Mobile PC evolved more slowly, where stunning innovation? -IPhone7, phone 7, innovation-IT information

On September 12, the Wall Street Journal published an article that, in recent years, smart phone, PC, Tablet PCs and other computing devices evolved and less fast, but they are promoting innovation in a new way. For example, hardware vendors for chip performance slowdown is the main coping, specific tasks to customize chips.

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Outside of Apple's new iPhone 7 early evaluation can use "boring" a Word to summarize. Critics have praised several improvements for the device, but people also agree that Apple failed to upgrade an existing iPhone users come up with convincing reasons.

Why would this be? Why the iPhone and PC, Tablet PCs and other computing devices evolved not as fast as before? There are many reasons, but the crux of the problem is that existing technological progress is becoming harder than ever--the more technically, more expensive and more time-consuming. Our equipment is complex and that, more fundamentally, push them further means to break through the limits of physics.

New ways of creative evolution

Of course, we need not despair. These devices built in the way technology is evolving, new equipment and new experience opens possibilities.

PC chips Intel and Apple in similar circumstances. They usually every two years to a major upgrade of its core products, but they have slowed down the pace.

Intel says it will launch once every three years to make it into more transistors in a chip technology. It referred to its latest processors as Kaby Lake--to earlier-generation technologies, "Optimization". That means that the PC and related equipment upgrades will be smaller, slower sales in those areas.

Two big-screen models iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus two years later, iPhone this year was supposed to usher in a significant redesign. But Apple just has brought new models for longer battery life, faster processors, better camera--iPhone waterproof function and 7 Plus is equipped with two rear-facing camera. Wall Street Journal tech columnist qiaofuli·fule (Geoffrey Fowler) words, which are "very pragmatic, but does not loaded mesh can ask more. ”

However, careful research, the technologies of both companies will make more and more new features and applications possible.

Based on Intel's latest microprocessor, for example. It may only in traditional computing tasks a little faster than the old, but it comes with an estimated rate of old twice times the graphics processor. The chip can also handle pixel HD video 4K video 4 times as long as conventional. This itself may sound upgrade is not very big. But in the virtual reality promises to be the next killer application of the PC era, it is no small thing.

Apple to the core component of the new iPhone A10 to create better graphics processor. This brings the new camera support, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller (Phil Schiller) called it a "photo supercomputer". Stressed that Apple iPhone 7 substantially improved graphics capabilities will bring great benefits to gamers, but it may be for the iPhone supports virtual reality or augmented reality is established. Reportedly, the company is involved in the emerging field.

Special custom chip

Emergence of these features are only the beginning. Slowdown in chip performance, hardware manufacturers are the main coping to customize chips to handle specific tasks.

This type of chip processing speed than has long been known as PC and Smartphones "brain" common chips is much more rapid. Gartner Research Vice President make·Hong (Mark Hung), they can be used in artificial intelligence, machine vision, audio processing tasks.

For example, with images and display functionality improvements, Apple and its rivals towards a 3D future – in the form of virtual reality 3D video and 3D playback. Other chip enable driverless car in machine vision and driving Apple's Siri, Microsoft Cortana, Amazon Alexa deep learning of virtual assistants such as AI.

As make·Hong said, the chip is "heterogeneous computing" part of the trend, and the trend is the use of different equipment driven by different chips. For example, in Apple's press conference last week, the company introduced 3 new chip:iPhone7 A10, Apple Watch Series 2 improved S1 and the AirPod W1 wireless headphones.

In other words, Apple layout of an ecosystem made up of using custom chip equipment, each of the custom chips for different tasks. This is a form of heterogeneous computing beyond the chip itself, visible at the device level.

Apple is not alone in the way to go. Intel has been on a buying spree in mergers and acquisitions, has swallowed up a number of working on vision, artificial intelligence, server and networking chip company.

Through these developments, Apple and Intel technology into the hands of developers, which will make it possible to create a necessary function in the future, from the 3D interface and an indoor map, to create new artificial intelligence of human-computer interaction.

It is worth remembering that, from Apple and its rivals are "incremental" upgrade gave birth to the section by far the most valuable startups, from Uber to Airbnb. Seemingly trivial innovation could set off a huge change of a classic case, was on the 2003 started to appear in a new Android Smartphone, which didn't set off until the 2010 iPhone 4 came out the biggest waves. I wonder who thought that increasing the front-facing camera would create Snapchat?

手机PC进化越来越慢，惊艳创新去哪了？ - iPhone7,苹果7,创新 - IT资讯

9月12日消息，华尔街日报发布文章称，近年来智能手机、PC、平板电脑等计算设备的进化并没有以往那么快速，不过它们正以新的方式推进创新。例如，硬件厂商对于芯片性能提升放缓的主要应对方式是，针对特定任务打造定制芯片。

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外界对苹果新发布的iPhone 7的早期评价可以用“乏味无趣”一词来概括。评论者对于该设备的多项改进予以了赞许，但人们也一直认同苹果没能给现有iPhone用户拿出令人信服的升级理由。

为什么会这样呢？为什么iPhone以及PC、平板电脑等其它的计算设备的进化没有像以往那么快速呢？原因有很多，但最核心的问题在于：推进现有技术的进步正变得比以往任何时候都要艰难——技术难度更高，成本更加高昂，更加费时。我们的设备错综复杂，以至于从更根本上说，推动它们更进一步就等于要突破物理学的极限。

新的创新演变方式

当然，我们也不必感到绝望。这些设备内置的技术正在演变的方式，可给新型设备和新体验开启可能性。

生产PC芯片的英特尔与苹果处境相似。二者通常都每两年对旗下核心产品进行一次重大升级，但它们都放慢这一步伐。

英特尔称，它将每三年推出一次可让它在芯片中塞入更多晶体管的新技术。它将其最新的处理器称作Kaby Lake——对前代技术的“优化”。那意味着PC和相关设备的升级幅度会变小，那些领域的销售会放缓。

在两款大屏机型iPhone 6和iPhone 6 Plus问世两年后，iPhone今年也本应迎来大幅度的重新设计。但苹果却只是给新机型带来了更长的电池续航时间，更快速的处理器，防水功能和更好的摄像头——iPhone 7 Plus配备双后置摄像头。用华尔街日报科技专栏作家乔弗里·福勒（Geoffrey Fowler）的话来说，这些升级“很务实，但并没让人膛目结舌。”

不过，仔细研究一番，两家公司的技术将会让越来越多的新功能和应用成为可能。

以英特尔最新的微处理器为例。它在处理传统计算任务上可能只比旧款快一点，但它配有据估计速度达到旧款两倍的图形处理器。该芯片还能够处理像素4倍于传统高清视频的4K视频。这本身听上去可能提升不算很大。但在虚拟现实有望成为PC的下一个杀手级应用的年代，它可不是小事情。

苹果也给新款iPhone的核心组件A10芯片打造了更好的图形处理器。这给新摄像头带来了支持，苹果营销主管菲尔·席勒（Phil Schiller）称其为“照片的超级计算机”。苹果强调称iPhone 7大幅改进的图形处理能力会给游戏玩家带来很大的好处，不过它有可能会为iPhone支持虚拟现实或者增强现实打下基础。据传，该公司正在涉足该新兴领域。

专用定制芯片

这些功能特性的出现还只是个开始。对于芯片性能提升放缓，硬件厂商的主要应对方式是打造定制芯片来处理特定任务。

这类芯片处理任务的速度比长久以来被称作PC和智能手机的“大脑”的通用型芯片要快速得多。Gartner研究副总裁马克·洪（Mark Hung）指出，它们能够应用于人工智能、机器视觉、音频处理等任务。

例如，凭借图像和显示功能的改进，苹果及其竞争对手正在迈向3D未来——以虚拟现实为形式的3D视频和3D播放。其它的专用芯片则使能无人驾驶汽车的机器视觉以及驱动苹果Siri、微软Cortana、亚马逊Alexa等虚拟助手的深度学习AI。

正如马克·洪所说的，这些专用芯片是“异构计算”趋势的一部分，该趋势是指用途不同的设备由不同的芯片所驱动。举例来说，在苹果上周的发布会上，该公司着重介绍了3款新芯片：iPhone7的A10、Apple Watch Series 2经过改良的S1芯片以及AirPod无线耳机的W1芯片。

换言之，苹果布局了一个由采用定制芯片的设备组成的生态系统，各个定制芯片针对不同的任务。这是超越芯片本身的一种异构计算形式，在设备层面明显可见。

并非只有苹果在走这条路。英特尔一直在大举展开并购，已经吞并了多家致力于研究视觉、人工智能、服务器和物联网的芯片公司。

通过这些进展，苹果和英特尔将技术交到开发者手中，后者将得以打造未来的必备功能，从3D界面和室内地图，到可催生新型人机交互方式的人工智能。

值得记住的是，来自苹果及其竞争对手的“增量”升级催生了部分迄今为止最具价值的创业公司，从Uber到Airbnb。看似微不足道的创新能够掀起巨大变革的一个经典案例，是关于2003年就开始出现在Android智能手机的一项新增功能，该功能直到2010年iPhone 4问世才掀起最大的波澜。试问有谁会想到增加前置摄像头会催生Snapchat呢？