campaign."

South Korean tech insiders believe that SK Hynix has sent "12-layer DRAM stacked HBM3E (5th generation HBM)" prototype samples to NVIDIA—according a ZDNET.co.kr article, initial examples were shipped out last month. Reports from mid-2023 suggested that Team Green had sampled 8-layer HBM3E (4th gen) units around summer time—with SK Hynix receiving approval notices soon after. Another South Korean media outlet, DealSite, reckons that NVIDIA's memory qualification process has exposed HBM yield problems across a number of manufacturers. SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron are competing fiercely on the HBM3E front—with hopes of getting their respective products attached to NVIDIA's H200 AI GPU. DigiTimes Asia proposed that SK Hynix is ready to "commence mass production of fifth-generation HBM3E" at some point this month.

SK Hynix is believed to be leading the pack—insiders believe that yield rates are good enough to pass early NVIDIA certification, and advanced 12-layer samples are expected to be approved in the near future. ZDNET reckons that SK Hynix's forward momentum has placed it an advantageous position: "(They) supplied 8-layer HBM3E samples in the second half of last year and passed recent testing. Although the official schedule has not been revealed, mass production is expected to begin as early as this month. Furthermore, SK Hynix supplied 12-layer HBM3E samples to NVIDIA last month. This sample is an extremely early version and is mainly used to establish standards and characteristics of new products. SK Hynix calls it UTV (Universal Test Vehicle)... Since Hynix has already completed the performance verification of the 8-layer HBM3E, it is expected that the 12-layer HBM3E test will not take much time." SK Hynix's Vice President recently revealed that his company's 2024 HBM production volumes for were already sold out, and leadership is already preparing innovations for 2025 and beyond.

The existence of Intel's upcoming Core i9-14900KS processor has been confirmed by a series of insider leaks and premature retail listings—an "alleged" example was photographed and appeared online right at the start of 2024. French e-tail listings produced evidence of two packages—a traditional retail box version, and a barebones tray option for OEM purposes. Earlier today, the I_Leak_VN social media account uploaded proof of a single "Special Edition" box sitting in an unnamed Vietnamese warehouse—it is not immediately clear whether units have reached retail facilities, or have just arrived on Southeast Asian shores. The embargo-busting post seemingly corroborates global insider information/whispers about distribution networks receiving stock—possibly in preparation for a rumored mid-March launch. VideoCardz believes that Vietnamese customers will be paying roughly $765 a pop—30% pricier than the current cost of 14th Gen Core flagship ownership.

Samsung and ARM announced a collaborative project last week—the partners are aiming to deliver an "optimized next generation Arm Cortex -X CPU" developed on the latest Gate-All-Around (GAA) process technology. Semiconductor industry watchdogs believe that Samsung Foundry's 3 nm GAA process did not meet sales expectations—reports suggest that many clients decided to pursue advanced three nanometer service options chez TSMC. The South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate is setting its sights forward—with an in-progress SF2 GAAFET process in the pipeline—industry insiders reckon that Samsung leadership is hoping to score a major victory within this next-gen market segment.

Lately, important industry figures have been hyping up Backside Power Supply Delivery Network (BSPDN) technology—recent Intel Foundry Services (IFS) press material lays claim to several technological innovations. A prime example being an ambitious five-nodes-in-four-years (5N4Y) process roadmap that: "remains on track and will deliver the industry's first backside power solution." A Chosun Business report proposes that Samsung is working on Backside Power Supply designs—a possible "game changer" when combined with in-house 2 nm SF2 GAAFET. Early experiments, allegedly, involving two unidentified ARM cores have exceeded expectations—according to Chosun's sources, engineers were able to: "reduce the chip area by 10% and 19%, respectively, and succeeded in improving chip performance and frequency efficiency to a single-digit level." Samsung Foundry could be adjusting its mass production timetables, based on freshly reported technological breakthroughs—SF2 GAAFET + BSPDN designs could arrive before the original targeted year of 2027. Prior to the latest developments, Samsung's BSPDN tech was linked to a futuristic 1.7 nm line.

Morris Chang, TSMC's founder and semiconductor industry icon, was present at the opening ceremony of his company's new semiconductor fabrication plant in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. According to a Nikkei Asia article, Chang predicted that the nation will experience "a chip renaissance" during his February 24 commencement speech. The Japanese government also announced that it will supply an additional ¥732 billion ($4.86 billion) in subsidies for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to expand semiconductor operations on the island of Kyūshū. Economy Minister Ken Saito stated: "TSMC is the most important partner for Japan in realizing digital transformation, and its Kumamoto factory is an important contributor for us to stably procure cutting-edge logic chips that is extremely essential for the future of industries in Japan."

Chang disclosed some interesting insights during last weekend's conference segment—according to Nikkei's report, he revealed that unnamed TSMC customers had made some outlandish requests: "They are not talking about tens of thousands of wafers. They are talking about fabs, (saying): 'We need so many fabs. We need three fabs, five fabs, 10 fabs.' Well, I can hardly believe that one." The Taiwanese chip manufacturing giant reportedly has the resources to create a new "Gigafab" within reasonable timeframes, but demands for (up to) ten new plants are extremely fanciful. Chang set expectations at a reasonable level—he predicted that demand for AI processors would lie somewhere in the middle ground: "between tens of thousands of wafers and tens of fabs." Past insider reports suggested that OpenAI has been discussing the formation of a proprietary fabrication network, with proposed investments of roughly $5 to $7 trillion. OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, reportedly engaged in talks with notable contract chip manufacturers—The Wall Street Journal posited that TSMC would be an ideal partner.

Introducing game hubs. Earlier this month, we started rolling out game hubs to Xbox Insiders on PC and a subset of Xbox App on PC players worldwide. Game hubs were built on your feedback around depth, progression, and more ways to connect with your games. With game hubs, you'll be able to track your progress over time, discover the latest content and add-ons, connect or compete with your friends, get the latest news from developers, and more. This version of game hubs is just the beginning. We have another wave of updates coming soon, including ways to view your local game captures and browse other games from the same publisher.
We can't wait to hear your feedback on what's there now and what you'd like to see in future updates. You can access game hubs from the Xbox App on PC—just click on the game in your library or the left sidebar. Now, let's run through some of the exciting content you will find here:

The essentials. At the top of the page, you'll see the essentials like game info alongside options to play, install, or update the game. You'll also see a quick link back to the details page, where you can purchase the game to own, see reviews, or add it to your wish list. Lastly, you'll find information like when you last played, your total playtime, an achievement summary, and friend overviews. This area will also be used for important notifications like letting you know when a game is leaving Game Pass so that you can use your discount before it's gone.

Smartphone chipset industry watchdogs believe that the Samsung 3 nm GAA process did not meet customer expectations, due to alleged yield issues. TSMC is seemingly victorious in this segment, as reports suggest that a next-generation 3 nm node production goal of "100,000 monthly wafers by the end of 2024" has been set. Three days ago, Samsung Foundry revealed that it is working on a very advanced SF2 GAAFET process—press outlets in South Korea propose that the manufacturing giant is hoping to outmuscle its main rival in a future 2 nm node category. Tuesday's press introduction stated that a development partnership is set: "to deliver optimized next generation ARM Cortex -X CPU developed on Samsung Foundry's latest Gate-All-Around (GAA) process technology."

A Sedaily article posits that the company's cutting-edge manufacturing tech has already attracted interest from notable parties: "Samsung Electronics is taking advantage of these advantages to win orders for the 2 nm project. Samsung Electronics took its first step by winning an order to produce a 2 nm AI accelerator from Preferred Networks (PFN), Japan's largest AI company. Qualcomm, the world's largest system semiconductor design company, has entered into discussions with Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division, which designs high-performance chips, to produce 2 nm prototypes." December 2023 news reports suggested that Samsung leadership was considering a 2 nm wafer price discount—in order to stay competitive with competing foundry services. It is possible that Qualcomm is evaluating the 2 nm SF2 GAAFET process for a distant Snapdragon 8 "Gen 5" chipset, while Samsung LSI could be working on a 2 nm "Exynos 2600" SoC design.

Mid-January reportage indicated that LG and Samsung plants in South Korea had commenced construction of next-gen Apple iPad OLED parts—while expert analysis has predicted a second quarter launch of 11 and 13-inch "Pro" tablet models. Omdia—an independent analyst and consultancy firm—has compiled its Apple field research into a forecasted roadmap of various portable products. Company analysts believe that: "LG Display (LGD) and Samsung Display (SDC) are preparing to mass-produce RGB tandem stack and Hybrid OLEDs from their half-Gen 6 fabs. Apple also plans to launch the MacBook Pro with OLED displays in 2026. BOE, LGD, and SDC are preparing their fab investments to produce RGB tandem stack and hybrid OLEDs at half-Gen 8.7 fabs."

9to5Mac's insider network detected whispers of possible Apple tablet physical profile adjustments—suggesting that a larger next-gen iPad Air is in the pipeline, alongside a thinner iPad Pro design update: "(we) first reported last year that Apple has been working on two new versions of the iPad Air, codenamed J507 and J537. While one of these models will look pretty much like the current iPad Air, the other will have a larger display. If true, this will be the first time Apple will offer the iPad Air in two different sizes. And according to our sources, this larger iPad Air will have essentially the same dimensions as the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro, suggesting that the screen size will also be almost identical. The smaller iPad Air is unlikely to have any significant design changes."

Job listings posted by Respawn Entertainment last summer indicated that their Star Wars Jedi: Survivor development team had moved onto an unsurprising project—the ideal candidate(s) would help: "create an incredible Star Wars experience for our players in a fun, third-person action-adventure setting." Games industry watchers believe that a third Star Wars Jedi title is in the works, given that the franchise has—so far—generated a large paying audience. Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson reckons that another Star Wars IP has been bestowed upon Electronic Art's action specialist studio—the report posits that this rumored project is in an early stage of development. Veteran developers at Respawn Entertainment have a long history of producing blockbuster first-person shooter titles, although Apex Legends signaled a slight change in course. Their deviation into third-person with 2019's Jedi: Fallen Order also surprised a segment of longtime Respawn fans.

It is possible that the Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm Games partnership has incubated a new first-person title semi-connected to a popular Star Wars television series IP—Henderson has gathered a few tidbits: "according to sources, the game will see the player take control of a Mandalorian bounty hunter (unclear who) set during the time when the Galactic Empire is dominating across the galaxy. It's your job, as a bounty hunter to capture bounties dead or alive for cash rewards." Rumor mill wires were crossed when it was claimed that a former Apex Legend director was heading up development on the unannounced "Mandalorian" project, but an Insider Gaming update reveals that the former Respawn member was involved in development of a cancelled Apex title.

ARM's in-progress fifth generation "Blackhawk" Cortex design is allegedly going through a troubled phase of development, according to Chinese insider sources. A Revegnus (@Tech_Reve) social media post highlights ongoing issues: "It's reported that the Cortex X5 architecture is underperforming compared to expectations. It's speculated that the high-frequency power consumption has surged explosively. Therefore, if performance is reduced for lower power consumption, the Geekbench 6 multi-core score of Dimensity 9400 may not achieve a score of 9,400 points." A recent Moor Insights & Strategy analysis piece proposed that "Blackhawk" would become "the most powerful option available at launch" later this year—mobile chipsets leveraging ARM's Cortex-X5 design are touted to face tough next-gen competition from Qualcomm and Apple corners.

Revegnus pulled in a rival SoC: "While Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is seen to have minor issues, there is no evidence to support this claim. There might be a problem with low-frequency power consumption not showing clear superiority over ARM's middle cores." Qualcomm's next flagship model is performing admirably according to insiders—an engineering sample managed to score 10,628 points in alleged Geekbench 6 multi-core gauntlets. Late last month prototype clocks were leaked—Digital Chat Station claimed that a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 High-Performance "Big" core was capable of reaching 4.0 GHz. Prior to the latest news, MediaTek's Dimensity 9400 SoC was observed achieving ~10,000 multi-core Geekbench 6 scores—leaked CPU cluster details present a single "Big" Cortex-X5 unit operating alongside three Cortex-X4 cores.

Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games was interviewed by CNBC earlier this week—he was invited on-air to provide expert commentary on Sony's freshly revised sales and revenue forecast for PlayStation 5 products. He believes that great forward momentum is best achieved with refreshed hardware, and a well timed launch coinciding with the release of AAA/blockbuster games titles. Last autumn's rollout of slimmer PlayStation 5 consoles was not particularly exciting—with no major bump up in specs or attractive pricing. The development of an inevitable "Pro" variant has circulated around rumor mills for more than a year.

Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and AMD are believed to co-operating on a very potent hardware redesign—reports from late last year posited that a semi-custom "Viola" SoC is in the pipeline. A more expensive RDNA 3-upgraded refresh could attract an additional segment of hardcore gamers, but another industry analyst reckons that Sony is unlikely to implement a standard model price cut later this year (based on past trends). George Jijiashvili, senior principal analyst at Omdia, stated: "A scenario where Sony launches a PS5 Pro, but still experiences declining year-on-year hardware sales is very much within the realms of possibility." Serkan Toto (of Kantan Games consultancy) expressed a more optimistic view: "There seems to be a broad consensus in the game industry that Sony is indeed preparing a launch of a PS5 Pro in the second half of 2024...And Sony will want to make sure to have a great piece of hardware ready when GTA VI hits in 2025, a launch that will be a shot in the arm for the entire gaming industry."

Pat Gelsinger—CEO of Intel Corporation—happily revealed late last month, during an earnings call: "Clearwater Forest, our first Intel 18A part for servers has already gone into fab and Panther Lake for clients will be heading into Fab shortly." The former is positioned as the natural successor to Team Blue's many-times-delayed Xeon "Sierra Forest" (all E-Core) processor family. Intel's second generation E-core Xeon "Clearwater Forest" design is expected to launch in 2025, with a deployment of "Darkmont" efficiency-oriented cores. Official product roadmaps and patch notes have revealed basic "Clearwater Forest" information, but we have not seen many leaks. Bionic_Squash has a history of releasing strictly internal Intel presentation slides—Meteor Lake (MTL-S) desktop SKUs were uncovered last April.

Their latest discovery does not include any photo or documented evidence—Bionic_Squash's concise social media post stated: "Clearwater Forest uses 3D stacking with hybrid bonding." This claim points to the possible deployment of Foveros Direct advanced packaging—this technology was expected to be ready at some point within the second half of 2023, although a mid-December technology showcase implied that things were behind schedule. The fanciest "Clearwater Forest" Xeon processors could arrive with a maximum total of 288 E-core count (and 288 threads)—according to Wccftech analysis: "The CPU package is going to consist of a base tile on top of the interposer which is connected through a high-speed I/O, EMIB, and the cores will be sitting on the topmost layer...Foveros Direct technology will allow direct copper-to-copper bonding, enabling low resistance interconnects and around 10-micron bump pitches. Intel itself states that Foveros Direct will blur the boundary between where the wafer ends and the package begins."

The mysterious Zen 6 "Morpheus" processor architecture was leaked accidentally by an AMD engineer's LinkedIn profile—news outlets picked up on this information last April. Naturally, Team Red's next priority is Zen 5—the latest reports suggest that two different chiplet designs are penciled in for mass production within the second quarter of 2024. Last September, insiders claimed that a proposed EPYC 9006 "Venice" CPU series was based on the sixth-gen microarchitecture. Everest/Olrak_29 has revealed various bits of speculative material regarding futuristic "Ryzen Client" processor designs since the start of 2024.

The latest postings to social media posit that AMD has selected an RDNA 5-based integrated graphics solution (possibly occupying a tile), thus "skipping RDNA 4" on their "Medusa" lineup of Ryzen Client processors. Leaked Microsoft documents revealed that its Xbox hardware design division was considering RDNA 5 for next-gen console specs. Medusa's CPU aspect is allegedly populated by Zen 6 "Morpheus" cores—as claimed in a January tweet. A new package design was also riffed on at the time: "Yes, I have teased this before...Medusa will use 2.5D interconnect with a much higher bandwidth," instead of a "traditional" multi-die design. Industry speculation has AMD's Zen 6 client architecture linked to a loose 2025/2026 launch window.

Japan's Jiji news agency has cottoned onto a major computer memory industry rumble—a Friday Reuters report suggests that Kioxia has offered an olive branch to SK Hynix, perhaps in a renewed push to get its proposed (and once rejected) merger with Western Digital over the finishing line. The South Korean memory manufacturing juggernaut took great issue with the suggested formation of a mighty Japanese-American 3D NAND memory chip conglomerate—SK Hynix's opposition reportedly placed great pressure on Western Digital (WD), and discussions with Kioxia ended last October.

Kioxia is seemingly eager to resume talks with WD, but requires a thumbs up from SK Hynix—according to Jiji's insider source(s), the Tokyo-headquartered manufacturer is prepared to offer its South Korean rival a nice non-volatile memory production deal. Kioxia's best Japanese 3D NAND fabrication facilities could play host to SK Hynix designs, although it is too early to tell whether this bid has been accepted. The Yokkaichi and Kitakami plants are set to receive a 150 billion yen Government subsidy—Kioxia and WD's joint venture is expected to move into cutting-edge semiconductor production. The Japanese government is hoping to secure its native operations in times of industry flux.

Murmurings of a delayed Nintendo "Switch 2" release schedule appeared online earlier this week—Brazilian games journalist, Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe, made claims during an "OX do Controle" videocast—based on insider information. Additionally, he broke the bad news on social media: "Nobody wants to hear this, but this one is pretty intense. After consulting five sources from three different continents, all echoing basically the same thing, we can reveal (that) the launch of the Switch's successor should only happen in 2025." Several global news outlets have performed their own investigations, following up on OX do Controle's declaration.

Eurogamer reached out to its network of "trusty" insiders—their Friday evening update stated that: "(we) can now corroborate the earlier reports/whispers that the Switch 2, once destined for release later in 2024, is now set for Q1 2025...The console's launch moving into early next year—but still within the coming financial year—is designed to ensure Switch 2's launch line-up features as many titles as possible, Eurogamer understands." Video Games Chronicle's Andy Robinson has similarly checked in with his pool of industry spies: "VGC has heard from multiple sources who said Nintendo has told publishers its next console will now launch in Q1 2025. According to the sources, third-party game companies were recently briefed on an internal delay in Nintendo's next-gen launch timing, from late 2024 to early the following year. One publishing source suggested the delay was so that Nintendo could prepare stronger first-party software for the console. It's possible the next-gen Nintendo console will now follow a similar timeline to the Switch, which was released in March but announced the previous year."

Intel's 14th Generation "Raptor Lake Refresh" processor series debuted in "enthusiast" SKU form last October—Team Blue's official product unveiling was less than surprising, since multiple SKUs and specifications had been leaked throughout mid-to-late 2023. The true top-of-the-pile Intel Core i9-14900KS SKU was first linked to a possible announcement at January's CES trade show, but did not appear in any of last year's leaked product lists. Team Blue proceeded to introduce its 14th Gen "mainstream" 65 W SKUs to the crowd in Las Vegas, but the leaked Core i9-14900KS model did not pop up, contrary to tipster claims—Intel had a history of presenting "KS" variants during January showcases.

Industry experts reckon that the current Raptor Lake Refresh flagship—Core i9 14900K—is getting some extra time in the spotlight, before its inevitable dethroning courtesy of a "Special Edition" sibling. BenchLife has reached out to its cadre of insiders, following yesterday's reports of a "gargantuan 409 W maximum package power draw." The alleged top dog 14th Gen Core part is perhaps only a month away from launch, as leaked by industry moles: "According to our reliable sources, Intel plans to launch the Intel Core i9 in mid-March 2024. 14900KS is a limited edition processor with a clock speed of 6.2 GHz, but we cannot confirm whether it will be sold to a specific system vendor or a specific channel."

Apple CEO, Tim Cook, discussed planned generative AI software features during an early February earnings call: "As we look ahead, we will continue to invest in these and other technologies that will shape the future. That includes artificial intelligence, where we continue to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort, and we're excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year." His "prepared" statement did not provide any specific insights into involved technologies, but many iPhone experts believe that the upcoming release of iOS 18 could be "the biggest update" in Apple mobile operating system history. The American multinational technology giant is seemingly taking a relaxed approach with internal artificial intelligence developments—rival smartphone maker, Samsung, has already jumped into the on-the-go AI deep end with its recently launched Galaxy S24 series. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (for Galaxy) chipset is ready to take on all sorts of artificial intelligence-augmented tasks, while a next-gen ARM Cortex-X "Blackhawk" unit (leveraging "great" LLM performance) is in the pipeline for a late 2024 rollout.

Taiwan's Economic Daily News has reached out to insider contacts, albeit on the hardware side of things—their sources reckon that Apple is working on next generation processors that sport "significantly upgraded Neural Engine performance with additional cores." Tipsters believe that plans for 2024 include an effort to "significantly strengthen the AI computing power of the (existing) M3 and A17 processors," while the true "new generation" M4 and Bionic A18 chipsets will be augmented with greater AI computing core counts. Taiwan's top foundry is reportedly in the mix: "Apple has strengthened the AI computing performance of mobile devices and greatly increased the computing power of its own processors, which has simultaneously increased its wafer investment in TSMC. According to industry sources, Apple's wafer production volume for TSMC's 3 nm enhanced version process this year is expected to increase by more than 50% compared with last year, making it firmly the largest customer of TSMC."

Intel is aiming to get its $20 billion fabrication location—in New Albany, Ohio—up and running by 2025, but the advanced manufacturing facility is facing another round of setbacks. According to a WCMH NBC4 local news report (covering the Colombus, Ohio area), a planned "oversized equipment" reshuffle has been delayed—the shifting of heavy machinery was supposed to start last weekend. Extreme weather conditions (flooding) have been cited as major factor, as well as the complicated nature of transporting "overweight and oversized" loads to Team Blue's 1000-acre site. Workers are set to resume efforts this weekend—starting no later than February 17. Tom's Hardware has kept tabs on the Ohio fab's progress: "The project to move the equipment is expected to last over nine months, meaning this phase of Intel's construction could be done near the end of 2024. There isn't a firm indication of how much work remains to be done at the site after the equipment is delivered." TPU previously covered the leading-edge location's indefinitely postponed groundbreaking ceremony—CHIPS Act subsidies were not delivered in an expected timely manner back in 2022.

A couple of media outlets (Tom's Hardware, Network World, etc.) have received an official statement regarding the slippage of events in New Albany: "While we will not meet the aggressive 2025 production goal that we anticipated when we first announced the selection of Ohio in January, 2022, construction has been underway since breaking ground in late 2022 and our construction has been proceeding on schedule. Typical construction timelines for semiconductor manufacturing facilities are 3-5 years from groundbreaking, depending on a range of factors...We remain fully committed to the project and are continuing to make progress on the construction of the factory and supporting facilities this year. As we said in our January 2022 site-selection announcement, the scope and pace of Intel's expansion in Ohio may depend on various conditions." Industry insiders believe that an "opening ceremony" could occur around late 2026, or even early 2027.

Various news outlets have been keeping tabs on OpenAI's CEO—Sam Altman—the AI technology evangelist was reported to be pursuing an ambitious proprietary AI chip project in early 2024. Inside sources pointed to late-January negotiations with important investment personnel in the Middle East—many believe that OpenAI leadership is exploring the idea of establishing its own network of semiconductor production plants. Late last week, The Wall Street Journal followed up on last month's AI industry rumors: "(Altman) has another great ambition: raising trillions of dollars to reshape the global semiconductor industry. The OpenAI chief executive officer is in talks with investors including the United Arab Emirates government to raise funds for a wildly ambitious tech initiative that would boost the world's chip-building capacity, expand its ability to power AI." One anonymous insider reckons that "the project could require raising as much as $5 trillion to $7 trillion."

TSMC is reportedly in the equation—Altman allegedly conducted talks with top brass last month—their expertise in cutting edge fabrication techniques would be of great value, although it is somewhat futile to reveal too many industry secrets given the sheer scale of OpenAI's (reported) aggressive expansion plans. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) suggests that the embryonic venture is far more "open" than previously reported—a collaborative venture could be established once funding is secured, although Altman & Co. face "significant obstacles" en route. WSJ proposes that the somewhat OpenAI-centric fabrication network is best founded by a joint partnership—involving multiple investors, contract chip manufacturers (perhaps TSMC), and energy/power providers. OpenAI appears to be the "primary buyer" of resultant fabricated AI chips, with manufacturing services also offered to other clients. The scale of such an endeavor is put into perspective by WSJ's analysis (via inside sources): "Such a sum of investment would dwarf the current size of the global semiconductor industry. Global sales of chips were $527 billion last year and are expected to rise to $1 trillion annually by 2030. Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment—the costly machinery needed to run chip factories—last year were $100 billion, according to an estimate by the industry group SEMI."

Attention is now turning to the late February Mobile World Congress (WWC) 2024 trade show—following journos recovering from their recent CES gauntlet-esque ordeals. An exclusive Windows Report piece proposes that Lenovo representatives will be heading to Barcelona with a very special next generation laptop in hand. The publication has a outed a number of upcoming portable devices, two weeks prior to Lenovo's intended showcase (February 26 - 29)—we witnessed a similar occurrence last year with WinFuture leaking Microsoft's September Surface refreshes. Six notebook refreshes (ThinkPad and ThinkBook) are mentioned in the latest report, as well as Gen 2 version of Lenovo's ThinkVision M14T portable monitor.

The alleged headliner seems to be a concept model, that slides into the company's ThinkBook range—Windows Report has leaked heavily watermarked images, but little in the way of technical specifications: "Lenovo's transparent laptop features a bezel-less design, with the display being completely see-through. The deck also seems completely transparent, with the main components being housed in and under the chin, which is the area that's not transparent. There's also a non-transparent slim frame that surrounds the entire deck, probably housing the ports." An anonymous source reckons that the transparent OLED ThinkBook runs on Windows 11, and Lenovo's tried and trusted design language is very apparent (when in use).

DigiTimes Asia has reached out to insiders at fabrication toolmakers in an effort to delve deeper into claims made by industry analysts at the start of 2024—both SemiAnalysis and China Renaissance have proposed that TSMC is unlikely to adopt High-NA EUV production techniques within a five year period. The latest news article explores a non-upgrade approach for the next couple of years: "TSMC has not placed orders for high-numerical aperture (High-NA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tools and is unlikely to use the technology in 2 nm and 1.4 nm (A14) process manufacturing." Intel Foundry Services (IFS) will be one of the first semiconductor manufacturers to go online with ASML's latest and greatest machinery, although no firm timeframes have been confirmed. Team Blue's Taiwanese rival (and occasional business partner) is seemingly happy with its existing infrastructure, but industry watchdogs propose that cost considerations are key factors behind TSMC's cautious planning for the next decade.

The DigiTimes insider sources believe that TSMC will not budge until at least 2029, possibly coinciding with a 1 nm production node—analysts at China Renaissance reckon that High-NA EUV machines could be delivered in the future when facilities are readied for an "A10" codenamed process. TSMC published a very ambitious "transistor count" product timeline in early January (see below)—the first "1 nm" products are supposedly targeted for a 2030 rollout, but this schedule could change due to unforeseen circumstances. Intel is expected to "phase in" its fanciest ASML gear collection once the 18A process becomes old hat—Tom's Hardware thinks that 2026 - 2027 is a feasible timeframe.