ASUS has revealed its upcoming ExpertBook P5 laptop, set to debut alongside Intel's highly anticipated "Lunar Lake" processors. This ultrabook aims to boost AI-capable laptop market, featuring an unspecified Intel Lunar Lake "Core Ultra 200V" CPU at its core. The ExpertBook P5 boasts impressive AI processing capabilities, with over 45 TOPS from its Neural Processing Unit and a combined 100+ TOPS when factoring in the CPU and GPU. The NPU provides efficient processing, with additional power coming from Lunar Lake's GPU with XMX cores, featuring the Xe2 Battlemage architecture. This is more than enough for the Copilot+ certification from Microsoft, making the laptop debut as an "AI PC." The ExpertBook P5 offers up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 8333 MT/s, up to 3 TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage with two drives, and Wi-Fi 7 support.

The 14-inch anti-glare display features a 2.5K resolution and a smooth 144 Hz refresh rate, ensuring a premium visual experience. Despite its powerful internals, the ExpertBook P5 maintains a solid profile weighing just 1.3 kg. The laptop is housed in an all-metal military-grade aluminium body with a 180-degree lay-flat hinge, making it both portable and versatile. ASUS has also prioritized cooling efficiency with innovative technology that optimizes thermal management, whether the laptop is open or closed. Security hasn't been overlooked either, with the ExpertBook P5 featuring a robust security ecosystem, including Windows 11 secured-core PC framework, NIST-155-ready Commercial-Grade BIOS protection, and biometric login options. While an exact release date hasn't been confirmed, ASUS is preparing ExpertBook P5 and other Lunar Lake-powered laptops to hit the market in the second half of 2024.

AMD reportedly plans to incorporate glass substrates into its high-performance system-in-packages (SiPs) sometimes between 2025 and 2026. Glass substrates offer several advantages over traditional organic substrates, including superior flatness, thermal properties, and mechanical strength. These characteristics make them well-suited for advanced SiPs containing multiple chiplets, especially in data center applications where performance and durability are critical. The adoption of glass substrates aligns with the industry's broader trend towards more complex chip designs. As leading-edge process technologies become increasingly expensive and yield gains diminish, manufacturers turn to multi-chiplet designs to improve performance. AMD's current EPYC server processors already incorporate up to 13 chiplets, while its Instinct AI accelerators feature 22 pieces of silicon. A more extreme testament is Intel's Ponte Vecchio, which utilized 63 tiles in a single package.

Glass substrates could enable AMD to create even more complex designs without relying on costly interposers, potentially reducing overall production expenses. This technology could further boost the performance of AI and HPC accelerators, which are a growing market and require constant innovation. The glass substrate market is heating up, with major players like Intel, Samsung, and LG Innotek also investing heavily in this technology. Market projections suggest explosive growth, from $23 million in 2024 to $4.2 billion by 2034. Last year, Intel committed to investing up to 1.3 trillion Won (almost one billion USD) to start applying glass substrates to its processors by 2028. Everything suggests that glass substrates are the future of chip design, and we await to see first high-volume production designs.

The PC market gathered momentum in Q2 2024, with worldwide shipments of desktops and notebooks up 3.4% year-on-year, reaching 62.8 million units. Shipments of notebooks (including mobile workstations) hit 50 million units, growing 4%. Desktops (including desktop workstations), which constitute 20% of the total PC market, experienced a slight 1% growth, totaling 12.8 million units. The stage is now set for accelerated growth as the refresh cycle driven by the Windows 11 transition and AI PC adoption ramps up over the next four quarters.

"The PC industry is going from strength to strength with a third consecutive quarter of growth," said Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys. "The market turnaround is coinciding with exciting announcements from vendors and chipset manufacturers as their AI PC roadmaps transition from promise to reality. The quarter culminated with the launch of the first Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon processors and more clarity around Apple's AI strategy with the announcement of the Apple Intelligence suite of features for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Beyond these innovations, the market will start to benefit even more from its biggest tailwind - a ramp-up in PC demand driven by the Windows 11 refresh cycle. The vast majority of channel partners surveyed by Canalys in June indicated that Windows 10 end-of-life is likely to impact customer refresh plans most in either the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025, suggesting that shipment growth will only gather steam in upcoming quarters."

LG Electronics USA (LG) is expanding its thinnest and lightest lineup of laptops with the LG gram SuperSlim in a crisp white colorway. The 2024 LG gram SuperSlim (15Z90ST-G.AAW4U1) stands out with an upgraded processor and sleek profile. Customers can now purchase the new LG gram SuperSlim for $799, a $600 savings from its retail price of $1399. Designed with ultra-portability in mind, the new 15.6-inch white model measures just 0.49-inches and weighs a scant 2.18lbs.

With Intel Evo Edition powered by Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processors, the 15Z90ST-G.AAW4U1 delivers improved performance for more productivity, content creation and entertainment. Powered by an Intel Core ️ Ultra Processor with an integrated AI Boost, this LG gram SuperSlim is faster than previous-generation CPU-only systems. Intel Core Ultra processors include a specialized AI processing unit alongside supercharged performance to support advanced, innovative use cases and demanding applications. The architecture enables smooth graphics and power efficiency for improved battery life.

Micron has announced more precise timeframes for the commencement of operations at its two new memory facilities in the United States during its Q3 FY2024 results presentation. The company expects these fabs, located in Idaho and New York, to begin production between late 2026 and 2029. The Idaho fab, currently under construction near Boise, is slated to start operations between September 2026 and September 2027. Meanwhile, the New York facility is projected to come online in the calendar year 2028 or later, pending the completion of regulatory and permitting processes. These timelines align with Micron's original plans announced in 2022 despite recent spending optimizations. The company emphasizes that these investments are crucial to support supply growth in the latter half of this decade.

Micron's capital expenditure for FY2024 is set at approximately $8 billion, with a planned increase to around $12 billion in FY2025. This substantial rise in spending, targeting a mid-30s percentage of revenue, will support various technological advancements and facility expansions. A substantial portion of this increased investment - over $2 billion - will be dedicated to constructing the new fabs in Idaho and New York. Additional funds will support high-bandwidth memory assembly and testing, as well as the development of other fabrication and back-end facilities. Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron's CEO, underscored the importance of these investments, stating that the new capacity is essential to meet long-term demand and maintain the company's market position. He added that these expansions, combined with ongoing technology transitions in Asian facilities, will enable Micron to grow its memory bit supply in line with industry demand.

PC (excluding tablets) shipments to the United States grew 5% year-on-year to 14.8 million units in Q1 2024. The consumer and SMB segments were the key growth drivers, both witnessing shipment increases above 9% year-on-year in the first quarter. With a strong start to the year, the market is now poised for a healthy recovery trajectory amid the ongoing Windows refresh cycle. Total PC shipments to the US are expected to hit 69 million units in 2024 before growing another 8% to 75 million units in 2025.

For the third consecutive quarter, the consumer segment showed the best performance in the US market. "Continued discounting after the holiday season boosted consumer demand for PCs into the start of 2024," said Greg Davis, Analyst at Canalys. "However, the first quarter also saw an uptick in commercial sector performance. Shipment growth in small and medium businesses indicates that the anticipated refresh brought by the Windows 10 end-of-life is underway. With enterprise customers set to follow suit, the near-term outlook for the market remains highly positive."

The PC (desktops, notebooks, and workstations) market in Mainland China is forecast to contract by 1% in 2024 according to the latest Canalys data. The first quarter of the year already saw a sharp decline, with shipments down 12%, in contrast to the global market which returned to growth. Desktop shipments are expected to perform well in 2024, growing 10% annually as they benefit from commercial sector refresh demand, especially from large state-held enterprises and local governments. Notebook shipments are set to drop 5%, as demand from consumers and the private sector is anticipated to remain cautious on short-term expenditure such as PCs.

China's PC market trajectory is diverging from global trends in its recovery journey. In Q1 2024, the commercial sector bore the brunt of the market downturn, undergoing a 19% decline due to weak IT spending by large enterprises. The decline in consumer shipments was milder, with shipments dropping 8%. However, despite the muted performance in 2024, significant local developments point to a stronger market in 2025, in which PC shipments are expected to grow 12%.

The race is on for memory manufacturers to bring the next generation GDDR7 graphics memory into mass production. While rivals Samsung and Micron are aiming to have GDDR7 chips available in Q4 of 2024, South Korean semiconductor giant SK Hynix revealed at Computex 2024 that it won't kick off mass production until the first quarter of 2025. GDDR7 is the upcoming JEDEC standard for high-performance graphics memory, succeeding the current GDDR6 and GDDR6X specifications. The new tech promises significantly increased bandwidth and capacities to feed the appetites of next-wave GPUs and AI accelerators. At its Computex booth, SK Hynix showed off engineering samples of its forthcoming GDDR7 chips, with plans for both 16 Gb and 24 Gb densities.

The company is targeting blazing-fast 40 Gbps data transfer rates with its GDDR7 offerings, outpacing the 32 Gbps rates its competitors are starting with on 16 Gb parts. If realized, higher speeds could give SK Hynix an edge, at least initially. While trailing a quarter or two behind Micron and Samsung isn't ideal, SK Hynix claims having working samples now validates its design and allows partners to begin testing and qualification. Mass production timing for standardized memories also doesn't necessarily indicate a company is "late" - it simply means another vendor secured an earlier production window with a specific customer. The GDDR7 transition is critical for SK Hynix and others, given the insatiable demand for high-bandwidth memory to power AI, graphics, and other data-intensive workloads. Hitting its stated Q1 2025 mass production target could ensure SK Hynix doesn't fall too far behind in the high-stakes GDDR7 race, with faster and higher-density chips to potentially follow shortly after volume ramp.

At Computex 2024, GAMDIAS had a booth showcasing their newest cooling solutions. First up, the BOREAS P2-82L Dual-Tower Air Cooler combines high-end cooling performance with a touch of modern flair. Boasting a dual-tower heatsink with eight copper heat pipes and a copper base plate, it ensures efficient heat dissipation from even the most demanding processors. However, what truly sets this cooler apart is its integrated LCD monitor, which allows users to monitor system temperatures and enjoy animated displays, adding a touch of personalization to their setups. Wrapped in a sleek all-black finish, the BOREAS P2-82L is designed for CPUs with high TDPs cooled by air.

Not to be outdone, the GAMDIAS CHIONE M4 ELITE Series LCD Liquid Cooler has also appeared with an exciting design. This liquid cooler is available in 360 mm and 240 mm black/white variants and features an upgraded fluid running system that delivers exceptional thermal performance. Designed with a patented PWM pump and hydraulic PWM fans, the M4 ELITE promises whisper-quiet operational efficiency while maintaining a clean, clutter-free aesthetic thanks to its hidden cable routing. However, the true standout feature is the 3.4-inch LCD on the CPU pump/block combo, which can be customized using the ZEUS CAST software with real-time monitoring data and personalized backgrounds.

At Computex 2024, we paid a visit to the Patriot booth and found a few new product announcements from the company. From record-shattering DDR5 memory speeds to next-generation Gen 5 SSDs, the company has prepared it all. Headlining the showcase is the Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5 memory series, achieving regular speeds of up to 8,200 MT/s and an astonishing 11,500 MT/s when overclocked. Patriot is also launching something for professional workstations with its overclockable ECC RDIMM modules, offering error correction, larger capacities, and the ability to exceed industry specifications through overclocking.

ALmordor is a Chinese case PC hardware maker focusing on providing sleek-looking aliminium PC cases. Coming from the name that stands for AL (aluminium) and Mordor (from J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world), the ALmordor brand wants to be seen as an elegant and mysterious. On display, there were several interesting case builds like the SliverLining 160G ITX case, which serves as a dual-chamber ITX build capable of water cooling. Capable of supporting a 320 mm GPU and 240 mm water cooling radiator, the SilverLining 160G can hold an SFX PSU and an HDD attached next to it. Storage options include SSD expansion next to the motherboard.

At Computex 2024, ASUS unveiled major updates to its popular laptop lineups, designed for the "Copilot+" era of AI computing. The first is the Zenbook S16 is a premium 16-inch laptop series powered by AMD's latest Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processors with dedicated AI acceleration. Remarkably, ASUS has managed to pack this high-performance silicon into an ultra-portable 1.1 cm thin chassis weighing just 1.5 kg. The Zenbook S16 integrates AMD's new NPU capable of a 50 TOPS of AI compute for accelerating AI/ML workloads. The centerpiece is the laptop's stunning 16-inch 3K OLED display made with ASUS Lumina technology. It offers 100% vibrant DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, a blazing-fast 120 Hz refresh rate with 0.2 ms response time, and up to 600 nits brightness. ASUS paired this premium visual experience with a six-speaker audio system for an immersive multimedia experience.

According to the report from Volksstimme.de, Intel has delayed its Magdeburg fab construction until 2025 due to difficulties in acquiring suitable land. The company had initially planned to begin construction in 2024, but the process has been slowed significantly due to the availability of suitable land. The Magdeburg plant is a significant investment for Intel, with the company planning to invest around €30 billion in the facility. The plant is expected to create thousands of jobs and play a crucial role in the company's European expansion plans. However, the delay in construction is likely to impact these plans and may result in a longer timeline for the plant's completion.

The delay is attributed to the difficulty in finding suitable land for the plant. Intel's original plan of producing a factory on the land concluded that there was humus-rich black soil up to 40 cm in the ground, which would get removed for usage by agricultural fields in Germany. However, now the top layer of black soil, which needs to be excavated, is measured up to 90 cm in depth, which doesn't allow fab construction to start and requires the removal of the soil in order to satisfy the safety regulations. This useful soil has to be extracted first before being "contaminated" with concrete and other types of foundation soils like gravel. The state of Saxony-Anhalt postponed the construction until the required soil was removed and regulations were met. This will supposedly happen by the end of 2024, and construction will start in 2025.

The open-source RISC-V instruction set architecture is shaping up for explosive growth over the next several years, primarily fueled by the increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) across industries. A new forecast from tech research firm Omdia predicts that shipments of RISC-V-based chips will skyrocket at an astonishing 50% annual growth rate between 2024 and 2030, sitting at a staggering 17 billion RISC-V units in 2030. The automotive sector is expected to see the most significant growth in RISC-V adoption, with a forecasted annual increase of 66%. This growth is largely attributed to the unique benefits RISC-V offers in this industry, including its flexibility and customizability.

The rise of AI in the automotive sector, particularly in applications such as autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is also expected to contribute to RISC-V's success. Industrial applications will continue to be the largest domain for RISC-V, accounting for approximately 46% of sales. However, the growth in the automotive sector is expected to outpace other industries, driven by the increasing demand for AI-enabled technologies in this sector. The forecast from Omdia is based on current trends and the growing adoption of RISC-V by major players in the tech industry, including Google and Meta, which are investing in RISC-V to power their custom solutions. Additionally, chip producers like Qualcomm are creating their RISC-V chips for consumer use, further solidifying the technology's future position in the market.

During the European Technology Symposium 2024, TSMC has announced its readiness to manufacture next-generation HBM4 base dies using both 12 nm and 5 nm nodes. This significant development is expected to substantially improve the performance, power consumption, and logic density of HBM4 memory, catering to the demands of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The shift from a traditional 1024-bit interface to an ultra-wide 2048-bit interface is a key aspect of the new HBM4 standard. This change will enable the integration of more logic and higher performance while reducing power consumption. TSMC's N12FFC+ and N5 processes will be used to produce these base dies, with the N12FFC+ process offering a cost-effective solution for achieving HBM4 performance and the N5 process providing even more logic and lower power consumption at HBM4 speeds.

The company is collaborating with major HBM memory partners, including Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, to integrate advanced nodes for HBM4 full-stack integration. TSMC's base die, fabricated using the N12FFC+ process, will be used to install HBM4 memory stacks on a silicon interposer alongside system-on-chips (SoCs). This setup will enable the creation of 12-Hi (48 GB) and 16-Hi (64 GB) stacks with per-stack bandwidth exceeding 2 TB/s. TSMC's collaboration with EDA partners like Cadence, Synopsys, and Ansys ensures the integrity of HBM4 channel signals, thermal accuracy, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the new HBM4 base dies. TSMC is also optimizing CoWoS-L and CoWoS-R for HBM4 integration, meaning that massive high-performance chips are already utilizing this technology and getting ready for volume manufacturing.

The rollout of SiPearl's much-anticipated Rhea processor for European supercomputers has been pushed back by a year to 2025, but the delay comes with a silver lining - a significant upgrade in core count and potential performance. Originally slated to arrive in 2024 with 72 cores, the homegrown high-performance chip will now pack 80 cores when it eventually launches. This decisive move by SiPearl and its partners is a strategic choice to ensure the utmost quality and capabilities for the flagship European processor. The additional 12 months will allow the engineering teams to further refine the chip's architecture, carry out extensive testing, and optimize software stacks to take full advantage of Rhea's computing power. Now called the Rhea1, the chip is a crucial component of the European Processor Initiative's mission to develop domestic high-performance computing technologies and reduce reliance on foreign processors. Supercomputer-scale simulations spanning climate science, drug discovery, energy research and more all require astonishing amounts of raw compute grunt.

By scaling up to 80 cores based on the latest Arm Neoverse V1, Rhea1 aims to go toe-to-toe with the world's most powerful processors optimized for supercomputing workloads. The SiPearl wants to utilize TSCM's N6 manufacturing process. The CPU will have 256-bit DDR5 memory connections, 104 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and four stacks of HBM2E memory. The roadmap shift also provides more time for the expansive European supercomputing ecosystem to prepare robust software stacks tailored for the upgraded Rhea silicon. Ensuring a smooth deployment with existing models and enabling future breakthroughs are top priorities. While the delay is a setback for SiPearl's launch schedule, the substantial upgrade could pay significant dividends for Europe's ambitions to join the elite ranks of worldwide supercomputer power. All eyes will be on Rhea's delivery in 2025, mainly from Europe's governments, which are funding the project.

AMD has reached a significant milestone, capturing a record-high share of the X86 CPU market in the first quarter of 2024, according to the latest report from Mercury Research. This achievement marks a significant step forward for the chipmaker in its long battle against rival Intel's dominance in the crucial computer processor space. The surge was fueled by strong demand for AMD's Ryzen and EPYC processors across consumer and enterprise markets. The Ryzen lineup's compelling price-to-performance ratio has struck a chord with gamers, content creators, and businesses seeking cost-effective computing power without sacrificing capabilities. It secured AMD's 23.9% share, an increase from the previous Q4 of 2023, which has seen a 19.8% market share.

The company has also made major inroads on the data center front with its EPYC server CPUs. AMD's ability to supply capable yet affordable processors has enabled cloud providers and enterprises to scale operations on AMD's platform. Several leading tech giants have embraced EPYC, contributing to AMD's surging server market footprint. Now, it is at 23.6%, a significant increase over the past few years, whereas AMD was just above 10% four years ago in 2020. AMD lost some share to Intel on the mobile PC front due to the Meteor Lake ramp, but it managed to gain a small percentage of the market share of client PCs. As AMD rides the momentum into the second half of 2024, all eyes will be on whether the chipmaker can sustain this trajectory and potentially claim an even larger slice of the x86 CPU pie from Intel in the coming quarters.Below, you can see additional graphs of mobile PC and client PC market share.

Corsair Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRSR) ("Corsair" or the "Company"), a leading global provider and innovator of high-performance products for gamers, streamers, content-creators, and gaming PC builders, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

First Quarter 2024 Select Financial Metrics

• Net revenue was $337.3 million compared to $417.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $354.0 million in the first quarter of 2023. Gaming Components and Systems segment net revenue was $230.3 million compared to $280.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $265.0 million in the first quarter of 2023, while Gamer and Creator Peripherals segment net revenue was $107.0 million compared to $136.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $88.9 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $12.5 million, or net loss of $0.12 per diluted share, compared to net income of $6.2 million, or net income of $0.06 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2023 and a net loss of $1.1 million, or a net loss of $0.01 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2023.
• Adjusted net income was $9.5 million, or net income of $0.09 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $23.2 million, or net income of $0.22 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2023 and adjusted net income of $11.9 million, or net income of $0.11 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2023.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $18.0 million, compared to $33.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, and $20.6 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• Cash and restricted cash was $130.2 million as of March 31, 2024.

Intel's CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has confirmed that the upcoming 18A process of the Panther Lake CPU generation is on schedule for a mid-2025 release, which aligns with the initial projection. This development marks a significant milestone in the company's ongoing efforts to integrate AI capabilities into its processors. The mid-2025 release date is expected to follow the debut of Intel's Arrow Lake process in late 2024 or early 2025, a release that holds the promise of significant advancements in AI computing. During Intel's Q1 2024 Quarterly Results, Gelsinger expressed confidence in the company's AI capabilities, stating that the Core Ultra platform currently delivers leadership AI performance and that the next-generation platforms, Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake, will launch later this year, tripling AI performance. He also mentioned that the Panther Lake generation, set to release in 2025, will grow AI performance up to an additional 2x.

The Panther Lake generation represents the culmination of three generations of work in a short time and is expected to continue Intel's iterative approach. This transition is marked by a shift from a hybrid architecture, a combination of different types of processors, to a disaggregated die, where different components of the processor are separated, as AI computing becomes increasingly prominent. This strategic move is aimed at optimizing AI performance and flexibility. This marks the third generation of the Intel Core Ultra series, following Ultra 100 (Meteor Lake), Ultra 200 (Arrow Lake), and Lunar Lake (200V). Intel's release strategy mirrors the pattern set by the Hybrid Architecture, with Alder Lake debuting in 2021, followed by Raptor Lake in 2022, and a refreshed Raptor Lake released last year to bridge the gap until LGA 1851 was ready. However, Intel's roadmap has seen adjustments in the past, such as the initial promise of an Arrow Lake release before the end of 2024, which was later retracted. The mid-2025 release of Panther Lake aligns with rumors of Arrow Lake's late 2024 or early 2025 debut, suggesting that the 18A process CPU generation could debut several months after Arrow Lake.

Global PC shipments grew around 3% YoY in Q1 2024 after eight consecutive quarters of declines due to demand slowdown and inventory correction, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research. The shipment growth in Q1 2024 came on a relatively low base in Q1 2023. The coming quarters of 2024 will see sequential shipment growth, resulting in 3% YoY growth for the full year, largely driven by AI PC momentum, shipment recovery across different sectors, and a fresh replacement cycle.

Lenovo's PC shipments were up 8% in Q1 2024 off an easy comparison from last year. The brand managed to reclaim its 24% share in the market, compared to 23% in Q1 2023. HP and Dell, with market shares of 21% and 16% respectively, remained flattish, waiting for North America to drive shipment growth in the coming quarters. Apple's shipment performance was also resilient, with the 2% growth mainly supported by M3 base models.

Today, ASML Holding NV (ASML) has published its 2024 first-quarter results.

• Q1 total net sales of €5.3 billion, gross margin of 51.0%, net income of €1.2 billion
• Quarterly net bookings in Q1 of €3.6 billion of which €656 million is EUV
• ASML expects Q2 2024 total net sales between €5.7 billion and €6.2 billion, and a gross margin between 50% and 51%
• ASML expects 2024 total net sales to be similar to 2023

CEO statement and outlook
"Our first-quarter total net sales came in at €5.3 billion, at the midpoint of our guidance, with a gross margin of 51.0% which is above guidance, primarily driven by product mix and one-offs. We expect second-quarter total net sales between €5.7 billion and €6.2 billion with a gross margin between 50% and 51%. ASML expects R&D costs of around €1,070 million and SG&A costs of around €295 million. Our outlook for the full year 2024 is unchanged, with the second half of the year expected to be stronger than the first half, in line with the industry's continued recovery from the downturn. We see 2024 as a transition year with continued investments in both capacity ramp and technology, to be ready for the turn in the cycle," said ASML President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink.

Thanks for the detailed information obtained by The Verge, today we confirm previously leaked details as Sony gears up to unveil the highly anticipated PlayStation 5 Pro, codenamed "Trinity." According to insider reports, Sony is urging developers to optimize their games for the PS5 Pro, with a primary focus on enhancing ray tracing capabilities. The console is expected to feature an RDNA 3 GPU with 30 WGP running BVH8, capable of 33.5 TeraFLOPS of FP32 single-precision computing power, and a slightly quicker CPU running at 3.85 GHz, enabling it to render games with ray tracing enabled or achieve higher resolutions and frame rates in select titles. Sony anticipates GPU rendering on the PS5 Pro to be approximately 45 percent faster than the standard PlayStation 5. The PS5 Pro GPU will be larger and utilize faster system memory to bolster ray tracing performance, boasting up to three times the speed of the regular PS5.

Additionally, the console will employ a more powerful ray tracing architecture, backed by PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), allowing developers to leverage graphics features like ray tracing more extensively. To support this endeavor, Sony is providing developers with test kits, and all games submitted for certification from August onward must be compatible with the PS5 Pro. Insider Gaming, the first to report the full PS5 Pro specs, suggests a potential release during the 2024 holiday period. The PS5 Pro will also feature modifications for developers regarding system memory, with Sony increasing the memory bandwidth from 448 GB/s to 576 GB/s, enhancing efficiency for an even more immersive gaming experience. To do AI processing, there is an custom AI accelerator capable of 300 8-bit INT8 TOPS and 67 16-bit FP16 TeraFLOPS, in addition to ACV audio codec running up to 35% faster.

While everyone has been focused on shipping an AI-enhanced product recently, one tech giant didn't appear to be bothered- Apple. However, according to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple is readying an overhaul of its Apple Silicon M-series chips to embed AI processing capabilities at the processor level. As the report indicates, Apple is preparing an update for late 2024 and early 2025 with the M4 series of chips, which will reportedly feature AI processing units similar to those found in other commercial chips. There should be three levels of the M4 series, with the entry-level M4 codenamed Donan, the mid-level M4 chip codenamed Brava, and the high-end M4 chip codenamed Hydra.

Sales of Apple Macs peaked in 2022; the following year was a sharp decline, and sales have continued to be flat since. The new AI PCs for Windows-based systems have been generating hype from all major vendors, hoping to introduce AI features to end users. However, Apple wants to be part of the revolution, and the company has already scheduled the World Wide Developer Conference for June 10th. At WWDC this year, Apple is supposed to show a suite of AI-powered solutions to enable better user experience and increase productivity. With M4 chips getting AI enhancement, the WWDC announcements will get extra hardware accelerations. However, we must wait for the exact announcements before making further assumptions.

Intel has decided to discontinue its entire 13th Gen Raptor Lake lineup of overclockable "K-series" CPU SKUs. According to an official product change notice, the company will stop accepting orders for chips like the Core i9-13900KS, Core i9-13900K, Core i9-13900KF, Core i7-13700K, Core i7-13700KF, Core i5-13600K, and Core i5-13600KF after May 24th, 2024. Final shipments to vendors are targeted for June 28th. After those dates, availability of the unlocked Raptor Lake processors will rapidly diminish as the remaining inventory gets sold off, possibly at inflated prices due to shortages. This discontinuation comes just over a year after Raptor Lake's launch in late 2022, which delivered additional performance improvements over the previous Alder Lake generation.

Raptor Lake brought higher clocks, more cache, additional efficiency cores, and enough muscle to compete with AMD's Ryzen 7000 CPUs in many workloads. Interestingly, Intel has not yet discontinued Alder Lake, suggesting those 12th-generation chips may still be available for some time. While the death of the overclockable Raptor Lake K-series CPUs is unfortunate for enthusiasts, there is an upside—it paves the way for Intel's current generation Raptor Lake refresh, 14th generation Core processors, to clear inventory before the next-generation processors arrive. The 15th generation "Arrow Lake" Core Ultra 2 series of processors could be teased at the upcoming Computex event in June.

According to the latest report from ComputerBase, Intel had a strong presence at the recently concluded Embedded World 2024 conference. The company officially showcased its Arc series of GPUs for the embedded market, based on the existing Alchemist chips rebranded as the "E series." However, industry whispers hint at a more significant development—the impending launch of Intel's second-generation Arc Xe² GPUs, codenamed "Battlemage," potentially before the lucrative Black Friday shopping season. While Alchemist serves as Intel's current offering for embedded applications, many companies in attendance expressed keen interest in Battlemage, the successor to Alchemist. These firms often cover a broad spectrum, from servers and desktops to notebooks and embedded systems, necessitating a hardware platform that caters to this diverse range of applications.

Officially, Intel had previously stated that Battlemage would "hopefully" arrive before CES 2025, implying a 2024 launch. However, rumors from the trade show floor suggest a more ambitious target—a release before Black Friday, which falls on November 29th this year. This timeline aligns with Intel's historical launch patterns, as the original Arc A380 and notebook GPUs debuted in early October 2022, albeit with a staggered and limited rollout. Intel's struggles with the Alchemist launch serve as a learning experience for the company. Early promises and performance claims for the first-generation Arc GPUs failed to materialize, leading to a stuttering market introduction. This time, Intel has adopted a more reserved approach, avoiding premature and grandiose proclamations about Battlemage's capabilities.