If you ask knowledgeable people about competition for Apple’s iPhone, most will say it’s Android mobile phones, especially Samsung. This response is acceptable but fails to identify the more prominent aggressor.

Yes, Android mobile phones are, worldwide, the largest sellers, but from a profit standpoint, the Apple iPhones pick up the major share. There is one other player that doesn’t directly compete with Apple but holds the edge for Android capability: Qualcomm.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 vs. Apple A10

We’re about to see the major rivalry of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the to-be-announced Apple iPhone 8. But under the hood of the S8 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor versus the Apple-designed A9 or possibly a speculated-about newer model A10. The performance of these new mobile phones will be directly attributable to which processor platform best satisfies mobile users.

There’s plenty that we don’t know yet about which performs better. We do know that the Snapdragon 835 can support Gigabit LTE through its 4×20-MHz carrier aggregation and 256 QAM, as Qualcomm reports:

“We are proud to continue our long and productive collaboration with Samsung to help bring the most advanced mobile experiences, such as Gigabit LTE and mobile VR, to consumers with the new Samsung Galaxy S8,” said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager, mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Featuring a thin and light design with superior battery life, immersive multimedia, and exceptional photography with Gigabit LTE speeds, the Samsung Galaxy S8 powered by the Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform delivers the experiences [that] today’s mobile users demand.”

Behind the Scenes

There are more maneuvers behind the scenes on a corporate level that also drive the rivalry. For example, Apple has filed lawsuits against Qualcomm in three different countries: China, USA, and now the UK. Essentially, Apple asserts that Qualcomm has charged unfair heightened royalties for the use of its Intellectual Property, including patents, on the selling price of the whole mobile phone. This is an unusual circumstance of a user suing a supplier while still being supplied the goods. In the U.S., Apple is seeking $1B plus other amounts in the other suits.

Furthermore, Apple has been a behind-the-scenes driver in the U.S. of the FTC complaint lodged against Qualcomm for using unfair trade practices against other semiconductor suppliers in monopolizing the mobile phone device market. This will likely face court review in May.

Meanwhile, these suits by Apple and the FTC have taken a toll on Qualcomm’s stock price. It has languished about 15% below the price at the time of the lawsuits in January 2017.

From afar, it would appear that Apple has identified Qualcomm as their most pressing competitor, with Qualcomm’s processor and internet connectivity allowing mobile phone manufacturers around the world to challenge Apple with high performance, off-the-shelf device selection, and lower prices. That’s demonstrated by the 115 Chinese manufacturers that Qualcomm supplies.

Profitability

Both Apple and Qualcomm are formidable profit machines. Thus, both companies have plenty of economic weapons at their disposal. We’ll watch this rivalry play out over the next several months. Expect the FTC to overturn the ruling against Qualcomm now that the Trump administration is in charge, but the existing lawsuits will play a continuing role.

In the end, the outcome of how these new mobile phones perform in the market is in the hands of consumers. Place your bets now!

by Fred Molinari, Former CEO, Data Translation

Syngenta in Zambia, through its subsidiary MRI Seed, has partnered with the Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programme implemented by Fintrac Inc., to help smallholder farmers gain access to high-quality, disease-free horticultural seedlings, giving them the opportunity to become commercially viable vegetable farmers.

The programme aims to build a sustainable seedling distribution model for hybrid vegetables; provide access to market information and linkages; train farmers on good agricultural practices and business management; and introduce new technologies to help smallholder farmers dramatically improve their yields.

In 20 districts across Zambia, Syngenta will establish 20 seedling production sites, each owned and operated by an Entrepreneurial Young Plant Raiser (YPR). The YPR will provide business and technical training, as well as facilitate market linkages for the benefit of 12,000 smallholder farmers. Although the primary focus of the project will be on tomato and cabbage seedlings, Syngenta will also conduct trials and testing regarding the commercial viability of other crops with a high potential in Zambia such as kale (rape), cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, and potato.

Furthermore, Syngenta will help in promoting a pilot programme for YPR’s “Vegetable in a Bag” concept, where a small portion of YPR seedlings will be sold in reusable packaging, with no ground soil and minimal water, making them suitable for urban and peri-urban use.

These are some of the areas where agtech or agricultural technology is transforming agriculture and the world. Agricultural tech has gradually become a fascinating  hot trend across the globe. It is the engine which is transforming farming. With readily available computational systems made possibly by embedded systems and cheap processing systems which can be rented in the cloud, agtech is blossoming. These areas are notable as agtech changes what farmers do therein.

Eyes on fields

Motion-activated field cameras, such as those on the market from Selecta can help farmers to monitor their properties and livestock more effectively than ever before. These camouflaged devices are fully kitted-out to survive the elements, and are able to run entirely on batteries; saving money and time on installation. Starting at only $209, these affordable cameras can monitor cattle, detect and record intruders, and even run at night with a no-glow night vision capability (so as not to tip off would-be intruders, or wary nocturnal beasties). On the next pricing rung, farmers can purchase the WiFi model, which feeds footage back to any smartphone; making it easier to monitor their investment on the go, at any time of the day or night.

Computer-mixed feed mills

Feeding livestock, and ensuring that they receive the optimal mixture of nutrients is a delicate and time-consuming process. The advent of automated feed mixers, such as those by GEA are simplifying this process and freeing up time for farmers in the dairy industry. GEA’s MixFeeder (as the name suggests) mixes feed for group feeding of dairy cows; guaranteeing the correct rations and mixes of feed, as well as programmed feeding schedules. This not only saves time—which alone would make the feeding system a worthwhile investment—it also ensures that cattle are getting the most out of feedings, which has knock-on benefits for their health and milk production.

Soil monitoring

Soil monitoring systems like the ones from Zenvus are not exactly a new invention, however there are constantly advances in technology which make these systems smarter and more accurate in their reporting. Nowadays, these relatively simple-to-install systems gather data around soil moisture and even nutrient density, then collate the relevant info into a real-time, readable report which farmers can access from their computers or smartphones. The systems are even able to provide advice on when to water crops, and to what extent. This kind of technology can have a huge impact on soil health, crop health and yield, as well as allowing farms to save money on irrigation and fertilisation. Advanced systems will even incorporate weather patterns and predictions into their reports, giving up-to-the-minute information on incoming weather, and thus saving farmers from needlessly watering or fertilising crops (thus avoiding costly runoff).

Remote controlled tractors

Tractors are one of the biggest investments that a farm owner can make, and can little do without, in the case of crop farming. Another time-consuming activity, ploughing fields and harvesting with tractors can be a burden in labour costs. As science fiction concepts rapidly become real-life solutions, self-driving tractors join a long line of innovations which save on time and money for farmers. Some of the most well-known brands are already testing driverless tractors, which will not only harvest crops, but provide feedback on crop health and harvesting information in real-time to farmers by (you guessed it) smartphone. While we’ve been hearing about driverless tractors and cars for some time now, their takeover is imminent. The cost savings in efficiency and labour alone are set to see them become an indispensable part of farming equipment in the next few years.

eBay for grain

Brokerage fees for grain growers are a cost which many would like to see done away with. The traditional and cumbersome process of buying and selling grain is expensive and slow. One firm has identified this gap in the market, and developed FarmLead to fill it. A online marketplace, much like eBay, connects grain growers with buyers around the world and allows each party to make educated selling/purchasing decisions based on transparent pricing data. Once again, smartphones are the gateway to this innovation, allowing farmers and buyers to make deals on the go, without the time pressures and constraints of the traditional over-the-phone brokerage method.

The internet of cows

We’ve all heard of the Internet of Things (or IoT), and we here at Machines4u Magazine have covered off its advance into the world of agriculture thoroughly. Now that we’re all comfortable with the phrase, the clever folk at BovControl have introduced the next phenomenon in IoT, with a witty little catchphrase—the Internet of Cows. Not only is it fun to say, it’s giving farmers some serious advantage in the realm of cattle health and monitoring.