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Heterogenous AI chipsets effective in tackling diverse AI workloads

Ana Mary Joseph
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Heterogenous AI chipsets effective in tackling diverse AI workloads
  • Strong collaborations between hardware and software stakeholders are pivotal in creating unified propositions and fostering the development of productivity-focused applications.
  • Cloud deployment will act as a bottleneck for generative AI to scale due to concerns about data privacy, latency, and networking costs.

Smartphone and PC vendors have committed significant resources to produce chipsets that can handle inference workloads previously limited to the cloud.

Paul Schell, Industry Analyst at ABI Research, said that smartphone OEMs like Vivo and Samsung have started implementing heterogenous AI chipsets and investing in generative AI applications to deploy on their devices.

Moreover, he said that chip makers like Qualcomm and MediaTek have promoted their developer and optimisation tools to kickstart application development.

The same applies to the PC market also, he said, where chip vendors like AMD and Intel  have started shipping heterogenous AI chipsets for PCs, complemented by the concerted effort between OEMs and ISVs like Microsoft  to build optimised AI software.

According to ABI Research, this will unlock AI chipset shipments and revenue growth in these industries and extend to tablets and gaming consoles, reaching over 1.3 billion shipments in 2030. 

AI to play a central role

“We can observe all corners of the ecosystem rallying behind the potential of low-latency, data-private AI applications that can scale beyond cloud environments, although we are still at a very early stage,” Schell said.

According to Counterpoint Research stats, GenAI smartphone share of overall smartphone shipments will reach 11 per cent by 2024 and 43 per cent by 2027 to pass 550 million units in 2027 with fourfold growth.

But Gartner reports that worldwide shipments of AI PCs and GenAI smartphones are projected to total 295 million units by the end of 2024, up from 29 million units in 2023.

Gartner estimates 240 million GenAI smartphones and 54.5 million AI PCs will be shipped by the end of 2024, which will represent 22 per cent of basic and premium smartphones and 22 per cent of all PCs in 2024.

Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, said that more than 10 OEMs have launched over 30 GenAI-capable smartphones so far. 

Mohit Agrawal, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, said that smartphones of the future will be more personalised to cater to individual needs and preferences, and AI will play a central role in driving these personalised experiences.

Currently, he said the AI use cases include enhanced imaging capabilities, translation features and improved app experiences, content recommendations, creating more personalised content, and more.

“The use cases will evolve as the large language models (LLMs) will continue to grow in both size and efficiency. We believe that the integration of edge (mobile devices) and cloud will be the mainstream model for generative AI in smartphones, and OEMs with an equally strong play in software capabilities, along with strategic industry partnerships, are likely to stay ahead of the competition.”

Counterpoint Research expects GenAI smartphones to hit an inflection point in 2025 as the devices permeate the broader price segments, especially the $400-$599 price tier.

“The ≥$600 and $400-$599 price bands will account for 9 out of every 10 GenAI smartphones sold in 2024. We expect Qualcomm to lead in the AI chip space in 2024, capturing almost half of all GenAI smartphone shipments, followed by MediaTek with a 13 per cent share,” Agrawal said.

Heterogenous AI chipset: Highly effective architecture

Schell said that heterogenous AI chipsets capable of distributing workloads between CPU, GPU, and NPU are highly effective architectures for tackling today’s diverse AI workloads – including generative and multimodal AI – and these systems will be adopted across device markets at an accelerating rate.

“More demanding on-device AI workloads in PCs will be addressed by GPU cards, like Nvidia’s  RTX, and AMD’s high-end Radeon hardware. This is why these chipsets, which reside outside of heterogenous systems, will remain in the AI mix going forward,” he said.

ABI Research believes productivity AI applications can reduce refresh cycles of smartphones, notebooks, and desktops – as well as other AI applications in tablets and gaming consoles – and provide the incentive to bring about this uptick in demand.

Research firm IDC expects 2024 to be an expansion year with the introduction of AI PCs, which will ultimately drive the market forward to 292.2 million units in 2028 and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.4 per cent over the 2024–2028 forecast period.

Growth is expected to slowly ramp up over the year along with the availability of AI PCs, which will coincide with the beginning of a commercial refresh cycle in 2025.

 “Commercial buyers, both enterprise and educational, are on the cusp of a refresh cycle that begins later this year and reaches its peak in 2025. Many of these buyers are expected to be among the first in terms of AI PC adoption. The presence of on-device AI capabilities is not likely to lead to an increase in the PC installed base, but it will certainly lead to a growth in average selling prices,” Jitesh Ubrani, Research Manager with IDC, said.

Card payments market in UAE to cross $200b in 2028

Ana Mary Joseph
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Card payments market in UAE to cross $200b in 2028
  • Various financial inclusion measures by the government and the Central Bank of the UAE are supporting the cashless infrastructure.
  • The card payments value is expected to register a growth of 13.3% to reach AED511.4b in 2024.

The card payments in the UAE are expected to cross $200 billion in 2028 from $123 billion in 2023 as consumer shift towards electronic payments and fuelled by a rise in consumer spending.

“While cash remains the most preferred mode of payment, the dynamic is gradually changing with the rise in card payments. The UAE payment card market can be characterised as rapidly growing and innovative. Persistent efforts from the government as well as financial institutions to promote electronic payments via financial inclusion initiatives as well as developing and expanding payment acceptance infrastructure have encouraged consumers to use electronic payments for day-to-day transactions,” Ravi Sharma, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, said.

The UAE card payments market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6 per cent between 2024 and 2028 to reach AED764.1 billion ($208.2 billion) in 2028.

The UAE is robustly moving towards the digitalisation of payments.

Various financial inclusion measures by the government and the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) such as the introduction of the Wage Protection System and Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Program are supporting the cashless infrastructure, which is seen in the expansion of PoS terminals and developments in the card and mobile payments space.

Government plays key role

Among PoS, mobile PoS terminals are emerging as an alternative payment acceptance solution—especially among SMEs (which account for most UAE businesses) due to being comparatively much cheaper than the traditional PoS terminals.

According to the UAE SME Council, as of mid-2022, there were 557,000 SMEs in the country, and the figure is expected to reach one million by 2030.

For example, in May 2022, payment services provider Foloosi partnered with Mastercard to launch the Tap on Phone solution for SMEs. This enables merchants to convert Android mobile devices into payment acceptance terminals that accept payments via cards, mobile wallets, and smartwatches.

“The UAE government is taking several other initiatives to reduce the dependence on cash and promote electronic payments thereby benefiting card payments,” Sharma said.

Some of the notable measures include the launch of the Cashless Dubai initiative to shift all payment transactions such as payment to merchants, and payment for government services to electronic payments within the city.

 “The UAE market is expected to continue its upward growth trajectory supported by the government initiatives promoting electronic payments, rising consumer preference for digital payments, and improving payment infrastructure. The card payments value is expected to register a growth of 13.3 per cent to reach AED511.4 billion ($139.4 billion) in 2024,” Sharma said.

iPhone 15 Pro Max beats Samsung’s 24 to be best-selling smartphone in Q1

Mohammed Fahad
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iPhone 15 Pro Max beats Samsung’s 24 to be best-selling smartphone in Q1
  • Consumers opt for high-end smartphones to ensure their devices remain technologically relevant for a longer duration.

Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max was the best-selling smartphone in the first quarter of 2024, achieving the top position for the first time in Apple’s non-seasonal quarter.

According to Counterpoint Research, all four iPhone 15 variants and the iPhone 14 were among the top 10 bestsellers.

Moreover, the iPhone 15 line-up secured the top three spots.

Apple and Samsung dominated the top-10 best-selling smartphones list for the first quarter, each capturing five positions and leaving no spot for other brands.

The growing popularity of the Apple Pro line-up was evident, as it captured half of Apple’s total sales in the quarter and has become the major revenue earner for Apple, contributing over 60 per cent of its sales value the first quarter.

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, according to the research firm, secured two spots in the top 10, with its Ultra variant ranking fifth and the base variant coming in ninth.

GenAI: A new level of interaction

The strong performance of the S24 series can be attributed to Samsung’s early refresh of the series, and its efforts in GenAI technology.

The S24 series was the first to reach the market with GenAI features and capabilities, allowing users to create unique content and experience a new level of interaction with their smartphones.

“Consumers are holding onto their smartphones for longer periods because upgrades are offering limited differentiation in features. This leads consumers to opt for high-end smartphones to ensure their devices remain technologically relevant for a longer duration,” the research firm said.

Going forward, the research firm expects the top 10 best-selling smartphones to capture a larger share of total smartphone sales as OEMs are focusing on leaner portfolios with premium features, including GenAI.

CBDC a safer alternative to private digital currencies

TCN Bureau
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CBDC a safer alternative to private digital currencies
  • RBI is working on making the CBDCs transferable in offline mode as well.

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or digital currency can drive financial inclusion and provide a much safer alternative to potentially dangerous private digital currencies, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

Private digital currencies, commonly known as cryptocurrency, are currently unregulated in India. The Indian government does not register crypto exchanges and it maintains crypto assets, which, by definition, are borderless and require “international collaboration.”

“CBDC can provide a much safer alternative to private digital currencies, which, according to us, are potentially dangerous,” Governor Das said at the BIS Innovation Summit 2024.

In the context of cross-border payments, Governor Das said that the feature of settlement finality can substantially reduce the cost of transactions.

CBDC, with its unique technology, has transformative potential, Das asserted, as he outlined the three key features – anonymity, ease of usage, and finality of settlements.

India has adopted a phased implementation of CBDCs. The digital currency was launched in India on a pilot basis, both in the wholesale and retail categories, in November-December 2022.

“Going forward, the advantages of CBDCs will be more visible when we enable offline use and programmability features,” the RBI governor said.

“A key objective of the pilots has been to study the change in consumer behaviour vis-a-vis bank deposits. We need many more transactions to understand its wider economic effects, especially on monetary policy and the banking system.”

“So far, we have gained significant insights from the two pilots – wholesale and retail – on various aspects, such as design, technology, and user behaviour. These insights are facilitating the scalability, resilience, and agility of the CBDCs. The pilots are also enabling us to make informed decisions, like positioning the CBDC alongside the UPI.”

Das further said the RBI is working on making the CBDCs transferable in offline mode as well.

Among key learnings so far from the CBDC pilot, Das said it has similar denominations to that of hard currency, which makes it easier for users to relate to CBDCs as a digital form of cash. It also offers a similar degree of anonymity to that of hard cash.

Earlier this year at WEF Davos, the RBI governor said the countrywide launch of CBDC will depend on the success, the learnings, and the fine-tuning of the pilot version.

Msheireb to bring Qatar’s culture to limelight with Metahug

TCN Bureau
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Msheireb to bring Qatar’s culture to limelight with Metahug
  • The partnership not only highlights Msheireb’s dedication to cultural preservation but also aligns with Metahug’s mission of educating through engagement.

Msheireb Properties, a real estate development company and a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation, has teamed up with Metahug to showcase the country’s sustainable innovations, creative chops and deep-rooted traditions to limelight.

The partnership to launch an immersive Roblox platform that will host a series of mini-games, each crafted to highlight a different facet of Qatari life and history by allowing players to explore the richness of Qatari culture.

Enriching experience

At launch, players will be able to participate in six unique games, starting with ‘Pearl Hunt,’ a game that pays homage to Qatar’s pearl diving heritage.

Activities include designing sustainable fashion inspired by traditional Qatari attire and creating furniture that reflects the region’s architectural elegance. Additional mini-games will educate players about Arabic typography and the history of Bedouin lifestyles, celebrating Qatar’s commitment to sustainability and design.

“By integrating educational elements with the fun and excitement of gaming, we aim to create a more enriching experience that teaches players about the significant cultural heritage of Qatar,” Shaikha Al Sulaiti, Senior Manager of the Doha Design District, Msheireb Downtown Doha, said.

A series of workshops organised as part of the upcoming TEFA (technology, education, finance, fashion, and art) event are set to engage the youth in meaningful ways, helping them understand and appreciate the heritage and future aspirations of Qatar.

Microsoft replaces passwords with passkeys on consumer accounts

Ana Mary Joseph
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Microsoft replaces passwords with passkeys on consumer accounts
  • Support for mobile versions of Microsoft applications using a passkey will follow in the coming weeks.
  • Microsoft says the best part about passkeys is that users will never need to worry about creating, forgetting, or resetting passwords ever again.

Users of Microsoft services can now create a passkey on their devices and use their face, fingerprint, PIN, or security key as a means of identification.

Passkeys can replace traditional passwords with your device’s own authentication methods. So, users can sign into Gmail, PayPal, or iCloud just by activating Face ID on the phone’s fingerprint sensor, or with Windows Hello on a PC.

Microsoft clients could sign in to apps and websites using FIDO security keys, Windows Hello, or the Microsoft Authenticator app instead of a password.

Today, you can use a passkey to sign in to Microsoft apps and websites, including Microsoft 365 and Copilot on desktop and mobile browsers. Support for signing into mobile versions of Microsoft applications using a passkey will follow in the coming weeks.

Passkeys have now been adopted by tech giants such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and others.

In 2023, Google started rolling out passkey support across Google Accounts on all major platforms as an additional option for users to sign in, alongside passwords and 2-Step Verification. The same year, the Meta-owned chat app Whatsapp rolled out passkeys to access the application on Android devices

More than 400 million Google accounts have used passkeys so far.

In 2015, Microsoft introduced Windows Hello and Windows Hello for Business as secure ways to access Windows 10 without entering a password as password attacks are so popular because they still get results.

It’s painfully clear that passwords are not sufficient for protecting our lives online. No matter how long and complicated you make your password, or how often you change it, it still presents a risk.

 “More and more apps and services are adding support for passkeys; you can already use them to sign in to the most popular ones. Passkeys are so much easier and more secure than passwords that we predict passkeys will replace passwords almost entirely (and we hope this happens soon),” Microsoft said on its blog.

Many app and website providers understand that even complicated passwords aren’t good enough to protect your account, so they give you the choice to use two-step or multifactor authentication with approvals and codes sent to your phone, email, or an app.

While traditional multifactor authentication can help protect your account, it’s not attacker-proof, and it creates another frustrating barrier between you and your content: all these access attempts, passwords, and codes on all your devices can really add up.

How passkeys work

Passkeys work differently than passwords. Instead of a single, vulnerable secret, passkey access uses two unique keys, known as a cryptographic key pair.

One key is stored safely on your device, guarded by your biometrics or PIN. The other key stays with the app or website for which you create the passkey. You need both parts of the key pair to sign in, just as you need both your key and the bank’s key to get into your safety deposit box.

Because this key pair combination is unique, your passkey will only work on the website or app you created it for, so you can’t be tricked into signing in to a malicious look-alike website. This is why we say that passkeys are “phishing-resistant.”

All you have to do to sign in is use your device unlock gesture: look into your device camera, press your finger on a fingerprint reader, or enter your PIN. Neither your biometric information nor your PIN ever leaves your device and they never get shared with the site or service you’re signing in to. Passkeys can also sync between your devices, so if you lose or upgrade your device, your passkeys will be ready and waiting for you when you set up your new one.

The best part about passkeys is that you’ll never need to worry about creating, forgetting, or resetting passwords ever again.

Creating a passkey for Microsoft account

Creating a passkey for your Microsoft account is easy. On the device where you want to create the passkey, follow this link, and choose the face, fingerprint, PIN, or security key option. Then follow the instructions on your device.

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