| | | | | | Newsletter: September 2026 | | | | - Current state of RAIN RFID standards and market needs
- Purpose and evolution of standards
- Why standards should never trump innovation
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In the high-stakes AI infra market, GPUs were all the rage till Arm announced its AGI CPU and showed the world the importance of CPUs in the agentic AI world. Arm scored a masterstroke by targeting a high-value, unaddressed niche in the market without stepping on the toes of its large, long-time, loyal IP licensee ecosystem with its first chip.
In this episode, I talk to Mohamed Awad, EVP of Arm AI infrastructure BU, and the man behind AGI CPU, about the drivers, large and quickly growing opportunity, how the chip is designed for Agentic AI, the competitive landscape against X86 players, differentiation against hyperscalers with their own Arm CPUs, and most importantly, | | how it is allying the fear of its expansive licensee ecosystem worried about their licensor becoming a possible competitor. We also delve into the evolution of the AGI CPU, the interplay between Arm’s IP (cores), subsystems, and the AGI CPU roadmap, and whether this “product” strategy is limited to the AI CPU market or can extend to other markets as well. . | | | | | |
Tantra Analyst attended Lenovo’s Innovation World 2026 and IFA 2026 events in Berlin in early September. Personal AI was a major theme at both events. IFA also had a strong Physical AI component, with humanoid robots stealing the show. | | In this episode, Leonard Lee of Next Curve and I recap and analyze the keynotes, announcements, demos, discussions, and interactions from both events. We discuss how Lenovo gave a glimpse of its view of Personal AI, with the announcement of new Nvidia RTX Spark laptops, powerful workstations, beautiful smartphones, and watches, as well as Qira platform that leverages its “pocket to cloud” reach; and how AMD, through its Threadripper Halo super workstation, is bringing Edge AI to on-prem for enterprises and more. We also explore what the spread of AI and robots means for society, and how IFA has almost become a consumer white goods show. | | | | | | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra Review, with SmartTech Research
Samsung announced its latest Galaxy Z Fold8 series phones during its Unpacked event on July 22, 2026. This announcement was even more crucial as Samsung seeks to maintain its lead in the form factor it pioneered, with Apple expected to introduce its own foldable device soon.
In this episode, fellow analyst Mark Vena of SmartTech Research and I review the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, exchange experiences and views about the device, how it further enhances the foldable experience compared to Z Fold7,
| | in terms of battery life, brightness, less noticeable crease, and other features, market potential for the new, wider form factor Z Fold8, overall opportunity for the foldable market. We also delve into how the Apple foldable iPhone will affect the market. | | | | | | | | | | | | - Key highlights and main messages
- Tantra’s take on 6G and the event
- Closing thoughts, and looking forward
| | | | | | | | By Matt Hamblen, Sep 22, 2026 | | | | ...“Billions of RFID tags out in the field generate a lot of valuable data. But most of the data is unused or underutilized. With AI, you have the opportunity to really weaponize that data…to reduce waste, improve efficiency and even create new revenue,” said Prakash Sangam, analyst at Tantra Analyst, in comments to Fierce.The analyst Sangam said the Physical Intelligence platform from Impinj will help smaller companies that are less tech-savvy move up to RAIN RFID with AI. “Smaller players lacking the ability are looking for solutions,” he said. | | | | Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit - 2026 | | | | | | | | | | | | Lenovo Innovation World 2026 | | | | | | Qualcomm 6G Leadership Day | | | | | | | | | | | |  Share with colleagues and friends
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