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Xiaomi and Nokia teaming up to work on VR, AI and more
Xiaomi and Nokia teaming up to work on VR, AI and more
Xiaomi is bolstering its patent portfolio as its global ambitions start to take flight.
The Chinese phone manufacturer signed an agreement with Nokia today dealing with cross licensing of cellular patents, while also agreeing to work with Nokia in areas such as the Internet of Things, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. Nokia will also be transferring patent assets to the company.
Nokia, on the other hand, will supply network infrastructure equipment used by web providers and datacenter operators. It will also work with Xiaomi on technologies related to Nokia's new FP4 network processor.
The agreement between both companies comes about even as both companies look for ways to dominate the phone markets again. Xiaomi has seen its lead slip away to rivals Oppo and Vivo in China, while Nokia is looking to bounce back into the phone business after a disastrous stint with Windows-powered devices. The patent agreement will likely benefit Xiaomi as it looks towards the US market in the future.
"Xiaomi is one of the world's leading smartphone manufacturers and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with them," said Rajeev Suri, Nokia's CEO in a statement.
"Our collaboration with Nokia will enable us to tap on its leadership in building large, high performance networks and formidable strength in software and services, as we seek to create even more remarkable products and services that deliver the best user experience to our Mi fans worldwide," said Lei Jun, Xiaomi's CEO
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7 Ways to Save Money on Car Insurance
7 Ways to Save Money on Car Insurance
This story is part of Recession Help Desk, CNET's coverage of how to make smart money moves in an uncertain economy.
Car insurance is getting more expensive. The cost of car insurance has continued to climb throughout 2022, and increased another 1.3% in July, according to the Consumer Price Index, a key indicator of inflation.
Inflation aside, car insurance was already rising as of last year. Many major car insurers started receiving approval for substantial rate increases at the close of 2021, raising premiums anywhere from 3% to 12%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. To top it off, gas prices have also hit record highs this year, making driving more expensive overall.
If you're tired of paying high car insurance premiums, we have a few tips you can try to reduce your auto insurance costs and add some extra breathing room to your budget.
1. Raise your deductible
Increasing your deductible -- your out-of-pocket cost before your insurance will pick up the bill on a claim -- can lower your premium. This move might make sense if you aren't driving much right now, do not have a history of accidents on the road or if you need to reduce your monthly costs to stay insured. Doing this could cost you later if you're in an accident, though, as you'll have to dish out more money before your carrier covers damages. You should make sure you have enough money to pay the higher deductible if you do end up in an accident.
2. Consider lower coverage for older vehicles
Older cars may not deserve the same insurance attention as your shiny new Tesla or all of the bells and whistles of a Mercedes-type policy. If your car is on its last go-round, you may want to cut out collision coverage or comprehensive coverage for that vehicle, both of which cover damages to your car.
Whether you should drop either coverage depends on the value of your car and the relative cost to insure it. Experts suggest that if your car is worth less than 10 times the annual premium, buying coverage for that vehicle may not be a cost-effective option. One of the quickest ways to check the value is by scrolling through Kelley Blue Book online. For example, say your annual premium is $1,600; 10 times that would be $16,000. If your car is worth less than $16,000, then it might make sense to lower insurance coverage for that car.
3. Use public transit or carpool when you can
Carriers may offer discounts if you have a low mileage count, meaning you drive less than the average number of miles per year compared to other Americans. Typically, you'd be considered a low-mileage driver if you drive less than 7,500 miles per year, but this isn't a bright-line rule. What actually determines if you're a low-mileage driver depends on what state you live in, your age and gender.
How much you can save depends on individual factors, in addition to the car insurance company you sign a policy with. State Farm offers one of the cheapest monthly premiums at $128 for low-mileage drivers, according to one analysis.
If there is mass transit in your area, taking a bus a few days per week (or carpooling with others), could make you eligible for low-mileage discounts. If you don't live in an area with mass transit, you might also consider carpooling to work or school to bring your mileage down.
And if you transitioned to working or studying from home since the start of the pandemic and still haven't shifted back to an in-person workplace, contact your carrier to let them know -- and take advantage of any savings.
4. Bundle your insurance policies
One of the most straightforward ways to save money on insurance is by bundling your home and auto insurance, meaning you buy multiple insurance policies from the same company.
Allstate , Liberty Mutual and GEICO each offer premium discounts for bundling -- depending on which policies and coverages you buy together. You can get discounts on your premium anywhere from 5% to 25%, depending on the provider.
5. Shop around for car insurance rates
Maybe you're working from home permanently and need less coverage. Or perhaps you're returning to the office and need more coverage now. Whatever your situation may be, it's always a good idea to shop around to ensure you're getting the best rates, as other carriers might offer bigger discounts or lower premiums in general.
If you aren't sure where to start, check out CNET's car insurance roundups, where you can see our picks for best overall car insurance, the cheapest car insurance, the best policies for teens and young drivers and the best options for military and veterans.
In addition to getting quotes online, you can reach out directly to some of the top insurance companies to ask about potential discounts.
6. Explore safe driving discounts
If you pride yourself on being a safe traveler, you're in luck. Carriers offer discounts for safe driving and modest claims history, and there are a number of discounts to take advantage of here. Call your carrier to ask how you can enroll in these types of programs. Once successfully enrolled, you should see your premium go down on your next bill.
State Farm, for example, offers both accident-free discounts, where you'll get a discount if you've gone at least three continuous years without an accident, and good driving discounts, which lowers your premium when you go three or more years without moving violations or at-fault accidents.
Telematics insurance programs are also a great way to obtain safe drivers discounts, and it'll factor in low-mileage discounts, too. These programs monitor your mileage and driving behavior through a phone app or a car plug-in device. Call your carrier to enroll in the plan, and while discounts vary by carrier and state, you could be looking at savings as large as 30% off your premium. You'll start at a base rate that will be adjusted depending on the telematics report, which will include factors like your average speed and braking habits. For example, State Farm will review your telematics data every six months to determine how safe your driving has been, and based on those measurements, it'll apply a discount to your policy ranging anywhere from 5% to 50%, according to Bankrate.
7. Find a less expensive car
If you're looking to buy a new or used car, consider comparing the insurance costs among different vehicles. Auto insurance premiums are calculated through a variety of factors, and some of those factors are based on the car itself, including the car's price, repair costs and general safety record.
"This is the thing that people forget about: You can buy a Honda or a Kia, and it's less expensive, or you could buy a Mercedes or a Tesla -- it's going to be more expensive," said Janet Ruiz, a chartered property casualty underwriter and director of strategic communications at the Insurance Information Institute.
And the difference in the cost of insurance for a Mercedes compared to a Honda is stark: The average cost to insure a Mercedes-Benz is about $4,505 annually, compared to an average of $2,151 annually for a Honda. That means you'll pay an average of $179 on a monthly basis for the Honda compared to $375 for the Mercedes.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
Ukraine Is Fighting Russia With Drones and Rewriting the Rules of War
Ukraine Is Fighting Russia With Drones and Rewriting the Rules of War
This story is part of War in Ukraine, CNET's coverage of events there and of the wider effects on the world.
Ukrainian nonprofit Come Back Alive has collected ammunition, rifle stands and radios to help the country's soldiers fight Russia's invasion. Last week week, it also delivered items more commonly used to pep up YouTube videos than fight a war: 24 DJI Mavic 3 drones.
"Our drones are our eyes," said one Ukrainian military officer who's worked with drones since 2015 and spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The Ukrainian military has no official drone unit, the officer said, but soldiers and civilians use them to see what's in the next village or along the next kilometer of road. "If Russian artillery is preparing to strike, we can shift civilians. ... It's a possibility to make a preventive strike and to save Ukrainian people."
From commercial quadcopters to fixed-wing military models, drones have proved important to Ukraine, giving its outgunned defense better chances against the huge Russian military. Early in the war, a civilian drone team called Aerorozvidka worked with military units to help Ukraine stall a convoy of armored vehicles headed toward Kyiv, the country's capital. During a nighttime ambush, the unmanned aircraft dropped small explosives on the lead vehicles, which along with mines caused a pileup. The team also helped Ukraine repel Russia's initial attempt to seize the airport near Kyiv.
Unmanned aircraft have been used in warfare as far back as 1849. Japan sent balloon bombs over the Pacific Ocean to the US during World War II. The term "drone" became mainstream when General Atomics' hulking MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones caught on in US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. By 2011, the US military had 11,000 of the big, expensive systems.
Rarely, however, have drones played the role they're taking on in the asymmetric war between Ukraine's low-budget forces and Russia's gargantuan military. Miniaturization has improved the cost, flight time and range of commercial drones, while Ukrainians have used military drones successfully against Russian armored vehicles that can cost millions of dollars.
Drones are rewriting the rules of war.
"The tank was key at one point," said John Parachini, a Rand Corp. military researcher. "Now drones may be the more decisive weapons system."
In 2021, the Ukrainian military conducted an exercise involving the Baykar Tech Bayraktar TB2 drone that's now being used to fight Russia's invading force.
Getty Images
Though commercial drones are useful mostly for reconnaissance, Ukraine's fleet of military drones has proved important to delivering the actual attack. The large Turkish builtBayraktar TB2 has been used to destroy Russian resupply vehicles and surface-to-air missile launchers. One Ukrainian company, UA Dynamics, makes the low-profile surveillance drone called Punisher that can carry a 4-pound bomb.
The US Defense Department has given Ukraine's military more than 700 AeroVironment Switchblade drones, a "loitering munition" model that can circle a battlefield then become a missile aimed at a target. And on Tuesday, AeroVironment said it has donated to Ukraine more than 100 Quantix drones, reconnaissance models that take off vertically like a quadcopter but then level off and fly faster with a fixed-wing design to survey for up to 45 minutes per battery charge.
Ukrainians are using about 1,000 drones in the war effort, the military officer estimated. Many are mere "toys," he said, "but we have what we have."
Sales of military drones are expected to increase about 7% per year, to $18 billion in 2026 up from $13 billion in 2021, according to Business Research Company.
US drone makers get involved with Ukraine
Other US drone makers are delivering drones to Ukraine for humanitarian or noncombat uses:
Draganfly has sold 10 drones and donated three more for delivering blood, vaccines, antibiotics, insulin and other medical products that must be refrigerated. Partners for that work include Coldchain Delivery Systems and Revived Soldiers Ukraine. Some are being fitted with lidar and magnetometer sensors to detect landmines, too. Draganfly plans to send 200 drones by August, said CEO Cameron Chell.
Aquiline Drones has donated 40 of its $3,000 Spartacus Hurricane drones to Ukraine for inspections, search and rescue, and sending relief items like medication and water, said CEO Barry Alexander. With a boost from donations, it hopes to send 1,000 of the drones to Ukraine.
Skydio, whose drones dodge trees and houses using autonomous navigation , has donated dozens of drones and training worth about $300,000 in total to support humanitarian and relief efforts in Ukraine, said CEO Adam Bry.
Though Skydio focuses on commercial uses, it also sells drones to the US Army for surveillance.
"If you're taking fire, the first thing you do is take cover and understand where the fire is coming from," said Chuck McGraw, who leads Skydio's federal sales and deployed drones as a Navy SEAL in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world. "You can pop up a drone in 60 seconds or less and put eyes on the threat."
Drones meet counter drones
The Russians have their own drones and air defense systems for counteracting Ukrainian drones. Ukrainian photos show that Russians have the same DJI Mavic 3 drones Ukraine is using. But when it comes to Russian military drones, careful accounting in the open-source intelligence movement has shown significant losses, with 26 downed or captured Russian drones so far.
"The Russians are a little behind in this game, and the Ukrainians have proved extremely inventive," Rand's Parachini said.
The drone advantage in Ukraine isn't permanent, as militaries add new abilities to destroy drones or jam the radio transmissions they rely on. And though Russian air defense systems apparently didn't work as well as expected in Ukraine, militaries are investing in counter-drone technology, Parachini said.
Drones are dangerous to use in war, the Ukrainian officer added. Enemy forces can fire on operators when they see a drone take off and can use DJI's AeroScope technology to locate drones.
"In Ukrainian we have a joke: Every time we have a new mouse, someone will construct a new mouse catcher," the officer said.
DJI didn't respond to a request for comment but tweeted in response to Ukrainian criticism that military use of its drones is "inappropriate."
Expect the technological escalation to continue. One likely development is developing swarms of many interlinked drones that collectively will be harder to track and completely foil.
"You swarm 5,000 drones at $2,000 each into an area," said Draganfly's Chell. "How do you stop it?"
AeroVironment military drones head to Ukraine
Drones can occupy a middle ground between human piloted aircraft and missiles. AeroVironment's Switchblade 300 and 600 models are "loitering missiles" that unfold their wings like a pocket knife with a lot of blades and can stay airborne until a targeting system tells them where to go.
The 300 weighs 5.5 pounds, fits into a backpack and is launched from a compact tube. It can fly for 15 minutes – covering more than 6 miles – before colliding into its target. The 50-pound Switchblade 600 is designed for more serious targets like armored vehicles. It can fly up to 25 miles and loiter for 40 minutes.
AeroVironment also sells the Puma line of reconnaissance drones that can stay aloft for as long as six and a half hours. After being launched with a throw, catapult or truck, they can be used to spot targets and transfer coordinates wirelessly to Switchblades for an attack.
"A two-person team with a Switchblade drone can be miles away and take out a $50 million piece of equipment with five people in it," said Michael Robbins, head of government affairs for a US industry group called the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
The US military began by sending 100 Switchblades to Ukraine in late March as part of an $800 million military aid package, then announced a further $300 million package on April 1 that includes both Pumas and Switchblades.
The Pentagon declined to comment on which models, but the latter package includes Switchblade 600s, according to Bloomberg. AeroVironment declined to comment for this story.
AeroVironment's fixed-wing Quantix Recon drones fly faster than conventional quadcopters and can survey more than a half square mile of area in a 45-minute flight. AeroVironment is helping with training to use the drones, too, and the US military is delivering them.
"This donation will provide operators with a tool that can fly undetected by enemy forces and unaffected by radio frequency jammers to deliver accurate and rapid reconnaissance of remote, inaccessible areas," AeroVironment CEO Wahid Nawabi said in a statement.
One advantage of fixed-wing drones is they fly faster and are therefore much harder to shoot down than quadcopters, the Ukrainian officer said.
The Turkish Bayraktar TB2, with a 40-foot wingspan, can navigate without GPS and carry laser-guided munitions. They cost about $1 million each, Robbins said.
"The Bayraktar TB2 has been used to fairly devastating effect against ground forces," Robbins said. "It's become a rallying cry in Ukraine."
The huge drone has become so successful in frustrating the Russians that a Ukrainian company is selling stuffed toy versions. And it's inspired a music video to sing its praises.
"Russian bandits are made into ghosts by Bayraktar," says a translation of the lyrics.
Intel Tries Cashing In on Cryptocurrency Mining Despite Environmental Problems
Intel Tries Cashing In on Cryptocurrency Mining Despite Environmental Problems
Intel later this year will begin selling a chip customized to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the company said Friday. Initial customers include payment processor Block (formerly Square) and two mining companies, Argo Blockchain and Griid Infrastructure.
It's a major bet for the company on a technology that could change finance and, with a cryptocurrency-related idea called NFTs, alter how we own digital assets. Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are plagued by fraud and theft problems, but Intel hopes to address another major drawback, their extraordinarily large energy consumption.
With cryptocurrencies, mining is a computationally taxing process that records transactions onto a widely shared database called the blockchain. The first miner to solve a complex computing problem is rewarded with newly minted cryptocurrency. That means there's a strong incentive to have the most powerful machines -- and also the most efficient, since electrical power costs are heavy.
One of Intel's top rivals, graphics-chip maker Nvidia, has profited handsomely from cryptocurrency mining. Indeed, miners' appetite for its graphics processing units (GPUs) has made it hard for gamers to find graphics cards. But major suppliers of cryptocurrency mining hardware, like Goldshell, MicroBT and Bitmain, use processors called application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) customized for mining.
Cryptocurrency mining uses gargantuan quantities of power , with a current estimated rate of 125 terawatt hours per year, according to an estimate by Cambridge University's Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. For comparison, that's as much as the 2020 electricity consumption of Norway, a nation with 5.5 million people, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
And that doesn't even include mining other cryptocurrencies like ether and dogecoin.
Intel hopes its chip will help with the energy consumption problem.
"We are mindful that some blockchains require an enormous amount of computing power, which unfortunately translates to an immense amount of energy," said Raja Koduri, the senior vice president in charge of Intel's Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group, in a blog post. "Our customers are asking for scalable and sustainable solutions, which is why we are focusing our efforts on realizing the full potential of blockchain by developing the most energy-efficient computing technologies at scale."
An efficiency boost may help miners cut costs and reduce power consumption that worsens global climate crisis problems and deprives others of affordable power. But don't expect a radical improvement in the environmental impact of mining.
That's because cryptocurrency's prevailing "proof of work" approach means the difficulty of the computing problem miners must solve increases as more computing horsepower arrives to solve it. That's in stark contrast to conventional computing, where power and efficiency gains means computers can deliver better video game graphics, tackle new challenges like artificial intelligence, and expand to new markets like smartwatches.
And ASICs by their nature are designed for a specific purpose, which in the case of cryptocurrency miners means they're useless once they're superseded by new models. Right now bitcoin mining generates electronic waste at a rate of 31,000 tons per year, according to Digiconomist's Bitcoin E-waste Monitor.
Nvidia's Grace AI chip leaves Intel processors behind
Nvidia's Grace AI chip leaves Intel processors behind
Nvidia has a new chip in the works for boosting artificial intelligence and other high-performance computing work: Grace, a design slated to arrive in mammoth supercomputers in 2023. Instead of accelerating conventional Intel-powered servers, though, the design includes its own built-in Arm processors.
Nvidia's current brainiest chip, the A100, is typically yoked to Intel Xeon processors. Nvidia chips do the grunt work, but Intel chips oversee it. With Grace, named after pioneering programmer Grace Hopper, the company opted to embed several Arm Neoverse processor cores within the chip to speed up processing, said Paresh Kharya, an Nvidia senior director. The chip news arrived at Nvidia's GTC 2021 conference this week.
The new chip should let AI customers run computing tasks that are vastly more complex than is possible with today's chip designs, a step toward the general artificial intelligence that is the holy grail of today's machine learning research, said Cambrian AI Researach analyst Karl Freund in a blog post.
The design illustrates Nvidia's dramatic ascent -- and Intel's struggles. Even decades of dominance in technology don't guarantee success when the rules of computing are constantly being rewritten. Your laptop likely comes with an Intel chip, but an Nvidia chip was more likely responsible for important AI work like filtering spam, improving image quality or recognizing your voice when you call your bank.
Not so many years ago, Nvidia was just a component supplier, a designer of graphics chips called GPUs to boost PC performance. Intel's family of processors, or perhaps compatible rival AMD chips, shouldered most of the computing work. Intel, though, has struggled in recent years to keep pace with chip miniaturization and to capitalize on the exploding use of AI.
The result: Nvidia's market capitalization vaulted over Intel's, reaching $357 billion compared with Intel's $278 billion. Much of the growth has been propelled by the fact that GPUs also turned out to be pretty good at AI work, specifically the computationally intense training process that builds the models that later run in data centers, PCs and phones.
Also in the ascendant is Arm, which licenses the chip designs and technology that power every smartphone, new M1-based Apple Macs and the world's fastest supercomputer. Nvidia is seeking to acquire Arm for $40 billion, a move some rivals like Qualcomm object to. Grace's integrated Arm chips let Nvidia read data from memory many times faster than with current designs, the company said.
Nvidia's Selene machine, currently the world's fifth-fastest supercomputer, pairs A100 chips with AMD Epyc CPUs. A 2023 Grace-based machine called Alps at Switzerland's National Supercomputing Center should be seven times faster, Kharya said. The Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US also will buy a Grace-powered supercomputer.
Under new Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger, Intel is working to reclaim its manufacturing lead, planning to tap into others' manufacturing abilities while it works on miniaturizing its circuitry inscribing technology.
Intel is building AI abilities into its main processors while working on dedicated hardware, too. It folded its Nervana chips operation, but its Habana AI acceleration processors are still under active development.
One hot area for AI chips is autonomous vehicles, whose self-driving algorithms rely on processing in camera imagery and other sensor data. It's a core focus for Nvidia AI chip work, for example with its Orin chip scheduled to debut in 2022 vehicles.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced new processors for AI, graphics and supercomputing at the company's GTC event.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET
At GTC, Nvidia announced a new chip called Atlan with quadruple the performance. It should arrive in 2025 vehicles, said Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director of automotive work. Like Orin and Grace, Atlan relies on Arm cores, too.
Nvidia also announced a grander autonomous vehicle technology package called Hyperion 8. It combines two Orin processors with a host of sensors: eight exterior cameras, four exterior wider-angle fisheye cameras, three interior cameras, nine radar scanners and one lidar 3D scanner. The technology should arrive later in 2021.
Nvidia extended a partnership with Volvo, the companies said. Volvo plans to use Orin chips in its next-generation vehicles.
Intel has its own autonomous vehicle division, Mobileye. Tesla develops its own AI chips for its cars.
Intel's Alder Lake chip could speed PCs by 30% while saving battery power
Intel's Alder Lake chip could speed PCs by 30% while saving battery power
Intel's new Alder Lake processor could boost the performance of personal computers by as much as 30% while delivering longer battery life, a breakthrough the chipmaker credits to a hybrid design that marries modules for top speed with others for efficient operation. It's an approach that's been used for years in smartphones.
At its Architecture Day event on Thursday, Intel said Alder Lake chips will come in three broad classes to power mainstream laptops, ultralight laptops and beefier desktop PCs. The three classes will be modeled on smartphone chips that combine high-performance computing cores for demanding jobs with smaller efficient cores that don't sap as much energy.
The number of performance and efficiency cores differ for each variety, but the fastest model will have eight of each. Intel's diagrams showed mobile Alder Lake chips combining six performance cores with eight efficiency cores and ultramobile chips combining two performance cores with eight efficiency cores. The Alder Lake family of chips will be available in PCs this fall.
The power and efficiency boost over today's 11th-gen Core models code-named Tiger Lake are a crucial selling point now that we have grown to expect laptops that can run for an entire day unplugged. Intel already competes with Apple and its M1 Mac processor that delivers improved power and battery life.
"We want [to] combine the best of both best of both in one system," Raja Koduri, who runs Intel's Accelerated Computing Systems & Graphics group, said in an advance briefing. Alder Lake's hybrid approach will help chart Intel's course for the next decade, Intel said.
Alder Lake's hybrid architecture is a variation of the Big.Little design that chip designer Arm rolled out a decade ago and now dominates smartphones. Apple employs the same approach with the M1 chip, which began powering Macs in 2020 and likely will be upgraded for more powerful Macs expected this year.
Alder Lake marks an important moment of unification and simplification for Intel's chip product line. Intel has been juggling a hodgepodge of new and old designs as it struggled with delays to its manufacturing process. The company fell behind its competitors as it wrangled with the problems, with AMD chip designs gaining market share, Apple ejecting Intel chips from its Macs and Asian giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung leapfrogging Intel in chip manufacturing.
Now all Intel's PC chips will be built with a manufacturing process called Intel 7. The same goes for Alder Lake's big sibling, Sapphire Rapids, a server chip due to arrive in the first half of 2022. Reducing the complexity should lower Intel's costs.
The chips were designed before Pat Gelsinger rejoined Intel earlier this year as chief executive. But they're an important part of his attempt to reclaim Intel's lost chipmaking leadership. He's also overseeing Intel's launch of a foundry business that builds chips for other companies, including rival Qualcomm, and hiring rival TSMC to build parts of its own chips.
"Intel is getting back to the Intel of old," said Tirias Research analyst Kevin Krewell, with the company rebuilding its past technical and operational acumen.
How much faster and more efficient will Alder Lake be?
Intel has been cagey with details but released some measurements of Alder Lake.
An average of speed tests shows Alder Lake's performance cores, known by the code name Golden Cove, demonstrates a 19% boost over today's Tiger Lake chips while running at the same clock speed, said Adi Yoaz, director of the Intel Core architecture. "This is our largest architectural shift in over a decade," he said.
Intel Alder Lake processors likely will all come with eight high-efficiency cores, shown in blue, for lower priority tasks and battery-saving operations. The number of high-performance cores, shown in purple, will range from eight on beefy desktop processors to two on ultramobile devices.
Intel
The new manufacturing process should add another 10% to 15% through hardware refinements that improve attributes like clock speed. Together, that could mean a 30% or more boost in top speeds, a big step up from past annual improvements typically less than 10%.
For preserving battery life while running a set of lower priority tasks, the Gracemont efficient core's design improves Intel's over earlier Skylake design, which is still widely used even though it's six years old. While juggling four tasks at once, efficiency cores require a fifth the power of Skylake cores, said Intel chip architect Stephen Robinson.
Using a technology called Thread Director, Alder Lake will determine whether computing jobs should be assigned to performance or efficiency cores or be shuffled around as new tasks arrive. Thread Director requires support built into Microsoft's upcoming Windows 11, but the current Windows 10 will be able to tap into some of its multicore features, said Rajshree Chabukswar, an engineer on the Alder Lake team.
Intel buying chips from rival TSMC
At Architecture Day, Intel revealed that TSMC, the foundry that builds Apple iPhone and Mac chips, will build Alchemist, the first member of Intel's new Arc family of standalone graphics chips. The chip is due early next year.
TSMC will also build Intel-designed graphics chips core to Ponte Vecchio, a massive processor package with high-speed links between many different chip elements. Ponte Vecchio will be the main brains of the Energy Department's $500 million Aurora supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory. (Slow development of the processor has delayed the arrival of that machine.)
Expect Ponte Vecchio's array of packaging technologies -- an Intel manufacturing advantage -- to trickle down to mainstream products, said Real World Technologies analyst David Kanter.
"Ponte Vecchio is the Lamborghini of the chip world. Will this become the Lexus and then become the Toyota?" he asked. "The answer is yes."
Other Alder Lake chip specs
Alder Lake processors will come in varieties consuming as little as 9 watts for ultramobile devices and 125 watts for the beefy desktops used for the most demanding tasks like gaming and video editing.
The new chip is faster thanks to a variety of improvements in how it fetches instructions to execute, caches data instructions in high-speed memory, predicts the instructions it expects to run and recovers from mistakes in those predictions.
And it gets new instructions to execute artificial intelligence tasks with a technology called Advanced Matrix Extensions. AI is an immensely important new type of computer work, and many chip designers -- including Apple, Google, Qualcomm, Samsung, Arm and many startups -- are building dedicated AI acceleration electronics into chips.
Also built into Alder Lake are controllers to handle faster new memory standards, DDR5 (Double Data Rate 5) memory and, for mobile devices, LPDDR5 (Low Power Double Data Rate 5). Faster memory helps keep the processor fed with data so it doesn't have to spend as much time idling.
For connecting to the other devices like network controllers and graphics cards, Alder Lake chips debut support for the new fifth-generation PCI Express. That can double data transfer speed compared to PCIe 4.
Sure, a dishwasher's primary function is helping clean up after a meal, but it's also so much more than that. A dishwasher is also a live-in housekeeper, a device to help children learn about chores and a radical act of self-care or couples' therapy. (You can forget about those disagreements thanks to our helpful and definitive guide to the right way to load a dishwasher.)
Finding the best dishwasher in 2022 isn't as simple as it sounds. Dishwashers are relatively standard in size -- typically 24 inches wide and about 35 inches high -- so choosing the perfect model one for you is more a matter of your available budget and what kind of options or features you want. In terms of dishwasher functionality, many rating sites, including CNET, have previously concluded that the dish detergent you use and properly loading the dishwasher are often more important than the dishwasher itself when it comes to getting your dishes sparkling clean. What higher prices typically get you are more racks, hidden controls, smart features, numerous cycle options and peace and quiet, not appreciably cleaner dishes -- though some may get you appreciably drier dishes.
If you're wondering how much a dishwasher should cost, a typical model with a variety of options runs between $600 and $1,100, with several good choices falling below that range and higher-end models offering more than you could even imagine you might need except for the device to actually load itself.
Read more:Yes, You Need to Clean Your Dishwasher. Here's How
I evaluated a number of the most popular models with a range of features and in several price points to bring you the best built-in dishwashers for 2022.
Bosch/CNET
For features versus price where overall user rating is concerned, Bosch's 300 Series dishwasher is among the most highly rated across several major retailer sites, coming in just below average in price for the number of amenities it offers. Its large capacity holds up to 16 place settings, it includes a desirable third rack, and it offers an adjustable middle rack to accommodate larger items, as well as flexible tines in the lower rack for even more versatile loading. Five wash cycles are available: heavy, auto, normal, rinse and hold and a speedy one-hour cycle, with four additional modes such as delay start, half load, sanitize and extra dry. With a quieter-than-average decibel level of 44, this is the best overall dishwasher to buy for what it offers. Bosch also offers 100, 500 and 800 series dishwashers in different price points that also maintain consumer popularity and high ratings.
In person, this was one of the slickest-looking dishwashers of the bunch. But beware, that sleek modern stainless look may get tarnished by fingerprints if you have little ones who tend to touch and grab everything in sight. I loved the adjustable top (third) silverware rack, in addition to a removable lower silverware rack, which felt sturdy and frees up space in the lower racks for plates, pans and other larger items.
Home Depot rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 5,053 reviews
Lowe's rating: 4.3 out of 5 based on 1,610 reviews
Whirlpool/CNET
Many very good dishwasher options are available in the $500-to-$600 range, but for less than $500 for a full-size appliance, Whirlpool offers a reliable, no-frills model with over five figures of positive ratings, that still includes many of the amenities of the popular Bosch dishwasher above. An in-door silverware rack creates additional space in the basin, which can store up to 14 place settings. For your savings, you still get a stainless steel finish, as well as heavy, normal, high-temperature, and one-hour wash cycles, with sanitize and heated dry options. More expensive models tend to have soundproofing features that reduce the dishwasher noise while it's running. But at 55 decibels, this Whirlpool model is well within the range of the average noise level for dishwashers.
While this model wasn't as aesthetically pleasing in person, it had well-organized racks and was roomy inside. The front stainless steel panel also feels a hair flimsier than some of the others, so beware of dents.
Home Depot rating: 4.3 out of 5 based on 13,461 reviews
Lowe's rating: 4.3 out of 5 based on 10,599 reviews
KitchenAid/CNET
With cycles that can run several hours, perhaps noise -- or lack thereof -- is the most important consideration for you, especially if your open-plan kitchen is close to your bedroom or nursery, or if it's also your office. Most standard dishwashers run in the 50-60 decibel range, which is just below the noise level of normal, indoor conversation. Many models now include additional technology that helps bring the noise level down to a very quiet 40-50 decibels, but this Kitchenaid model achieves an almost whisper-quiet level at only 39 decibels. In addition to being able to take a nap while the dishwasher is running, this high-end model also includes a third rack, a ProWash sensor that automatically adjusts the cycle for the soil level of the dishes and an extended heat dry option that can even evaporate the most determined drops on your plasticware.
This model reminded me of the Bosch SHEM63W55N both inside and out with its slick, modern design. The top silverware rack is slim but sturdy. The adjustable middle rack was simple to operate and intuitive to move into position to accommodate items of varying sizes.
Home Depot rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 1,396 reviews
Lowe's rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 124 reviews
LG/CNET
This smart LG dishwasher includes Wi-Fi capability that allows it to communicate with other devices, meaning you can start or lock the machine remotely from a mobile phone app or even by voice activation within the house. Additionally, LED lights allow you to see inside the dishwasher during the cycle, giving it almost babysitter-like power if your kids or pets are also fascinated by the washing machine. You pay a little extra for the smart capabilities, but otherwise, the LG offers the same variety of wash cycles as the Bosch model above, as well as a third rack and adjustable upper rack, accommodating up to 15 place settings. At 42 decibels this is also one of the more quiet options on the market.
If minimalist design appeals to you, this dishwasher hides its control panel and buttons inside the dishwasher on the top of the door, giving the front panel a nice, clean look. The LED lights that activated when I opened the door were bright to help spot fallen forks or unclean dishes. This model felt as sturdily built as any I had the pleasure of vigorously opening, closing and jostling about.
Home Depot rating: 4.3 out of 5 based on 886 reviews
Lowe's rating: 4.3 based on 606 reviews
Samsung/CNET
In the 18-inch-wide department, Samsung offers a consistently highly rated dishwasher that is also budget-friendly for the number of amenities it contains. Tines in the bottom rack fold down to allow for larger items, and it can hold up to eight place settings in its normal configuration. It runs at a very quiet rate of 46 decibels, and in addition to its five available cycles with four modes, it includes an auto-release door that opens the dishwasher and allows air to circulate in quickly, cooling your clean dishes and improving drying performance.
Despite its downsized dimensions, this model still had seemingly plenty of space inside for even a family sized load of dishes. Like the LG, this Samsung has its controls set into the top of the door so there's only a clean stainless steel panel to look at when the door is shut. The top rack is adjustable and was easy to maneuver.
Home Depot rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 60 reviews
How we evaluate dishwashers and best list methodology
I researched the dishwashers in this list by analyzing specs and user reviews from major retailer sites such as Home Depot, Lowe's and Best Buy. I also considered their best-selling and top-rated models and their available features compared to price. I focused on those models that had a rating of at least 4.5 stars with at least 500 ratings, or at least the highest rating among the highest number of ratings for the feature or size I was evaluating.
Only those dishwashers that were Energy Star Certified by the EPA were considered, for peace of mind concerning energy efficiency. I dove deep into user comments and ratings to ensure there were no persisting problems, issues or complaints among a particular brand or model. While we didn't do extensive hands-on testing for this list of best dishwashers, I was able to get my hands on several models in various appliance showrooms to evaluate the build of the unit and the intuitiveness of the buttons and controls.
Dishwasher buying guide: Things to consider
Dishwasher size
The size of your dishwasher is the first decision you'll make since not all kitchens have the space to accommodate a full-sized model. Most standard models are 24 inches wide and about 35 inches high and kitchens are generally designed to house a model of those dimensions, but there are slimmer dishwashers to accommodate smaller spaces.
A standard dishwasher is 24 x 35 inches in size but compact and custom models exist for smaller spaces.
Bosch
Choosing a style
Most dishwashers are available in stainless steel, which fits into most kitchen motifs. Many models are also available in white, black and other finishes. You won't find tons of color options but Samsung offers a bespoke line that includes unique finishes including navy steel and brownish Tuscan steel.
Samsung has a line of bespoke large kitchen appliances to add some color to your kitchen.
Samsung
The pricier models including Bosch and KitchenAid tend to have sleek, minimalist front doors and flashier internal design. More budget-friendly brands such as Whirlpool and Maytag have more traditional aesthetics, generally speaking.
Dishwasher racks and rack placement
This is an easily overlooked feature but it has a significant impact on your day-to-day dishwashing. A new trend is the small third flat rack at the top that can accommodate extra silverware, kitchen utensils and other smaller items. They are typically in addition to an upright silverware holder housed in the bottom rack. If you find yourself filling or overfilling a standard silverware holder on a regular basis, this feature will allow you to wash everything and keep things neat and tidy.
The trendy third rack provides another place to load silverware, kitchen utensils and other small items.
Whirlpool
Many dishwashers also now have adjustable racks to accommodate dishes and pans of odd or abnormally large sizes. If you've ever struggled with fitting large items into your dishwasher, you should consider a model with adjustable racks.
Read more:Best Dishwasher Features of 2022
Various dishwasher cycles and features: Do they matter?
There are dishwasher cycles that come standard on nearly every model -- normal, quick wash, heavy-duty, delicate -- but fancier units will have even more specific cycles such as mineral-assisted wash and presoak cycle. These extra cycles can be nice to have but I wouldn't weigh them too heavily when making a purchase decision. Ultimately, you'll be using the standard cycles far more than the niche ones.
Here's a quick guide to dishwasher cycles and when to use them.
Don't become consumed with the various cycles. You'll likely only ever use two or three.
Maytag
Drying cycles: Condensation versus electric drying
Most dishwashers have one of two ways to dry dishes after a wash. Many use a condensation process where the dishwasher will use very hot water to heat the dishes inside toward the end. Then, as the tub cools with the hot dishware, condensation will occur and water will drip off the dishes.
Other dishwashers, including some KitchenAid models, have an electric heating element to heat the air and dry dishes at the end. This may be a more thorough way to dry the dishes but it's also less sanitary, less energy-efficient and will melt plastic items that are on the bottom rack since they are so close to the heating element.
Dishwasher noise level
While dishwashers generally have more in common than they do differences, the noise level is one area in which they do vary and may affect your overall satisfaction with a particular unit. Most modern dishwashers are pretty quiet, reaching only 40 or 50 decibels. But some, like the Kitchenaid KDFE204KPS, have advanced technology to keep the machine as hush-hush quiet as 39 decibels when running. If you look into the specs section of each model, this information should be listed clearly.
Dishwasher FAQs
What is the average lifespan of a dishwasher?
Manufacturers will tell you a dishwasher should last about 10 years but you might expect to get a few more years out of it than that if you don't overuse the machine and take some quick steps to keep it running smoothly.
There are things you can do to extend the life of your dishwasher like scraping off solid foods from plates and pans before loading, cleaning the filter monthly and never putting vinegar inside your dishwasher, as CNET's Katie Teague explains.
What are the different styles of dishwashers?
Dishwashers are fairly standard in size -- 24 inches wide by 35 inches tall -- with some narrower, 18-inch options also available. Beyond those two customary widths, the major aesthetic decisions you are making are in the dishwasher's finish, the handle type and whether the controls are located on the front panel of the dishwasher or hidden along the top of the loading door, referred to as "front control" or "top control" in the search features.
Most available dishwashers allow you to make specific selections among those features once you've decided on a particular size and model. Then your decision becomes a matter of what additional features you desire in a dishwasher and what's available for your budget. The higher-end models are smart-enabled, offer a third rack and adjustable rack settings, numerous wash cycle selections and also have bonus features such as leak sensors and self-cleaning filters. Budget-friendly options may have fewer features, but you should still expect at least a few wash cycle selections with perfectly clean and dry dishes at the end of any given cycle.
When is the best time to buy a dishwasher?
According to a report by Consumer Reports and Gap Intelligence, dishwasher prices begin to dip at the start of summer culminating with the biggest drops in the months leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
What is the difference between a plastic and stainless steel dishwasher tub?
Along with soundproofing technology, the other matter which has the biggest impact on a dishwasher's price is whether the tub is made of stainless steel, heavy-duty plastic or as in only a few models, a stainless steel hybrid. Stainless steel models tend to be slightly more efficient since they conduct heat and can more easily maintain temperature during cycles, but most plastic tub models are also Energy Star Certified and should not present an energy efficiency concern. There is no major difference in durability between plastic and stainless steel tubs, with both types of dishwashers tending to last about 10 years.
Should I get a dishwasher warranty and how important is it?
Your dishwasher should last you about 10 years without requiring any major repairs but, of course, a warranty is a good thing to have if something goes wrong soon after you take it home. Most warranties from the major brands outlined here cover replacement parts and labor for one year from the date you purchased it and are designed to protect you should there be a major manufacturer flaw in your model.
It is worth noting that Maytag appliances include a generous, limited 10-year warranty that covers certain replacement parts after the first year warranty expires. Meanwhile, you can potentially extend the efficacy and lifespan of your dishwasher by taking care of it, with CNET's guide to how to clean your dishwasher.
Nvidia to buy SoftBank's Arm chip division for $40 billion
Nvidia to buy SoftBank's Arm chip division for $40 billion
Nvidia has acquired SoftBank's Arm chip division for $40 billion in cash and stock in the chip industry's largest deal ever. As part of the deal, made this Sunday, SoftBank will take an ownership stake in Nvidia that's expected to be less than 10%, the companies said in a joint statement.
Bloomberg reported last week that Nvidia and SoftBank were in advanced talks, with Nvidia the lone potential buyer. That followed an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal that SoftBank was considering a sale of Arm. The Journal also reported Saturday's news of an imminent Nvidia-SoftBank agreement.
Arm isn't as well-known as mega chip companies such as Qualcomm and Intel, but its work lies behind the processors inside many of the world's mobile phones.
Arm licenses designs to companies like Qualcomm but also licenses its chip instruction set -- the collection of commands software can use to control it -- to companies like Apple that design their own. Arm's designs are also used as the basis for chips made by Samsung and Nvidia.
In June, Apple said it would overhaul its Mac computers with its own Arm chips, which are similar to the ones it designs for iPhones and iPads, moving away from the Intel processors it has used for the past 14 years. Arm licenses its chip instruction set -- the collection of commands software can use to control a chip -- to companies like Apple that design their own processors.
SoftBank purchased the UK-based Arm in 2016 for $32 billion with the intent of bolstering its internet of things division. Nvidia said it expects the tie-up to boost its artificial intelligence ambitions.
"AI is the most powerful technology force of our time and has launched a new wave of computing," Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement. "In the years ahead, trillions of computers running AI will create a new internet-of-things that is thousands of times larger than today's internet-of-people."
The companies said they expect the deal to close in 18 months, noting that it will require approval of the US, UK, EU and China.
New Intel chips want to make your laptop connect, work and play better
New Intel chips want to make your laptop connect, work and play better
Intel is adding six new laptop CPUs to its lineup, the company announced at this year's IFA technology trade show in Germany. Three new U-series and three new Y-series processors are joining Intel's 8th generation of Core i-series parts. Previously, these chips were known by the code names Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake.
These are for laptops, tablets and two-in-one devices that range from mainstream clamshells to thin, fanless designs, and include support for integrated gigabit Wi-Fi, which Intel says is a first for this class of consumer PC. Those system will be labeled as "Optimized for Connectivity."
Intel
The six new CPUs are in the Core-m and Core-i families and include:
1.1GHz Core m3-8100Y
1.3GHz Core i5-8200Y
1.5GHz Core i7-8500Y
2.1GHz Core i3-8145U
1.6GHz Core i5-8265U
1.8GHz Core i7-8565U
In introducing the new CPUs, Intel says that its goal was to address pain points like low-battery anxiety. By encouraging further power efficiencies, newer laptops can hit up to 16 hours of battery life. The U and Y-series chips may also provide enough of a performance boost to convince people holding into older computers to upgrade. Intel claims there are a large number of users still working on PCs more than five years old, and that the latest 8th-gen CPUs can usually double the performance of that 5-year-old system.
Intel is also focused on gaming, which is somewhat surprising, as the integrated graphics chips in Intel platforms have not kept up with PC gaming needs over the years. For most gamers, low-cost laptops and desktop with Nvidia graphics hardware for as little as $799 have filled some of that performance gap.
But Intel says it wants to support casual gaming, which the company defines as games like World of Warcraft or World of Tanks. To help buyers figure out what games they can play, and what settings to use, check out Intel's existing gameplay.intel.com website, which provides a list of compatible games, and suggested resolution and detail level settings based on your exact hardware, including updated setting for these new CPUs.
Intel
More importantly, although these new CPUs don't offer any new integrated graphics hardware, Intel says the overall efficiency of these chips, especially compared to the laptops of a few years ago, will offer smoother pen and inking performance and near-real-time 4K video rendering.
Look for laptops and tablets with these latest 8th-gen Intel CPUs to be announced at IFA and shipping soon after.
Laptops with the best battery life : See the top 25 laptops and 2-in-1 PCs with the longest battery life.
Great games for your non-gaming laptop : No GPU? No problem. The best games to sneak onto your work laptop.
Verizon Isn't the Fastest Internet Provider Anymore, and a New Winner Has Been Crowned
Verizon Isn't the Fastest Internet Provider Anymore, and a New Winner Has Been Crowned
What's happening
Every three months, Ookla announces the results it gathers from info pulled from millions of customer uses of its Speedtest.net tool. Consider it a quarterly checkup on Americans' speeds from their internet service providers.
Why it matters
We've grown increasingly reliant on our home broadband connections for work and play, so the actual performance of those internet services is vital information.
Verizon has been knocked off the mountain. The latest Ookla Speedtest Intelligence report, released in late July, named Cox Communications as the fastest fixed broadband provider among top US internet service providers during the second quarter of 2022. To qualify as a top provider, a company must account for 3% or more of Ookla's total test samples. Verizon had finished on top in the first three months of 2022.
In fact, Verizon had captured the top spot every quarter since the start of 2020. However, Ookla's report, which uses data from customer-run queries on Speedtest.net, now uses the median instead of the mean. So we're not exactly comparing apples to apples. The below image from Ookla's site gives an example of the difference.
Ookla
As an Ookla spokesperson told me via email: "We implemented this change to more accurately represent the typical performance that consumers actually experience on a network."
That means for the second quarter of 2022, Cox finished decisively on top with a median download speed of approximately 197 megabits per second. Xfinity, the runner-up, scored a median download speed of 184Mbps. Spectrum was third at 183Mbps, Verizon was next at 171Mbps, and AT&T capped off the top five at nearly 147Mbps.
Cox also did well regionally. It was the fastest fixed broadband provider in 14 of the 100 most populated cities in the country, including the fastest city in the US -- Gilbert, Arizona -- as well as Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.
Additionally, it was the fastest ISP in four states: Arizona, Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. Not bad, for sure, but Xfinity was top dog in 12 states, Spectrum in seven and Google Fiber and Verizon each won five states.
Despite its dominating performance at the top of the speed chart, Cox completely missed the top five regarding the fastest upload speeds. It registered a median upload speed just shy of 11Mbps. That was well below the top three providers of Frontier (113Mbps), Verizon (112Mbps) and AT&T (112Mbps). It also couldn't measure up to Xfinity (19Mbps), CenturyLink (12Mbps) or Spectrum (11.7Mbps).
That's not completely unexpected. The cable connections of Cox, Spectrum and Xfinity (or the DSL network of CenturyLink, for that matter) won't be able to compete with the higher upload speeds you can find with a fiber-optic internet connection, which AT&T, Frontier and Verizon all boast to a decent percentage within their respective footprints.
As Ookla continues its reporting throughout the year, it'll be interesting to see if any trends develop as it establishes the use of the median as its primary performance metric moving forward.
'Stranger Things' Will Be Netflix's Biggest Hit Yet. How? Netflix Changed its Rules
'Stranger Things' Will Be Netflix's Biggest Hit Yet. How? Netflix Changed its Rules
What's happening
Netflix ranks the popularity of its originals with all-time Most Popular charts, but last month it quietly changed the way it measures the watch time for some shows. The stats for those shows inflated dramatically.
Why it matters
For Netflix to launch a cheaper tier with ads, it must win over advertisers, and its measurement takes on new significance when advertisers become part of the equation.
What's next
Stranger Things, which released seven episodes last week and will drop two more July 1, is all but certain to be ranked as Netflix's biggest hit yet thanks to this rule change that works in the show's favor.
Stranger Things returned Friday with season 4. By the end of the summer, Netflix will almost certainly proclaim the retro sci-fi series' latest season its biggest hit yet. But Stranger Things 4's viewership victory, set to trump the likes of Bridgerton and Squid Game, was assured weeks before a single subscriber streamed a second of it, when Netflix quietly tweaked its own popularity rules.
The change last month has already inflated the stats for shows like Ozark and Money Heist. Stranger Things 4 is next.
Stranger Things 4's first volume of episodes hit Friday. The season's final two episodes, running nearly four hours combined, will land July 1.
Netflix
When the final numbers are in, Stranger Things 4 will likely eclipse Bridgerton and Squid Game in Netflix's all-time Most Popular rankings based on total hours watched. These are charts that Netflix updates weekly at Netflix Top 10. All three shows are colossally well-watched worldwide. But among them, only Stranger Things will enjoy Netflix counting its "watch time" for twice as long. Instead of tallying up viewing hours in its first 28 days of release, as Netflix did for Bridgerton and Squid Game, Netflix will be racking up Stranger Things 4's views over 56 days total thanks to its two-part release schedule.
While these charts can be dismissed as pageantry without much consequence, they're still the most direct data available pointing people -- whether it's Wall Street suits, Hollywood insiders or viewers like you -- to the biggest titles on the world's largest streaming service. They give investors a gauge for Netflix's competitiveness, they can help Netflix recruit talent, and they stoke buzz that may nudge you to watch something you otherwise wouldn't.
But Netflix measurement is about to take on much greater consequence, as the service launches advertising. For Netflix to be able to offer you a cheaper tier with ads, it will need to broaden its measurement beyond watch time and get more transparent in order to win over advertisers, experts say.
Netflix has gotten by this far releasing whatever data it wants on its own terms, said Dallas Lawrence, the head of communications and brand for Samba TV, a television researcher and ad measurement firm. That will change when Netflix must sell itself to advertisers too.
"The buyers will not allow Netflix to grade its own homework," Lawrence said.
Watch time turned upside down
When Netflix launched its Top 10 rankings website in November, it unlocked an unprecedented trove of viewing data. The site details the service's most-watched titles of the previous week and how many hours they were viewed, both globally and in more than 90 individual countries. For its most voraciously viewed titles, Netflix updates a set of Most Popular charts, which rank its most watched originals of all time.
And for a show or movie to make it on the all-time Most Popular rankings, Netflix looks at the 28 days from its premiere to rack up watch hours.
The latest season of Bridgerton, for example, is Netflix's most watched show in English at 656.3 million hours. Squid Game, the breakout South Korean dystopian thriller, is Netflix's most-watched show in any language, at 1.65 billion hours watched in the 28-day window.
Squid Game is Netflix's most watched title so far.
Netflix
That 28-day shot clock was the same for every movie and TV season, until May 10. Then Netflix quietly tweaked the rules to give some shows 56 days -- twice as long -- to amass views. For any series that releases its season in two "volumes" on different dates, the shot clock runs for 28 days after its first batch of episodes, then it resumes again for an additional 28 days after the second batch. Netflix counts the viewing of a volume's episodes only during that volume's first 28 days.
But shows like Stranger Things 4, with seven episodes out now and another two coming July 1, still get 56 days to generate viewing hours toward their ranking. And because the release of a second volume can come soon after the first, the first 28-day window can potentially include rewatch views of the first batch as fans catch up as the second approaches. In the case of Stranger Things 4, fans who immediately binge-watched volume one could revisit these episodes to refresh in anticipation of volume two. And any of that rewatching before June 23 would count.
Shows like Bridgerton and Squid Game, which followed the Netflix convention of releasing a full season at once, are still stuck with their count over 28 days.
Netflix disclosed this change by, essentially, updating its fine print. Judging by archived screenshots of the Top 10 website, Netflix added two sentences to its methodology statement on May 10. Netflix didn't otherwise disclose that it had altered its methodology for the Most Popular rankings.
When reached for comment on this article, Netflix referred to the methodology stated on its site.
Stranger Things 4 was already sure to be a smash by Netflix's standards. Its last season is among Netflix's most watched programs ever, even though it came out when Netflix had two-thirds the subscribers it does now. A three-year hiatus has built up fan demand, and this season's runtime is much longer than the rest. (Its runtime is also much longer than that of Squid Game or Bridgerton. Its first volume of episodes runs an hour longer than the entirety of Squid Game or Bridgerton's whole last season, and Stranger Things 4 still has nearly four hours coming July 1.)
But May's methodology change stacked the deck in favor of Stranger Things. It has already generated 286.8 million hours in the first three days of availability. With 53 more days on its shot clock, it needs to generate less than a tenth of that daily to accumulate enough watch time to become No. 1.
Overnight sensations
The rule change has wildly inflated the watch time for several other shows already. Multiple programs suddenly appeared in Netflix's top 10 charts or shot to a much higher ranking, with hundreds of millions of hours suddenly added to their counts.
Money Heist, which released its final season in two volumes, saw its watch-time ranking jump seemingly overnight after Netflix changed its popularity rules.
Netflix
Money Heist is a hit Spanish thriller series also known as La Casa de Papel. Its final season was released in two volumes, with five episodes landing on Sept. 1 and the last five episodes arriving Dec. 1. After the methodology change in May, its watch time more than doubled. Money Heist is now positioned as Netflix's No. 2 most watched show of all time regardless of language, right after Squid Game. Before the rule change, it didn't even make the top 10.
Other shows have gotten big bumps too. Fantasy police procedural Lucifer released half its fifth season in 2020 and the other half nearly a year later. Lucifer had been absent from Netflix's Most Popular rankings since they launched, but in May, it suddenly appeared as Netflix's No. 7 most-watched program in any language. The latest season of the drama Ozark, released partly on Jan. 21 and partly on April 29, needed three extra weeks of streaming after its original 28-day window to make the English language top 10.
Netflix's Top 10 website still characterizes the watch time of all these shows as hours viewed in their "first 28 days on Netflix."
To bolster the credibility of its stats, Netflix recruited accounting firm EY -- formerly known as Ernst & Young, one of the world's biggest accounting companies -- to vet its data. But EY finished its first Netflix report in February, long before Netflix revised its methodology. And EY's report was a light-touch vetting called a review, which essentially accepts the measurement criteria as Netflix defines them and then verifies that the data abide by those rules. Netflix has no existing plans for another accounting review.
Grading its own homework
Netflix was notoriously tight-lipped about its viewership for years. Beau Willimon -- creator of House of Cards, which put Netflix's original programming on the map -- once said the company wouldn't even share audience metrics with him. But since 2018, Netflix has grown more open about the popularity of its shows and movies, culminating with its Top 10 website.
During Stranger Things' three-year hiatus, Bridgerton became Netflix's most-watched show in English.
Netflix
For Netflix to start offering you a cheaper tier with ads, it needs to actually win advertisers -- and advertisers won't go by Netflix's numbers. Because TV advertising is so expensive, brands and agencies want measurements comparable across services, so they can know what they're getting at Netflix versus Paramount Plus versus Disney Plus, said Needham senior analyst Laura Martin.
Netflix "can do weird things, like introduce new measurement," added Martin, who has called for Netflix to add advertising for years. "But it would slow adoption by advertisers."
Traditionally, advertisers evaluated TV programs by how many people tuned in. "As we enter this new phase, transparency around viewership data is going to be essential, especially on 'closed' platforms" like Netflix, said Anjali Midha, co-founder and CEO of Diesel Labs, a media intelligence firm. Viewership will naturally remain important, she added, but so will demographics, psychographics and other metrics of watching behavior.
But Netflix's own reputation as the gold standard of streaming TV will work in its favor, Lawrence said.
"Streaming has historically been rife with a myriad … sites that still seem like the Wild West, fraught with risky content," he said.
Advertisers may come to welcome Netflix's safety and scope, even if its own measurement rules still shoot from the hip.
Correction, 6:07 a.m. PT June 2: An earlier version of this story suggested Netflix may count viewing of all episodes from split-season shows over a full 56 days. Netflix counts the viewing of episodes only within 28 days of their release, but split-season shows get two 28-day periods -- 56 days total -- to amass watch time.
