Nvidia could be readying GTX 1080 Ti for CES 2017 launch

By Tim Schiesser on September 30, 2016, 7:30 AM




A report from Chinese site Zol, as spotted by TechPowerUp, suggests that Nvidia could be preparing the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti for launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2017.

The GTX 1080 Ti would be the second graphics card to use Nvidia's Pascal GP102 silicon, which was first used in the Titan X. This new report suggests that for the GTX 1080 Ti, 26 of 30 SMs will be enabled, leaving the card with 3,328 CUDA cores and 208 TMUs. In contrast, the Titan X has 28 SMs enabled for 3,584 CUDA cores.

The GPU will reportedly come with a base clock of 1,503 MHz and a boost clock of 1,623 MHz. As for the memory interface, we're expecting to see 384-bit GDDR5X providing 480 GB/s of bandwidth, attached to 12 GB of VRAM.

With this sort of specification sheet, the GTX 1080 Ti will be an expensive graphics card, especially considering the GTX 1080 already retails for $599. There's no word on exact pricing just yet, but it could end up costing $700-800 in Nvidia's current line-up. The Titan X, which is Nvidia's most powerful graphics card, already retails for a huge $1,199.

Between now and CES 2017, Nvidia is expected to launch the GTX 1050 and, if a new report is correct, the GTX 1050 Ti. Both cards will slot beneath the $250 GTX 1060 in Nvidia's mid-range and entry-level line-up. The GTX 1050 Ti will reportedly pack 768 CUDA cores, while the GTX 1050 will use 640, down from 1280 cores in the GTX 1060.

Android Wear 2.0 Launch Postponed To 2017: What Caused Google's Delay?

29 September 2016, 6:55 pm EDT By Fritz Gleyo Tech Times

Google delays the roll out of Android Wear 2.0 for users and extended the developer preview of the said OS version until early 2017 to iron out bugs. ( Uncalno Tekno | Flickr )
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Many have been anticipating the release of Android Wear 2.0 ever since it was announced during Google’s I/O conference back in May.

The upcoming operating system update for wearables packs in a ton of new features such as Play Store for Android Wear, apps that can run independently on the watch as opposed to being tethered to a smartphone, an onscreen keyboard and new fitness apps.

However, users will have to wait a bit longer since Google will not be rolling out 2.0 this year. The release has been pushed back to 2017.

Note that only the developer preview version of Android Wear 2.0 is out at the moment. Google is extending the developer preview until early 2017, which is also the timeframe that the tech giant has set for the first smartwatches to receive the Android Wear 2.0 update.

"We’ve gotten tons of great feedback from the developer community about Android Wear 2.0––thank you! We’ve decided to continue the preview program into early 2017, at which point the first watches will receive Android Wear 2.0," says Google in a blog post.
Why Is The Release Delayed?

The OS version is not yet ready for prime time. Google wants to iron out bugs and encourages its developer community to keep spotting more.


Bear in mind that Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview is only available on a couple of devices. One is the Huawei Watch and the other is the LTE-equipped LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition. Both are running on the same processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 clocked at 1,200 MHz.

LG, Huawei and Motorola made it clear that they will be releasing Android Wear devices for the remainder of 2016.
The Wearable Market

According to data gathered by the IDC, the demand for wearables has increased by more than 67 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the previous year. Total shipment volumes reached 19.7 million units for Q1 2016, which is quite the jump from Q1 2015’s 11.8 million units.


(Photo : Android Wear) Android Wear 2.0 will arrive in 2017.



"The good news is that the wearables market continues to mature and expand," says Ramon Llamas, research manager for IDC's Wearables team. "The wearables that we see today are several steps ahead of what we saw when this market began, increasingly taking their cues from form, function, and fashion.”

The IDC data also shows that Fitbit dominates the wearable market and claims more than a quarter of it. It is followed by Xiaomi, Apple, Garmin, Samsung and BBK.