Hi all.
I read the latest “Spillkins” here that digitalization in Russia is at a high level. This is true: from deliveries to government services and car washes. And now I’m standing at the checkout waiting for my turn (I would have gone to the self-service checkout, but I picked up a bunch of dairy products and I don’t have the strength to scan all these QR codes), I read Biryuli and understand that somehow there are too many people in front of the checkout. And this, it turns out, is the queue for paying rent receipts. Many men and women stand with their eyes glued to their smartphones, holding receipts in their hands, waiting to be invited into the “aquarium.”
Do you, dear readers, also pay your rent using the analogue method? If yes, for what reason?
Table of Contents
Wi-Fi 8 is not needed by the average user
In early November, MediaTek sent out a press release entitled “Wi-Fi 8: The Future of Communications.” And every time I hear a new figure, I never tire of being amazed at how equipment manufacturers are trying to increase sales. For example, Wi-Fi 5 was standardized in January 2014, but the first routers began appearing at the end of 2012. However, most smartphones did not support the technology. For example, Apple only added support for Wi-Fi 5 starting with the iPhone 6, which was released in the fall of 2014.
Although, since we started talking about Apple, it was Steve Jobs who became the pioneer of this technology. If you have the opportunity, watch the historical footage of Jobs in 1999, like a real magician, putting his laptop through a hula hoop to prove that the Internet is truly wireless.
And until the release of Wi-Fi 5, each new generation of communication was perceived as a holiday, because it provided a significant increase in speed and reliability. But then everything seemed to merge into one stream. So, in 2019, Wi-Fi 6 was introduced, then Wi-Fi 6E, almost simultaneously with this, Chinese smartphone manufacturers began adding support for Wi-Fi 7 to their smartphones, which had not even been properly standardized yet.
A key feature of Wi-Fi 7 is increased speeds. The theoretical limit is 23 Gbps, that is, 3 times faster than Wi-Fi 6. Introducing Wi-Fi 8, MediaTek talks about increasing reliability, network intelligence, and overall optimization. It’s interesting that with relatively minor innovations, they chose to use a new number in the name of the standard rather than make Wi-Fi 7E.
My question, however, is whether new technologies are spreading beyond news sites. For example, my smartphone now sees about 15 different Wi-Fi networks, and only one of them is labeled as Wi-Fi 6. In public spaces, Wi-Fi 6 is even less common. I’ve probably only come across it at modern airports. Perhaps the situation with Wi-Fi 7 will develop differently, since Chinese manufacturers have quite actively (unlike the situation with Wi-Fi 6) taken their hands in their hands and churned out affordable Wi-Fi 7 routers.
However, releasing inexpensive routers is an easy task. It is much more difficult to introduce new technology to the unaware masses. Firstly, users rarely think about the speed of their home Internet. So, according to the same OOKLA, the average Internet speed in Russia is 89 Mbit/s. I don’t believe that you can live comfortably with such an Internet, but people can do it.
Secondly, most providers have mastered the concept of renting out your router. And these are all Wi-Fi 5 routers. I specifically studied the offers of providers. Of the 20 providers, only one had a single model Wi-Fi 6 router. And there may be several reasons for this behavior:
- Wi-Fi 5 routers are cheaper.
- All the same, subscribers are stuck on 100 Mbit/s tariffs, so why do they need advanced routers?
- And in general, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 routers that offer higher speeds can create an increased load on the operator’s infrastructure, which will lead to wear and tear on the equipment.
It can be assumed that starting with Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi standards are moving into a conditional professional direction. For example, such technologies will be useful in offices and crowded public spaces (train stations, parks, airports).
But at the moment, the same Wi-Fi 6 may be needed by an ordinary user only if he has an irresistible desire and the ability to watch 8K videos, for which it is desirable that the channel be 100 Mbit/s. But where can I get such videos?
Accordingly, I would like to ask you, how often do you update your routers? Or do you not update at all, but use what your Internet provider provided?
What might force you to upgrade your computer?
Since we touched on the issue of updating routers, it’s time to talk about computers. According to statistics, the life cycle of modern laptops is about 5 years. I can’t say anything about desktop PCs. And in general, they have lost their popularity and are sold about 3 times worse than laptops. In this case we are talking about ready-made assemblies. Behind the scenes there are enthusiasts who independently purchase all the components.
My work all-in-one PC runs on an 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor, and I’m pretty vague about when I’ll upgrade it. At the moment, the PC is more than 6 years old. And for office tasks its capabilities are sufficient. Of course, while my all-in-one PC was once considered a high-end device, now it is more of an entry-level device. However, in general, it can easily compete in performance with laptops that sell for 40–50 thousand rubles.
My hypothesis is that, as in the case of routers, updating equipment is losing relevance for the average user. Improved computer power is required for specific categories of users. For example, those who work with graphics and video editing. New processors and video cards allow you to process 4K video faster, reducing operating time and allowing you to take on more orders.
Another category is active gamer enthusiasts. Enthusiasts is an important qualifier because statistics show that most players prefer to play one game at a time. Often this is something online: CS or CoD, Genshin Impact, tanks, WoW. These games run well on basic hardware. For example, Counter-Strike 2 was recently released, in which the recommended technical characteristics section lists a 2017 Intel Core i5-7500 processor and a GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB video card, introduced in the summer of 2016, that is, more than 8 years ago.
Overall, even enthusiast gamers don’t need to update their PC often. If we look at performance growth, then in order to always be on top, the video card must be updated approximately once every 4 years. If you are ready to put up with the fact that at the end of the cycle you will have to switch from “ultra” and high settings to medium-high, then even more so once every 6 years. A similar story with the processor.
About updating laptops
If we talk about a laptop, then battery degradation or the inability to update other components may force an update. Although, unlike smartphones, replacing the battery on a laptop is much easier. But upgrading the processor and video card may not even be possible.
Some manufacturers, including Apple, follow a strategy where the user cannot even upgrade the RAM and storage. On the one hand, they reduce the cost of production, on the other, they force the user to update faster. For example, in the case of my monoblock, a couple of years ago I breathed new life into it by installing 2 times more fast RAM and adding a new high-speed SSD. After all, it is often the amount of RAM and the speed of the drive that become the “bottleneck” for the system.
By the way, from time to time another rumor penetrates the market that a modular laptop is about to appear that can be updated. These are usually pretty sad devices. But perhaps the situation has begun to change. So, the other day in China, a Huan 16 Air Gaming Laptop with RTX 4060 8 GB graphics priced at 5,999 yuan (about $830), which allows you to update the video card, was listed on marketplaces.
The idea is that the video card is a separate unit that can be replaced, like, for example, an SSD drive. It is not possible to change the processor. So you’ll have to put up with the Ryzen 7 8845HS (not the worst option). In this case, it is interesting whether the manufacturer will promptly provide new video cards, at least within the current line. For example, someone could buy an RTX 4060, only to upgrade it to a 4080 three years later. Yes, there will already be a new 50-series graphics on the market, but the RTX 4080 will still provide a significant performance boost.
It is a little doubtful that the innovation of a Chinese company will become popular. The fact is that now most manufacturers see the transition to AI processors (that is, processors that have a coprocessor for neural networks) and processors on ARM architecture as growth points.
However, in my opinion, now is the time for modular architecture. Users rarely upgrade devices, and the ability to easily and quickly replace the processor, video card and storage may encourage them to pay extra money. For example, a client will buy a laptop once every 5–7 years. And if you give him the opportunity to update, then perhaps somewhere in the middle of the life cycle he will buy a new video card or a more powerful processor.
Conclusion
I recommend reading the material “Spillies No. 823”, in which the boss argues that Samsung is carefully preparing for the crisis: cutting staff, abandoning the production of its own chipsets in order to buy more third-party processors and thus create a shortage. Well, I see that Samsung is systematically losing ground. However, what is more important here is not even the actual state of affairs, but the fact that the media noticed the company’s weakness and began actively adding fuel to the fire. Recently, many wrote about how Samsung sank in India. Now they are discussing how SK Hynix has surpassed Samsung in technology. SK Hynix is selling its HBM memory to Nvidia, which is important for AI, while Samsung is waiting for Nvidia to certify its memory.
Here, perhaps, it is worth explaining that HBM memory, which is essentially stacks of DRAM modules, has been on the market for quite a long time, but before neural networks it was not in demand. Accordingly, Samsung, driven by its strategy of minimizing costs and increasing profits, simply did not invest in this area. And when the category took off, the company was left with nothing, figuratively speaking. Essentially, there is no problem. HBM is not unique know-how. Samsung has its own similar memory HBM3E. However, the fact remains that the company missed the opportunity. And the market did not forgive this. SK Hynix shares have grown by 38% over the past year, while Samsung shares, on the contrary, have sank by 24.5%. That is, as the press likes to savor it, capitalization decreased by $126 billion. But the main danger here is that Samsung may have an aura of failure.
Source: mobile-review.com
